Audi made their official debut at LeMans in 1999 with this factory backed R8R open sports prototype, and a closed version of this car, the R8C. The Coupe had numerous problems, and did not complete the race, but the R8R finished 3rd overall in the race, behind the winning BMW LMR V12 and the 2nd placed Toyota GT1.
This race car has very little in common with roadgoing Audi's, but this version had the same front lights as the stylish Audi TT coupe. It has a twin turbo V8 giving it plenty of power, and which has proved reliable in endurance racing. Audi returned in 2000 and scored a 1-2-3 result with a slightly modified version of this car, which is also made by Maisto. They repeated their 2000 success in 2001, and scored a 1-2 result, with a Bentley coming in 3rd (powered by an Audi engine! And of course Bentley is now owned by Audi). 2002 saw a hat trick of LeMans wins, and in 2003, the Bentley Speed 8 Coupe won (a car based on the Audi R8 running gear). And in 2004 and 2005, Audi won LeMans for a fourth and fifth time in six years. So you could say Audi have been the dominant force at LeMans for some time now!
This model is very good for a budget model (the market Maisto competes in) with removable rear bodywork exposing a detailed twin turbo V8 and the rear suspension, and a detailed open cockpit. It does not have quite the level of fine detail as an AUTOart or a Kyosho model, but it is worth adding to any LeMans collection.
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