Hennessey Will Build You a 900-HP Audi R8
If the Audi R8 isn’t fast enough for you right out of the box, Hennessey Performance can help.
When you hear the name Hennessey Performance, you probably think about ferociously powerful American iron, like the F-150 VelociRaptor or the Viper Venom. For John Hennessey and his crazy crew, even the Dodge Demon wasn’t packing enough poke. But while the legendary Texas tuner is still building crazy-fast domestic machines, his company has recently turned its attention to European hardware — and now the Audi R8 has gotten some added firepower.
In stock trim, Audi’s V10 halo car produces 562 horsepower and 406 lb-ft of torque, which is hardly anemic. Engage launch control, and acceleration feels like you’re being shot out of a cannon. Now, on the street or the track, most mortals will never come close to wringing the performance potential out of this beast. Because while it’s comfortable enough to drive everyday, the R8 is still a proper supercar. Of course, there’s no kill like overkill — and that’s Hennessy’s specialty.
After the Hennessey team is done with the R8, horsepower is up to a whopping 912 ponies, which means a zero-to-60 time of just 2.6 seconds, and a quarter-mile time of 9.8 seconds. For those keeping score, that quarter-mile time is less than two-tenths of a second behind Ma Mopar’s Demon, which was specifically designed to slay in a straight line. So yeah, it’s quick.
As you might have guessed, forced induction is to thank for the huge gains here. To start, there’s a twin ball-bearing turbocharger set up, along with a pair of air-to-water intercoolers, a stainless steel thermal-coated exhaust, and a high-flow air induction system. There’s also a laundry list of other bespoke components, and of course, a tune, to make sure the brains of the operation know what’s happening under the hood.
After all is said and done, we’re impressed at just how stock the Hennessey R8 looks with all the go fast bits installed. The factory engine covers are retained, and from the outside, you’d be hard pressed to note anything particularly sinister has been done. For the record, we don’t think this engine bay is quite as pretty the comparable setups from Underground Racing, but that’s a matter of taste.
It should be noted that the power figures were achieved using 93-octane gas, which isn’t available everywhere. Also, while the official description of the package says every car is road-tested, dyno tuned, and comes with a one-year, 12,000-mile warranty, there’s no mention of any upgrades to the transmission or all-wheel drive system.
Given that it’s being able to handle an extra 350 horsepower, we’d be nervous about turning the drivetrain into metal shards. But given the cost of the R8, and the fact that pricing for the turbo system isn’t listed, something tells us the well-heeled clientele who’ll spring for it aren’t terribly concerned. Check out the video to hear this baby in action!
Photos: Hennessey Performance
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