Wicked Audi R8 Hillclimb Car has 2.0-Liter Engine
Adding displacement is great. But as Lotus founder Colin Chapman knew, subtracting weight can be an equally potent trick.
In American enthusiast circles, it’s popular to talk about how there’s no replacement for displacement. And while Ma Mopar has basically made an entire company based around jamming the biggest engine possible into everything it makes, displacement isn’t the only way to make speed. As Lotus founder Colin Chapman knew, subtracting weight can be an equally potently recipe. That’s the strategy Keith Murray employed with his Audi R8 hillclimb car — and the results are nothing short of spectacular.
In place of the the eight or ten pot Ingolstadt installed at the factory, in this featherweight, power comes from a heinously stoked 2.0-liter mill. As the description on YouTube states, the unit is “sort of an hybrid between the 2.0 L ALT 20v aluminum block with a 16v ABF head from a Mk3 Golf,” and thanks to a Garret HTA turbo, the force-fed engine is producing a whopping 650 horsepower. For the record, that’s about 50 more than any flavor of the R8 pumps out in factory spec, even if the engine note isn’t as robust.
The best part of the engine swap, of course, is the weight savings, and as you’d expect, it was tremendous. All told, this purpose-built beast tips the scales at just over 2,100 pounds, which is crazy considering that stock versions of the supercar range from 3,594 to 3,913 pounds. Having driven the R8, and experienced warp speed of launch control, I can’t even fathom have frightfully quick this machine must feel, and watching Murray rip up the circuit at Osnabruck Bergrennen is pure joy. This baby looks like a slot car!
Of course, the dyno runs at the start of the clip are there own flavor of awesome, and it’s wild to see just how little room that 2.0-liter motor takes up in the engine bay. Unfortunately, this car hasn’t raced since 2019, but given the amount of work that went into the build, and the fact that the world — knock on wood — seems to be getting somewhat back to normal, I’d expect we’ll see lots more of it in the future. So what do you think? Is swapped R8 a sacrilege or a masterpiece. Hit me up and let me know!
Photos: YouTube