Following conflicting rumors, Audi R&D chief Ulrich Hackenberg has confirmed that a plug-in hybrid will be sold alongside the all-electric E-tron edition.
“The Lamborghini Asterion shows this is possible – that car uses the platform of the R8,” the executive told CAR at the Paris show. “We will see an increase in the efficiency of high-performance cars – they have to meet CO2 regulations of the future in order to survive.”
The company appears to have changed its mind since July, when product manager Marie Suzanne Ernst said the R8 was not among the broad range of Audi models that will get plug-in hybrid powertrains, and the all-electric edition would only be built as a custom-order item.
Buyers with no interest in the low- and no-emissions models will get the first chance to pick up the next-gen coupe, which will arrive first in summer 2015 with V8 or V10 power, while the R8 Spyder is slated for mid-2016 arrival.
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