Audi Reveals More about New R8 S Tronic Transmission

AudiAudiGermany, 1909 > present83 models
8213 photos
27 videos
revealed its updated R8Audi R8Germany, 2006 > present44 versions
141 photos
1 video
last week. The upgrades are fairly extensive with a new grill, full LED headlights, standard iPod interface and of course the new 550ps V10 Plus model. Among the upgrades include the new S Tronic dual clutch transmission to replace the previous single clutch R Tronic model. 

The new transmission uses three shafts, and is basically two transmissions packaged together with dry sump lubrication. It is less than 60cm long, and the two clutches are positioned one behind the other to save space. The clutches open and close to control alternating gears. According to Audi, they are completely mutually independent. That allows for shifts in hundredths of a second. The transmission is also equipped with launch control. 

In comparison to the old R Tronic, the S Tronic cuts emissions by 22g/km of CO2 and improves acceleration by 0.3 seconds on the V8 and V10 models, despite those engines being unchanged. On the V8Audi R8Germany, 2006 > present5 photos
and V10 CoupeAudi R8 V10Germany, 2008 > present3 photos
1 video
, top speed is down 1mph with the new S Tronic compared to the manual. The V8 Spyder'sAudi R8 4.2 Spyder quattroGermany, 2011 > present2 photos
top speed remains 186mph regardless of transmission. Manual-equipped V8 R8s are 0.3 seconds faster than the S Tronic models to 60mph, but the V10 S Tronic is 0.3 seconds quicker than the manual to 60mph.