Audi R8 leaks, looks oddly familiar

Stay tuned for live shots of the Audi R8 Spyder

Audi's extraordinary R8 supercar is a superb handler that accelerates faster than myths about health care reform and offers a cabin that, for an exotic sports car, is surprisingly easy to live with. Everyone in the automotive press agrees on that much.

But it looks unusual. Huge, contrasting-color "blades" running behind the doors make it one of the most unique looking cars ever built. It's a look that either works for you or doesn't, but few people can sit on the fence about it.

Unless, of course, it doesn't have them.

Edmunds Inside Line reports, "With a little less than a week to go before its official unveiling at the Frankfurt auto show, images of the Audi R8 Spyder have surfaced." The drop-top version of Audi's high-performance machine is notable for many things - but if you're familiar with the coupe edition, the first thing you'll notice is the missing blades.

Jalopnik explains, "Gone are the trademark sideblades on the coupe, creating, what we feel, is a much cleaner execution." They are replaced by functional side air scoops. Without its distinctive blades, the R8 looks almost like a smaller, smoother Lamborghini product, with a subtle curve to the lines that makes it, arguably, sexier than anything the Italian company has put out. Both Audi and Lamborghini, we should point out, are owned by Volkswagen.

Mechanical details are sparse. Autoblog reports, "Without any official information to go off of, we can't comment on weights and measures, but we do know Audi will only be offering the Spyder with the Lambo-derived 5.2-liter V10, putting out 525 hp and 390 lb-ft of torque."

Edmunds Inside Line adds, "We have no word as to whether Audi will produce a V8 version of the Spyder. Our earlier spy reports said no. But we expect that the 5.2 Spyder will be available with a proper manual transmission or the jerky R Tronic, just as on the coupe. All-wheel-drive will, of course be standard." Pricing has not been announced, but Edmunds speculates that the sticker will sit "somewhere in the $180,000-200,000 range."