Audi R8 news - R8 racer - 2008

Forget the rumoured V10 version or the V12 diesel. If you want the lairiest, scariest R8 - hell, the lairiest, scariest Audi, full stop - you need this.

This is the GT3 R8, the racing version of Audi's mid-engined supercar set to compete in the FIA GT3 championship next year.

How totally, totally, really-quite-cool is it? We're loving the massive rear wing, kinked carbon fibre wing mirrors and fat chin splitter.

It won't just look good, either. Audi is promising '500bhp-plus' from the R8's 4.2-litre V8, channelled through a six-speed sequential gearbox to - now here's the really fun bit - the rear wheels only.

See, GT3 regulations prohibit the use of four-wheel drive, so you're looking at a drift-monkey in the making.

Audi will deliver the first racing R8's to customers next autumn. Just imagine it battling it out with Gallardos, F430s and DBRS9s across the race tracks of Europe.

Time to start working towards that competition licence, then...