Audi's luxury sports car R8 debuts in India for Rs.1.17 crore

However, according to Benoit Tiers, managing director, Audi India, R8 is not just any sports car - it is the sports car. "Audi R8 is not only a strong statement about the brand, but also about Audi's direction for the future to be the most successful premium brand by 2015. It embodies the philosophy of 'Vorsprung durch Technik'," Tiers said.

"It will revolutionize the Indian automobile space and offer an experience of a lifetime to discerning customers in the country," he said.

The R8, which is powered with an unmatched 420 hp V8-FSI 4163-cc engine, can hit a top speed of 301 km/hr with 0-100 km in 4.6 seconds flat. But sports enthusiasts be warned: do not try to experience R8's awesome power during normal traffic hours.

And, when R8 is not peeling tracks, it can be used for daily driving for it combines luxury with breathtaking technology. Plush interiors, elegant alloy wheels, six-speed R-tronic gearbox, an all-aluminium space frame body, and muscular styling makes the R8 stand out from other luxury sports cars in India, like Porsche Carrera S, and it has not been slow in getting noticed.

"We plan to sell 10 Audi R8s in this fiscal. We have already received orders for 15 cars and by the end of 2009 we hope to sell around 20 cars," Audi, which also sells A4, A6, A8, Q7 and TT models in India, said in a statement.