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.

As R8 is customizable, it will take 2-3 months, from the date of order, to deliver the car, the company said.

In India, Audi manufactures the A4 and A6 at its assembly plant in Aurangabad while Audi A8, sports utility vehicle Q7 and the Audi TT coupe are imported. Audi R8 will also be imported from Germany as CBUs (completely built units).

Incidentally, at a time when the Indian auto industry is witnessing slowdown in growth, the German luxury car maker has reported robust growth and earnings.

The company reported an increase of 203 percent in its sales figures in past 10 months, having sold 884 cars from January 2008 to October 2008, as compared to the 292 cars sold during the same period last year.

In October 2008 alone, Audi car sales rose by 312 percent, as compared to the sales in the corresponding month of the previous year.

According to a company spokesman, this was made possible as Audi aggressively expanded its dealership network throughout India and launched hi-profile advertising and branding campaigns targeting the niche segment of the society.

"India is the fastest growing market in the world for Audi, even faster than China, where we sell 100,000 units every year. India is a long-term market for us and it makes sense to bring our international range of models here to tap the potential by extending our portfolio, which will be done in a phased manner. We are looking at building volumes to gradually emerge one of the top three luxury car companies in India," Tiers said.

"Our next launch in the country can be [the crossover utility vehicle] Q5, which we recently launched in the European market," he said.