The next generation Audi R8 is due in 2014, and it’s apparently gone on a diet to shed a couple of pounds.

The new R8 has to be lighter to gain not only performance advantages, but also helps Audi, and its parent VW, achieve their fuel efficiency goals.

Now the easy solution would be to make th car entirely out of carbon fiber. That will increase the production costs, and therefore the price of the car, dramatically. A carbon Audi R8 would cost as much as a Lamborghini, so why would anybody buy the Audi?!

The way Audi is going round this problem is by using a hybrid structure. They uses a cocktails of aluminum and carbon fiber, which will reduce the weight by a good 45lbs. Further weight reduction plans will affect the drivetrain, suspension and other bits and pieces.

via: Motorauthority