Coupe and Spyder both coming to Australia

The rear-wheel drive Audi R8 V10 RWS is coming to Australia in April, with pricing starting at $299,500.

Meanwhile, the drop-top will kick off at $321,000 – undercutting its all-wheel drive counterpart by $67,500. The RWS Coupe is also $67,500 less expensive than its all-wheel drive equivalent.

According to Audi, the RWS shares 50 per cent of its components with the rear-drive R8 LMS currently competing in GT3 racing. Given the racer is based on the road car, that shouldn't be surprising.

Power comes from the same 5.2-litre V10 engine as the all-wheel drive model, making a handy 397kW and 540Nm of torque. It's hooked up to a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, which helps deliver a 3.7 second sprint to 100km/h and a 320km/h top speed.

By way of comparison, the R8 V10 Plus produces 449kW and 560Nm, while the base R8 V10 makes the same amount of power and torque as the RWS.