Audi Puts Super Diesel in Concept R8

Add another 500-hp super car to the growing list. But this one, the Audi R8 V12 TDI concept, is diesel powered.

Audi AG says it is “writing a new chapter in diesel technology” with the R8 V12 TDI's race-bred 5.9L V-12 engine, which already appeared in concept form at last fall's Paris auto show lodged under the hood of Audi's Q7 cross/utility vehicle.

The larger-displacement V-12 is derived from the 5.5L 650-hp diesel that powered the R10 racecar to wins at the 24-Hours of Le Mans in 2006 and 2007.

The engine's twin turbochargers add up to 38 psi of boost pressure and help deliver a whopping 738 lb.-ft. of torque and 84 hp.