The R8 is built around a carbon fibre and aluminium honeycomb monocoque structure. It is powered by an Audi 3.6-litre 90-degree V8 twin-turbocharged engine mounted mid-longitudinally. The engine uses Fuel Stratified Injection (FSI) technology, a form of gasoline direct injection developed within the Volkswagen Group, which the company noted maximises both power and fuel economy simultaneously. Power output was officially quoted at approximately 610 hp for the 2000 to 2002 works cars, reduced to 550 hp in 2003 and 2004 under restrictor changes and down to 520 hp in 2005 as the ACO added further ballast and reduced restrictor size. The top speed recorded at Le Mans was 338 km/h during practice sessions for the 2002 24 Hours.
Drive is transmitted to the rear wheels through a Ricardo six-speed electro-pneumatic sequential gearbox with a multiple-disc limited-slip differential. The car also runs Michelin tyres and Shell fuel.
The R8 was designed from the outset for rapid pit-lane maintenance. The entire rear section of the car — including the transmission, rear suspension and rear subframe — was built as a single unit connected by quick-release fasteners and hoses. During the car's campaign, the Joest crew was able to replace the entire rear transaxle in as little as three minutes and sixteen seconds. The Automobile Club de l'Ouest, organisers of Le Mans and the American Le Mans Series, subsequently mandated that the gearbox casing remain unchanged throughout a race, although the R8 retained faster access to gearbox internals than its rivals even after this rule was imposed.
The R8 debuted with an outright victory at the 2000 12 Hours of Sebring. At Le Mans that year, Audi Sport Team Joest secured a one-two-three finish, with the car of Frank Biela, Tom Kristensen and Emanuele Pirro taking the win. Biela, Kristensen and Pirro completed a hat trick of Le Mans victories with further wins in 2001 and 2002. The only interruption to the R8's dominance came in 2003 when the Bentley Speed 8 — a car fielded by another Volkswagen Group marque using a heavily modified version of the R8's V8 engine, and campaigned with assistance from Joest Racing itself — took the win. Kristensen, who had won the previous three Le Mans races in an R8, was assigned to the Bentley effort and guided it to victory.
The R8 won Le Mans again in 2004 through Audi Sport Japan Team Goh, with drivers Seiji Ara, Rinaldo Capello and Tom Kristensen completing 379 laps. The 2005 victory came for the American ADT Champion Racing operation, with JJ Lehto, Kristensen and Marco Werner finishing first after the Audi factory team had already introduced the R10 TDI diesel successor. That 2005 result was also notable as Kristensen's sixth consecutive Le Mans victory and a record seventh overall, surpassing Jacky Ickx's previous record of six career wins.
The car's final competitive appearance was on 1 July 2006 at Lime Rock Park, Connecticut, where Allan McNish and Rinaldo Capello won the American Le Mans Series round, recording the 50th ALMS victory for the R8.
Audi Sport's programme saw tragedy in 2001 when on 25 April, former Formula One driver Michele Alboreto died following a high-speed tyre failure during an R8 test session at the Lausitzring in eastern Germany.
Among the drivers associated with the R8 were Tom Kristensen, Frank Biela, Emanuele Pirro, Rinaldo Capello, Allan McNish, Marco Werner, JJ Lehto, Laurent Aiello, Stephane Ortelli, Johnny Herbert, Stefan Johansson and Michele Alboreto.
The R8 was replaced from 2006 by the Audi R10 TDI, a turbodiesel-powered Le Mans Prototype that won on its debut at the 2006 12 Hours of Sebring and went on to win Le Mans that year with Biela, Pirro and Werner becoming the first drivers to win the race in a diesel-powered car. The name Audi R8 was subsequently used for the company's production road sports car, introduced in 2007 and based on the 2003 Audi Le Mans quattro concept.
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