Start with what the Audi R8 is: a 2-door coupé / 2-door convertible (spyder) with gasoline engine, built from 2006 to 2024, in the decade of stability control, dual-clutch gearboxes and the first serious hybrids. What it meant takes a little longer.
How it came about
The Audi R8 is a mid-engine, 2-seater sports car, which uses Audi's trademark quattro permanent all-wheel drive system. It was introduced by the German car manufacturer Audi AG in 2006. Production ended in the first quarter of 2024.
The car is exclusively designed, developed, and manufactured by Audi AG's private subsidiary company manufacturing high performance automotive parts, Audi Sport GmbH (formerly quattro GmbH), and was inspired by the Lamborghini Gallardo albeit the second generation is built using the Huracán platform. The fundamental construction of the R8 is based on the Audi Space Frame, and uses an aluminium monocoque which is built using space frame principles. The car is built by Audi Sport GmbH in a newly renovated factory at Audi's 'aluminium site' at Neckarsulm in Germany. At the time it was introduced in 2006, the R8 became the first production car with full-LED headlamps.
The hardware
The engine is gasoline engine. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Family and rivals
The cars a buyer would have weighed it against include the Nissan Qashqai, the Aston Martin Vantage, the Hyundai i30. Its Audi stablemates include the Audi 200 and the Audi 225.
Owning one today
Buying one now means $36,800–$134,200 for a typical example, and running it — fuel and maintenance at its age — costs about $4,995–$8,345 a year. Insurance sits around $1,980–$4,840 a year. The figures are class-level estimates from the federal record, with the formula on the methodology page; the model-year pages carry complaints, recalls and repair costs year by year.
Audi R8 42 
Audi R8 4S