Audi R8 e-Tron And Spyder Live From Frankfurt

2011 Audi R8 Spyder

Audi’s pair of R8s for the Frankfurt Auto Show take the familiar platform in two very different directions. The 2009 e-Tron Concept, despite its massive 3,309 pound-feet of all-electric torque, is decidedly green and concerned less with performance.

The 2011 R8 Spyder, on the other hand, uses the 525-horsepower, 5.2-liter Lamborghini-derived V-10 engine from the R8 V-10 FSI to deliver heart-thumping performance in an elemental environment. The live photos show just how well the R8’s shape takes to the drop-top style.

But it seems no matter what you do with the R8 form, it comes across beautifully in the end, as these contrasting examples prove in the gallery below.