Audi R8 e-tron Special Edition

The Audi R8 e-tron Special Edition (abbreviated as R8 e-tron SE), also known as the Audi R8 e-tron Custom Edition (abbreviated as R8 e-tron CE), is a special fictional tuned version of the Audi R8 e-tron made exclusively for Asphalt 8: Airborne.
== Description ==
The Audi R8 e-tron Special Edition has the following modifications:
* Custom wide body kit (similar to a Liberty Walk body kit) and spoiler
* Custom taillights (similar to the 2009 Audi R8 e-tron Concept)
* Central nitro exhaust (instead of twin exhausts in the base model)
* Gold-rimmed wheels
* Custom livery
** Metallic Red body color
** Black and Gold stripes
** The Chinese New Year zodiac sign of the car's release: the Dog
* Upgraded electric motors and batteries
== Asphalt 8: Airborne ==
=== Summary ===
The Audi R8 e-tron Special Edition was added in the Fall Out Boy Update as a mid Class A car with the following rank statistics:
*Starting rank: 459
**This was changed to 852 in the Fast Lane Update.
**This was changed to 838 in the 2019 Holiday Update.
*MAX rank: 1357 (+898)
**This was changed to 1332 (+480) in the Fast Lane Update.
**This was changed to 1260 (+422) in the 2019 Holiday Update.
*MAX+PRO rank: 1695 (+338)
**This was changed to 1672 (+340) in the Fast Lane Update.
**This was changed to 1672 (+412) in the 2019 Holiday Update.
*Tuning Kit bonus: +95
**This was changed to +129 in the Fast Lane Update.
**This was changed to +50 in the 2019 Holiday Update.
*Upgrade rank percentages: 10/50/10/30
**This was changed to 1/87/1/11 in the Fast Lane Update.
*Nitro Efficiency: 5/7.5/10
Between the Fifteenth Anniversary Update and 2021 Spring Update, the Audi R8 e-tron Special Edition was a high-end Class B car.
As of the 2021 Summer Update, the Audi R8 e-tron Special Edition is now a low Class D car with the following statistics:
*Starting rank: 838
*MAX rank: 1039 (+201)
*MAX+PRO rank: 1231 (+192)
*Tuning Kit bonus: +37
*Nitro Efficiency: 6/8.5/13
===Performance===
The Audi R8 e-tron SE, as with the other Special Edition vehicles, sports a number of traits improved over its base model:
* The faster acceleration, even if not at the standards of a McLaren MP4/8 or a Rezvani Beast Alpha, allows the e-tron SE to outrun much of its competition.
*The total top speed of 477.1 km/h (296.5 mph) at MAX+PRO is suboptimal but the R8 e-tron SE has a higher total top speed than similarly-ranked cars when it is partially upgraded.
*The improved handling also allows the e-tron SE to take fast and slow bends without drifting. This and its extremely sharp drifting ease maneuvering on all tracks. Drifting to take a sharp corner, however, can lead to oversteering if not approached correctly.
Combined with its outstanding nitro efficiency, the e-tron SE is a truly versatile and all-rounded car. With the Halloween Update, the e-tron SE's stability was further upgraded.
Prior to v5.8, the R8 e-tron SE is the second fastest non-Elite Special Edition car in the game, behind the .
===Usage (Multiplayer)===
<tabber>v5.8 onwards=
The Audi R8 e-tron SE is heavily nerfed, being another generic 1230-rank vehicle. It is a viable competitor in this rank bracket; compared to other vehicles of this rank bracket, the R8 is a balanced car with below-average acceleration and focused on speed and nitro efficiency.
|-|v4.1-v5.7=
The Audi R8 e-tron SE is still competitive, but no longer dominant in Multiplayer due to its rank being greatly changed. At lower ranks, it may face competition from the ED Design Torq, McLaren M14A, and even the Ariel Atom V8.
Even with the latter three cars facing the same fate as the R8 SE in the Showdown Update, the R8 SE never regained its previous dominance, since the R8 SE could end up getting matched with the higher end Class A and Class S vehicles.
|-|v3.9-4.0=
In the Heatwave Multiplayer Season, released on August 30, 2018, which made the Multiplayer matchmaking based on the vehicle's top speed instead of vehicle's rank, all of the multiplayer tunes for the Audi R8 e-tron Special Edition were rendered useless. It still remained competitive, but had to compete with other Class A and S vehicles instead of low-ranked Class D and C, meaning it would be pitted against the likes of the Lamborghini Egoista, Ferrari 330 P4, Pagani Huayra BC, and even the McLaren P1™ GTR, all of which possess similar acceleration but higher overall total speeds (and raw speeds except in the case of the Egoista and Huayra BC) although the R8 e-tron SE has higher nitro efficiency than these four vehicles. Even its tune of 1111 (MAX 0500 + PRO 5050) would result in it facing a fully PRO McLaren MP4/8, which possesses a similar top speed, but much faster acceleration to the point of the R8 e-tron SE only being able to catch up and/or overtake should the MP4/8's driver make a mistake or two.
|-|v3.5-v3.8=
The Audi R8 e-tron Special Edition is a deadly car for multiplayer. Compared to the , which has a wide tuning range as well, at lower ranks the e-tron SE is currently the best MP car below the ranks of 1350.
When MP-tuning the e-tron SE, top speed is the highest priority, given its massive increase from stock (200.1 km/h; 124.2 mph) to MAX+PRO (392.2 km/h; 243.5 mph).
Conversely, upgrading nitro leads to diminishing returns, despite the excellent nitro efficiency of 5/7.5/10, as the resulting increase in rank is too large proportionally to the gain in speed. A MAX 0505 PRO 5050 tuning is a case in point: compared to the 0500-5050 below, it adds 269 to the rank but only adds 15.8 km/h (9.8 mph) to the total speed.
Any MAX 0x00 PRO 5050 tune (where x is any level from 0 to 5) is optimally effective. A few tuning examples:
* MAX 0400 PRO 5050 = 976 (prior to the Fast Lane Update) (421 km/h / 261 mph)
* MAX 0400 PRO 5050 = 1448 (after the Fast Lane Update) (385 km/h / 239 mph no TK)
** This is possibly the best tune for the e-tron SE, with a speed-to-rank ratio of 0.431 metric speed units per rank point. However, it is not enough to beat the final AI of the R&D event.
* MAX 0500 PRO 5050 = 1111 (451 km/h; 280 mph)
** Another optimal tune, popular for being the bare minimum to pass the R&D without skipping any tests. This has a speed-to-rank ratio of 0.406 metric speed units per rank point.
* MAX 0500 PRO 5055 = 1178 (456.2 km/h; 283.5 mph)
** The disproportion between rank and nitro, albeit still present, becomes less pronounced when boosting nitro with PRO upgrades instead of MAX ones.
* MAX 5505 PRO 5555 = 1605 (477.1 km/h; 296.5 mph)
** Higher ranked tunes allow for easier driving experience and higher point gains in MP. The maxed out acceleration brings forth a head start likely to beat BMW 3.0 CSL Hommages.
At ranks of 1350-1600, the Audi R8 e-tron Special Edition, while still very competitive, can be beaten on certain tracks by various prevalent cars at this range, due to its lower total speed of 477.1 km/h (296.5 mph) at rank 1513; a Chevrolet 2016 Camaro SS and Porsche Carrera GT at ranks 1450 and 1449, for example, reach 490.6 km/h (304.8 mph) and 483.9 km/h (300.5 mph), respectively. However, given the e-tron SE's good acceleration and drifting, it can still beat most other cars of similar rank on short and/or twisty tracks. In general, it is recommended to keep the e-tron SE's rank under 1500 to harness its full potential.
Above rank 1600, the Audi R8 e-tron Special Edition loses most of its usefulness. Even though its superb acceleration and nitro duration allow it to challenge cars with similarly ranked tuning setups like the Aston Martin Vulcan, Arrinera Hussarya GT, SIN R1, Apollo Intensa Emozione, and McLaren Mercedes MP4-25, it is bound to face stiffer competition from highly tuned Vulcans, R1s, McLaren 720S's, Carrera GTs, BMW 3.0 CSL Hommages, and the Lamborghini Centenario LP 770-4; these cars have similar handling traits, but a significantly higher (up to 34.4 km/h or 21.4 mph) top speed.
</tabber>
===Usage (Other) ===
The Audi R8 e-tron SE is a poor choice for the majority of A-Class TLEs owing to its inferior top speed to many other top-end cars with otherwise similar stats. For example, the McLaren Mercedes MP4-25 is a direct improvement over the e-tron SE except for nitro duration. It is, however, the best vehicle to use in Audi-only events, and also an ideal choice for events involving electric vehicles, even better than the Vanda Electrics Dendrobium, nanoFlowcell QUANT FE, and in some cases, the Rimac Concept S. The e-tron SE is also occasionally featured as the dominant car in its rank bracket.
An alternative use for a fully upgraded R8 SE is grinding at its Mastery Challenge 15, with profitability comparable to the McLaren 675LT but inferior to those of the 2018 McLaren X2, McLaren MP4-31, and Weber Faster One. Unlike these cars, it uses a Classic race instead of the usual Unplugged or Flawless race types, making the race even easier. However, the Fast Lane Update made Mastery races not replayable and the Car Mastery was removed as of Eighth Anniversary Update.
=== Price and Availability===
When it was first released during the Fall Out Boy Update, the Audi R8 e-tron Special Edition could only be obtained by completing its Research & Development event. As of the Fifth Anniversary Update, it can be assembled with 150 of its common-rarity Blueprints — the highest number of blueprints required to assemble any vehicle, beating the Lamborghini Huracán's 145. Assembly takes 8 hours to finish and can be skipped for up to ​. However, BPs for the car have been made unavailable at some point, rendering the car impossible to obtain outside of its R&D event once more.
Blueprints for the R8 e-tron Special Edition were made available in the 5th Anniversary event, with each Expert Bundle awarding 1-7 BPs, and in the February 2019 rerun of the Snowflurry Festival, with each Starter Snowflurry Bundle awarding 1 BP.
As of the 2019 Halloween Update, the car no longer requires Blueprints to be assembled, and has a full purchase price of .
The R8 e-tron SE was obtainable again in the following events:
#New Year Festival by reaching Tier 20 with the Premium upgrade. Players who already own the car would get 15x instead.
#Lunar Festival (2021) by reaching tier 19 with the Premium upgrade. Players who already own the car would get 10x instead.
#Lunar Festival (2022) by reaching Tier 19 with the Premium upgrade. Players who already own the car would get 8x instead.
The R8 e-tron SE was on sale for a limited-time during the following periods:
*March 20 - 30, 2020: 
*April 22 - 26, 2020: 
*June 25 - 29, 2020: 
*July 24 - 27, 2020: 
*September 4 - 9, 2020: 
*January 3 - 7, 2021: (23% off)
*February 22 - 28, 2021: (52% off)
*July 17 - ?, 2021: 
*January 18 - February 1, 2023: (50% off)
*April 10 - 17, 2024: (10% off)
*April 23 - 29, 2024: (10% off)
*June 14 - 21, 2024: 
*June 28 - July X, 2024: 
Between the Gangstar Season Update and the 2023 Holiday Update, upgrades require 55 of each , , , and , 160 , and .
During the 2024 Spring Update, upgrades require 10 of each , , , and , and .
As of the Mercedes Season Update, upgrades require .
Starting from the Neon Season Update, upgrades for the R8 e-tron SE can be applied by watching ads.
===Research & Development===
The Audi R8 e-tron SE's R&D was first held on February 12, 2018 during the Fall Out Boy Update. The event spans 4 Labs and 50 Tests with a time limit of 10 days. 
Category:Research & Development
Category:Fall Out Boy Update
Category:Vehicles that had Token-only upgrades