An Audi R8 V10 for just $469.99!

Having a Lamborghini Murciélago or an Aston Martin DB9 in the garage might be the ultimate in-your-face moment for your showy neighbors, but realistically, not all of us can afford a supercar. It's a tragic notion that the people over at Audi Canada want to remedy.

The price tag on the 2010 Audi R8 V10 may read $141,000, but you can start an ownership cycle with one for just $469.99 (plus shipping). How? Audi Canada has created a garage door wrap with a life-size print of a red Audi R8 sitting in a garage -- quite a clean one too, we might add.

The cover may officially label you as a poseur for life, and it certainly won't be able to take you anywhere nice, but we bet quite a number of people will be secretly disappointed to learn the company will only ship to Canadian residents.

-- Alison Lakin

Lakin is a staff writer at DriverSide.com.

Photo: Audi Canada

Audi sports a new lineup, here and abroad

There is plenty of news coming out of the Frankfurt Auto Show this week from Audi. There's the introduction of quite a few new models, including the "we wish it were coming to America" Audi A5 Sportback, which is a swell-looking four-door coupe version of the A5; the stupendous, "we wish we'd gone to law school like our mother told us to" Audi R8 5.2 V10 Spyder, which is the sleek non-sideblade convertible version of the R8 coupe; and Audi’s latest concept, the Audi e-tron, an oddly spelled electric concept car that looks like something Courrèges would have designed if he worked in the auto and not the fashion industry. It’s a good time to be in the four-circle business. Sales are on the up and some swell new product is in the pipeline.

The e-tron is powered by four electric motors -- one at each wheel -- and produces 313 horsepower and, wait for it, 3,319 pound-feet of torque, giving it a zero-to-60 time of less than 4.8 seconds. Audi says the top speed is limited to 125 mph to prevent a drain on the lithium-ion batteries, but from looks alone, it seems like the e-tron could break the speed of light. Audi also says the car's range is limited to 154 miles, which isn’t enough to get you to Ursa Minor.

The news for Audi out of Germany is good, but stateside, it gets even better. In Audi’s latest U.S. sales report for August, the company said sales rose 26% to achieve its second-best August sales ever and its best month overall since June 2008. This August, Audi sold 8,057 cars and SUVs, up from 6,406 a year earlier. The company also said that it set a sales record for the Audi Q5 crossover and that demand edged up on the Audi Q7 TDI diesel model. With Audi’s premium prices, that it makes us think, what recession?

Auto News roundup 6-4-09: Toyota claims hybrids will rule, Indiana challenges Chrysler bankruptcy, GM offers cash for dealer closings

-- Toyota, on the day Prius clinched the top sales spot for the first time (in May), makes the claim that hybrids will dominate for some time before battery technology catches up. USA Today

--The State of Indiana is temporarily stalling the sale of Chrysler to Fiat based on $42 million owed to retirees. Source: The Detroit Bureauvia Autoblog

-- GM is offering dealers up to $1 million to close their retail operations. Automotive News via Autoblog

-- 'Cash for Clunkers' legislation stalls in Senate. Car industry believes consumers are waiting for Congress to act before car-buying. Detroit News

-- Audi releases a new set of pictures of the redesigned, 340 horsepower 2010 Audi TT. Audi continues the claim that the TT is not scheduled for U.S. consumption. Autoblog

-- The Hyundai Accent has received a major face-lift and technical upgrade, and has been renamed the Verna Transform. Edmunds

-- Joni Gray

2010 Audi R8 V10 nets big bucks for charity

The chance to own the first 2010 Audi R8 5.2 FSI quattro delivered to the U.S. brought a top bid of $500,000 at a charity auction in Florida last Saturday.

According to Audi, the car was auctioned at the 3rd annual Boca Raton Concours d'Elegance auction and the money went to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Broward County. Audi boasted that its entry easily topped the $350,000 winning bid to own one of the first 2010 Ferrari Californias.

Audi hasn't released pricing on the 2010 R8 V10 yet, but the auction folks put the retail value of the car on the block in the neighborhood of $180,000.

Admittedly, Florida is a long way from the Up to Speed command center, but we couldn't resist the opportunity to run a picture of this car.

-- Martin Zimmerman

Photo: Audi R8 V10 5.2 FSI quattro. Credit: Audi