Glass engine cover for R8 Spyder?

[SebringSilver]

I wonder how many Spyder owners are a little miffed that their car doesn't have a glass engine cover. Or how many more Spyder owners there might be if indeed Audi offered this (even as an option). Some folks I know who drive Gallardos still kick themselves each time we meet up and they see my R8 coupe with the engine under glass and they kick themselves because they opted against paying the $5,000 or so for that option on their baby Lambos.

Is it only a matter of time before some very clever people come up with an aftermarket solution for this? Or is there some complicated reason why this cannot (and has not) been done?

[toecutter]

You wouldn't be able to see much of the engine as the cover behind the larger cover for the soft top is only about a foot wide. It also wouldn't be a "pretty" as the coupe display.

I don't miss it but others may.

[SebringSilver]

You wouldn't be able to see much of the engine as the cover behind the larger cover for the soft top is only about a foot wide. It also wouldn't be a "pretty" as the coupe display.

I don't miss it but others may.

Thanks. This is one of those topics that only those in the know could speak effectively on, and for the rest of us, we can only speculate.

On that note, however, I wonder how Lamborghini solved this problem, because even on the LP560-4 Spyders, the glass engine cover is still an option. Hmmm...

[R8Spyderman]

I don't know how it can be done given the car's dimensions and lack of space to store the soft top. Ferrari has a patent on a folding top that stores vertically between the engine and the seats rather than flat over the engine, though I don't know if that's how the F430 Spider's top gets folded away or if there is just more space between the seat backs and the engine and they just lay their top flat, too. Heck, I'd be happy just to be able to open the lid and see the engine, something I can't do, much less see it thru a glass lid (sigh). You'd have to make a Roadster out of the car (no roof at all) and remove the stowage compartment and that would allow for a glass window. Given the car's dimensions, I don't see how it can be done, sad to say...

[SebringSilver]

I don't know how it can be done given the car's dimensions and lack of space to store the soft top. Ferrari has a patent on a folding top that stores vertically between the engine and the seats rather than flat over the engine, though I don't know if that's how the F430 Spider's top gets folded away or if there is just more space between the seat backs and the engine and they just lay their top flat, too. Heck, I'd be happy just to be able to open the lid and see the engine, something I can't do, much less see it thru a glass lid (sigh). You'd have to make a Roadster out of the car (no roof at all) and remove the stowage compartment and that would allow for a glass window. Given the car's dimensions, I don't see how it can be done, sad to say...

You might be on to something there! An R8 Roadster or Speedster for fairweather driving only, less weight, and the full glory of the engine basking under the sun.

Audi, are you listening?

[toecutter]

Thanks. This is one of those topics that only those in the know could speak effectively on, and for the rest of us, we can only speculate.

On that note, however, I wonder how Lamborghini solved this problem, because even on the LP560-4 Spyders, the glass engine cover is still an option. Hmmm...

Never seen a pic of the lambo spyder with a glass cover but when I was looking at a LP560 spyder put it's top down last summer, the soft top system was similar but the engine access was different. Don't know how they would do it and actually seems like it would be more difficult than with the R8.

[SebringSilver]

Never seen a pic of the lambo spyder with a glass cover but when I was looking at a LP560 spyder put it's top down last summer, the soft top system was similar but the engine access was different. Don't know how they would do it and actually seems like it would be more difficult than with the R8.

It's possible I could have been mistaken.

[sapien]

Isnt the spyder engine bay ugly though? Better off hidden probably.

[SebringSilver]

Does anyone have a picture of the Spyder's engine bay?

[timborama]

What the Spyder should have been...

http://germancarscene.com/2007/11/11...spyder-images/