Although arriving a bit late at the “exaggerated fender" party, the 1st-gen Audi R8 looks uncanny in Liberty Walk’s wide-body guise.
By using freedom of expression as a fairly good excuse (or argument), Liberty Walk manages to apply its bold style on various supercars, without being heavily criticized. Granted, most of the automobiles bearing the Japanese tuner’s signature look stellar, but some purists may disagree with its approach.
While beefed up fenders and a lowered ride may do wonders on some cars, the style doesn’t necessarily favor high-end exotics, especially as it’s conceived (in this case) as a visual-enhancement only. But does it really matter when the final product looks as good as this R8?
Well, to be fair, the wider track makes the German supercar appear ultra-aggressive, but the bolt-on fenders aren’t in sync with the R8’s formal, high-tech design. Usually, an aftermarket body-kit complements the original style cues, but in this case, the back fenders cover a small portion of the carbon fiber side vents – which means that holes had to be drilled in them.
On the other hand, the thing looks quite cool and, at the end of the day, it remains a matter of taste. So, if you have an Audi R8 lying around and like Liberty Walk’s work, then you should know the tuner charges $21,620 to “butcher” your mid-engine V8 supercar with carbon-fiber-reinforced-plastic bits. Mind you, a visually-enhanced V10 R8 costs a little more ($23,220), and the styling kit includes a front apron, side skirts, a rear diffuser, a rear wing and wide fenders.
But we will probably see more of the car at SEMA, where Liberty Walk will showcase it. As usual, the result will look stunning for the next few months, before we’ll get bored of it.
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