In the Automotive world, nothing stays a secret for long… Audi promised a “big surprise” for us at the Detroit Motor Show and its generally believed to be a V12 diesel version of their R8 supercar. A few days out from Detroit and a Russian site has managed to obtain an official R8 V12 TDI preview video to take the surprise out of “big surprise”.

Boasting 373Kw/500hp and 1000Nm of torque the R8 oiler promises 0-100km/h in the low 4.0 second bracket and a top speed north of 300km/h all while sipping fuel at the rate of around 10 litres per 100km. Acordong to Auto Tuning News we can expect a production version in mid 2009. Click through for the video.