Is this one of the highlights of next week's Geneva motor show? You're looking at the new 2015 Audi R8 supercar.

Ingolstadt has issued these first official pictures and details of the second-generation R8. But can it go on move the goalposts like the first one did? It certainly looks like they've bottled the style progression, for this car looks incredibly like the last R8 with a few trinkets borrowed from the TT's wardrobe.

This time the R8 flips the engine roll-out on its head; only the V10 petrol is available at launch, although CAR understands a cheaper, less powerful V8 is a shoe-in.

The mid-mounted, dry-sumped 5.2-litre V10 produces a heady 602bhp, making it a pretty serious performance car; it’s exactly as fast as its Lamborghini Huracan sister, with a 0-100km/h time claimed at 3.2 seconds.

It'll reach double that - 200km/h - in just 9.9sec. Top speed? A distinctly supercar-sounding 329km/h. No surprises for guessing this is the fastest Audi road car in history.

Previous R8s made extensive use of aluminium, but Ingolstadt confirmed the R8 Mk2 uses a multi-material mix, blending aluminium and carbonfibre-reinforced plastic.

Hence the kerbweight is claimed at 1454kg (dry, without fluids onboard), or 1555kg as a conventional unladen weight. That’s 50 kilos less than the Mk1. Any forthcoming V8 model would be lighter still.

The electric R8 has been confirmed: it’ll boast a 340kW output (equivalent to 386bhp) and a crushing 679lb ft of torque. No wonder Audi says it’ll do 0-62mph in 3.9 seconds, yet the claimed range stands at 280 miles.

A new R8 LMS racer is due in 2016 to compete in the GT3 category; it’s said to keep 50% of the components of the roadgoing R8.