Annual White Tie and Tiara Ball to auction unique ‘chrome’ version of celebrated 194mph open-top sports car

Guests at this year’s White Tie and Tiara Ball, which as always takes place at the home of Sir Elton John and his partner David Furnish, will need to empty their jewellery boxes to avoid being outshone by the very special R8 sports car donated by Audi for the star-studded event. A dazzling and unique mirror-like chromed finish has been applied to the 194mph open-top sports car especially for the occasion – which takes place on Thursday June 23^rd – to attract the highest possible bids in the auction that raises hundreds of thousands of pounds for the Elton John Aids Foundation (EJAF) annually.

“Sir Elton John’s fundraising ball really is a golden ticket event that is as glamorous as it is hugely effective in fundraising terms,” commented Jeremy Hicks, Director of Audi UK.  “We are delighted, and enormously proud, to support it for a ninth year with the donation of what is arguably our most fittingly glamorous model,” he added.

The R8 Spyder features a fully-automatic lightweight fabric hood that adds wind-in-hair intensity to the already extreme driving experience delivered by the lightweight aluminium quattro-equipped super car. The donated model, combining the exceptional ten-cylinder, 525PS petrol engine with manual transmission and normally priced at £117,710 OTR, can top 194mph and blast to 62mph from rest in just 4.1 seconds.

The Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) was established in 1993, and is amongst the 10 largest AIDS grant-making organizations in the world, currently managing over £14 million in programmes across 15 countries supporting thousands of men, women and children with life-saving medication, as well as information, nutrition, education, shelter and support.  The White Tie & Tiara Ball, now in its 13th year, is the EJAF’s foremost fundraising event, and has been supported by Audi with special auction lots for the past eight years.

Audi sports cars generate 620K in annual White Tie & Tiara Ball auction

The Audi R8 Spyder proved such an enticement to bidders last night at the White Tie & Tiara auction in aid of the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) that Audi UK submitted a second car to go under the hammer, helping to contribute £620,000 to the charitable organisation.

A striking ‘chrome-finish’ version of the 194mph soft-top sports car was initially donated, and was sold for £250,000, but interest was so strong that a second example was provided by Audi UK. This too attracted a high value bid,  and was then generously submitted a second time for auction, taking the final total raised by the two cars to £620,000.

The auction takes places during the annual White Tie & Tiara Ball, which is always held at the home of Sir Elton John and David Furnish. Each year it raises millions of pounds for EJAF, which currently manages over £14 million in programmes across 15 countries supporting thousands of men, women and children with life-saving medication, as well as information, nutrition, education, shelter and support.

“We are absolutely delighted to have been instrumental in raising such a magnificent sum for Sir Elton’s charity,” commented Jeremy Hicks, Director of Audi UK.  “We couldn’t, of course, have done so without the incredible generosity of Sir Elton’s guests, to whom we owe an enormous vote of thanks” he added.

• Delivery of the exclusive high-performance sports car has begun
• Limited production run of 333 vehicles already sold out worldwide
• Systematic lightweight design ensures breathtaking performance

The first of 333 Audi R8 GT vehicles has hit the road: A customer from the UK received the keys for his Phantom Black high-performance sports car today at the Audi Forum in Neckarsulm. The limited-edition, top-of-the-line model of the R8 family is built in a production shop at the Neckarsulm site and was sold out worldwide just a few weeks after market launch. The 560 hp R8 GT will be delivered to customers in 23 countries, primarily in Europe, the United States and Middle Eastern markets.

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