Although it was rumoured by the automotive press since the announcement of the production variant of the R8 in 2006, it was only in August 2008 that spy shots of a convertible R8 "Spyder" from filming scenes of the movie Iron Man 2 were published online. The photos showed a clearly visible soft-top roof and the absence of the distinctive "sideblades" found on the V10 FSI coupé. The R8 Spyder was formally unveiled at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show.Compared with the coupé model, the convertible had extra chassis support, a pair of roll-over safety bars, as well as minor changes such as the location of the fuel filler cap. It was powered by the same uneven firing 5.2-litre V10 engine as the coupé.