Research & Development

Introduced in the eponymous update (Research & Development Update) for Asphalt 8: Airborne, Research & Development, known as R&D for short, is a single player laboratory-style special event that introduces four new game elements: Lab, Test, Quality Checks, and Proto Keys, as well as a number of modifications to existing elements, such as R&D Basic Kit Box, or car-specific free upgrades. As in the Car Mastery, the R&D selection, loading, and pre-race screen introduce a new graphic language. This special event is only available for players with at least 30 stars in the Career Mode.

In contrast with Car Mastery, the R&D is more story-oriented. It focuses on telling the story of a car development with the player and other scientists from the car's company being involved.

Vehicles unlockable via R&D can be purchased for a limited time outside of their events, although they can only be purchased with tokens and tend to be extremely expensive; one such exception is the Apollo Intensa Emozione, which was available only as an in-app purchase. As of the Car Blueprints Update, most of the R&D-unlockable vehicles can be crafted with Blueprints. However, as of the Fall Out Boy Update, most of the R&D events award the vehicle only after the completition of the entire R&D, these vehicles being not blueprint-buildable.

Game Elements
When the player runs out of time in any R&D event, they will be told that the R&D has expired but that all upgrades will be kept for when they own the vehicle.
 * Expiry

R&D Events
Since the Enduro Update, R&D events usually occurred after the end of an Enduro Double Down event and before the next EDD event. From the Championship Update to the end of the Lunar New Year 2017 Update, R&D events followed a Championship and were followed by an EDD, in accordance with a fixed special events pattern.

Calendar
^The third revival of the Arash AF10 R&D was originally meant for the Aprilia Tuono V4 1100 RR my2017, due to reports of players receiving notifications for R&D of the Aprilia instead of Arash.

Research & Development Intro Screens
Push the capabilities of the [R&D boss vehicle name] to new extremes by working as an R&D driver and mastering different development tests.

Every test you complete will help you to develop perfectly engineered upgrades that will maximize your ride's potential.

Collect Quality Checks during Validation Tests to push performance beyond the limits and develop new upgrades.

Put your ride to the ultimate test by going head-to-head against an advanced AI, programmed to calculate the [R&D boss car's manufacturer name/Torq]'s ultimate path and performance, in the Ultimate AI Challenge!

For security purposes, the Proto Keys are made of a special material that will dissolve after one race. Use them wisely -- it takes time to make more!

Complete all [30-65] R&D tests within [5-15] days to get the [R&D boss vehicle name] for free, as well as other amazing rewards. All upgrades applied during tests will remain on the vehicle after the R&D process is finished.

Normal Intro Screens =

Trivia

 * The sound effect played when collecting a reward in R&D are also reused for Championships.
 * From the Elite Cars Update onwards, it is now possible to see the quote for a test in the loading screen.
 * As of the Enduro Update, the sound effect played when refilling Proto Keys is no longer used when a Proto Key is used.
 * As of the Enduro Update, in the race countdown, during Ultimate AI Challenges, the text that says "Ultimate AI Challenge" is now in all capital letters.
 * As of the Fifth Anniversary Update, the R&D events can now feature elite vehicles.