Guests at this year's White Tie and Tiara Ball charity event, which took place at the home of Sir Elton John and his partner David Furnish, had a chance to bid on a very special chrome-finish R8 sports car donated by Audi for the star-studded event.

The R8 Spyder proved such an enticement to bidders that Audi UK submitted a second car to go under the hammer, helping to contribute a total of $976,000 to the charitable organization.

A striking 'chrome-finish' version of the 194-mph soft-top sports car was initially donated, and was sold for $394,000, but interest was so strong that a second example was provided by Audi UK. This too attracted a high value bid, and was then submitted a second time for auction, taking the final total raised by the two cars to $976,000.

"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 aluminum quattro-equipped super car. The donated model, combining the exceptional ten-cylinder, 525 hp petrol engine with manual transmission can top 194 mph and blast to 60 mph from rest in just 4 seconds.

The Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) was established in 1993, and is amongst the 10 largest AIDS grant-making organizations in the world.