Bob Barnsley
Iconic Films
2 for 1 tickets to Singin' In The Rain, this coming Monday. Book now
Navigation - link to other main sections from here
From The Times
February 16, 2007
Audi R8
The R8 takes its inspiration from the racer that won the Le Mans 24 Hours event five times
The R8 will do 187mph. It has all-wheel drive. It costs about £80,000 and is the first mid-engined sportscar built by Audi. The R8 is an homage to Audi motor sport, the 4.2litre V8 engine sitting a few inches behind the driver’s head, ready to howl away on demand.
This 420bhp powerplant is the heart of the car. Indeed, much of the engineering and technology derive from the track-going R8, Audi’s all-conquering racer that won the Le Mans 24 Hours race five times and the Sebring 24 Hours six times. While the all-wheel drive is the latest incarnation of Audi’s rally-bred 4 x 4 system.
The car looks far more menacing than its baby brother, the TT coupé. The R8 has huge, purposeful-looking wheels. Slashes in the sides not only suck air to the engine but add aggression to the looks. A powered spoiler at the back rises to maintain stability as speeds increase. Then there are the front lights, which use futuristic light-emitting diodes (LEDs) for a dramatic front end.
Made of aluminium, the chassis is light and stiff, which helps performance, as well as handling and road-holding. So as well as a top speed only autobahn drivers or track-day specialists will see, the R8 will go from a standstill to 62mph in 4.6sec, helped by all-wheel drive to maximise traction.
Related Links
With such a rich motor-sport heritage and so much power, you might expect the R8 to be a handful in stop-start traffic or tootling through walking-pace rush-hour jams. Not a bit of it. Audi launched the R8 in Las Vegas, where crawling traffic is the norm. Away from the city, temptingly empty roads through the desert wilderness bristle with 25, 40 and 55mph speed limits. State Troopers await those driving recklessly, with the promise of a night in jail for serious speeders. Yet the car handles town jams and modest speed limits with ease.
Given its head at the Las Vegas Speedway race track, however, and the R8 shows what it is made of. The faster it goes, the more secure it feels, so confidence-inspiring that even modest driving skills are enough to drift the rear end out around the handling course.
And all the while, when worked in anger, that V8 engine is snorting and burbling, the electronic suspension adapting instantly to give maximum grip and ride control. The permanent all-wheel drive splits torque 35 per cent front and 65 per cent rear in normal driving conditions but varies constantly and automatically, sending up to 100 per cent of torque to the rear wheels, should conditions demand.
The car comes as a six-speed manual or as an automatic. The manual is slick and precise and there is even a Teflon nonstick lining to keep it that way. For the automatic, Audi has taken the Lamborghini Gallar-do’s box, reworked it and christened it the R-Tronic. Working the steering-wheel mounted paddles and with the Sport button pushed to harden the suspension, the car is in its element. Only in fully automatic does the transmission feel like the car’s weak point, with clun-ky gear shifts. Audi claims that the space behind the driver and passenger seats will take two golf bags, but a couple of coats and laptops are probably more like it. At the front under the bonnet is more luggage space for a couple of weekend bags.
Amazingly there is easily enough head and leg room for a driver who is close to 6ft 5in.
As for the competition, Audi will have to convince buyers that the R8 is a better bet than the Porsche 911 Carrera, which is almost as fast, cheaper (from £66,000) and with a badge on the nose with just as much motor-sport cachet. Or there is the 4.2litre supercharged Jaguar XKR, fractionally slower but again, at £67,495, cheaper, and the V8 Vantage from Aston Martin from £82,800.
Yet Audi has few worries about sales. It plans to build about 3,000 R8s a year, each one put together by hand. Even though the first R8s will not be seen in Britain until June, the 450 cars slated to arrive in 2007 are sold, as are the 750 for 2008 and most of the allocated 750 for 2009.
Specification
Car Audi R8 Quattro
Engine 4.2litre V8 producing 420bhp at 7,800rpm
Transmission Six-speed manual or automatic
Performance Top speed 187mph, 0-62mph in 4.6sec
Economy 19.3mpg comb
CO2 emissions 349g/km
Price Manual £76,725, automatic £81,925
Regarding the disappointed Lamborghini owners; did you seriously buy your cars in order to boost your social status? How sad. What a pity you haven't the strength of character to appreciate the technical excellence and build quality of your chosen vehicle without wishing to exclude less affluent people from being able to enjoy some of the same joys.
Perhaps laws should be passed to restrict manufacturers from selling technically interesting and well built cars to the "lower classes".
Philip, Ulverstone, Tasmania, Australia
Well, im only 16 and can probably never own a car like this but i think it is the nicest looking audi ever! The led lights look great, it sounds great, the whole car is amazing. The only thing i dont like is the fact it looks a bit like a fish with all the fins and grille standing out from lighter paint-work colours. But i still would prefer a lambo gallardo anyday as if someone asked me what car i had, telling them i have an audi would just be a bit BORING.
Hollie, Plymouth, devon
Regarding the previous comments made by the lamborghini owner Mr. Worship, I too would feel short changed by Audi's tactic of morphing most of the technical bits of the lambo into their R8 and charging much less for it. This type of practice is widespread among the big manufacturers but VW appears especially adept at part sharing among even its prestige brands. The A8 6.0L is running pretty much the sale basic engine and drivetrain as the Bentley Continental. If Mr Windsor others wish to maintain a truly exclusive air of individuality in their chosen steed then I'm afraid its going to be Ferrari or bust. Though even Ferrari shares parts with Maserati - though Masers are pretty exclusive in their own way too!
John O Donnell, Dublin, Ireland
the Audi R8 car is a welcome change ,I have had sl55 porches Ferraris . and this is different ,yet 60k cheaper than a ferrari and 15k cheaper than a sl55
I am going to buy one enjoy it till something else comes around .
I am sure the valet parking chaps in the london hotels will also welcome the change
bobby chaudhry, windsor,
Im a lamborghini gallardo spyder owner and im slightly annoyed by this car. As it´s essentially a lamborghini look-a-like. They have taken most of the styling and technology and put it into a car that in my opinion try´s to be a lamborghini and detracts from the lamborghini distinct look. Now when people see this car they will go ´oh is that a new lambo´, and then ´oh no its an AUDI´. I paid 100k extra for my car to know its a lambo, and to have the feel and look and other technical perks however now a watered down version of it has been thrown out there called an AUDI R8. quite disappointing.
Charles Worship, Madrid, Spain
the LED lights are like subsidiary, more like daytime driving lights, not proper night time main headlights. check out pictures of it
nahid rahman, farnham,
What really annoys me is the engine. The concept had 600bhp from the Gallardo's V10 5 litre engine which you can have in two of Audi's super saloons the S6 and S8 each with 30 more bhp and in the case of the S6, for less money too. However, I know why Audi charge this much for the R8. In the past, if say Porsche had problems, all the other German car makers chose not to step on the 911's turf. Now the German car industry is a dog eat dog world!
FR, London, Britain
LED headlights? Given that these never blow or wear out during the car's lifetime, what will come of the bizarre EU ruling in many countries that you have to carry a spare headlamp bulb with you at all times (even in cars that have to have the bulb replaced in a garage!)?
Larry, Birmingiham,