FINALLY test drove the R8

[Jas667]

Ok, so alot of u will have read my recent post 'the shambles that is audi' and seen the problems I have had. I finally got to drive the car today and Chris, the guy I met was very helpful and it turns out his father has just bought the branch and they are working very hard to change the reputation it has had and will be speaking to the people involved.

So, anyway, the R8...

All of you who say it looks odd, side profile is weird...see one in the metal!! It is much more hunkered down and looks totally stunning!! It looks very aggressive and the one I drove was silver with dark grey side pannels which looksed beautiful. I was in love at first sight. And apparently others felt the same. I have never seen people so interested in a car in my life. They stop, turn around, wap out the camera phones. One girl actually fell off of a pavement trying to get a better look!
The interior is typical audi, amazing and I think BMW should be taking tips from them. The seats were very supportive and I had plenty of room. Now I am interested in the V10 and that is not out yet so it was the V8 I drove. There is torque all over the rev range and it pulls very well in higher revs although obviously it is no super car. The handling is propably the best I have experienced in a car, it puts the Porker Turbo to shame. You always know exactly what the car is doing, it sends all the right messages through the wheel and it is a perfect weight.
The guy Chris also knows a guy at Lambo and he is putting me onto him to get a test drive as that is the other option for me. All I can say is Lambo has a hell of alot to live up to to sway where my wallet is going. All in all, a damn good car and the V10 promises to be nithing short of epic!

[WLH]

Nice write up...
Let us know abot the Lambo too...

[sixspeed]

Nice write up. I've seen a few R8s in the flesh, and still think the side-profile is awkward though. But they do look good from everywhere else

How much is the premium on the V10 expected to be?

One thing I found with the G V10 is that the power delivery is very, very smooth and as such you end up hitting the limiter well before you expect to. It also somehow makes the car feel a lot slower than it is. I don't know if this will be the same in the R8 but it did leave me with mixed feelings at first. However, after a bit longer behind the wheel of one you fall in love with everything else about it, and that noise..... and you soon realise it's anything but slow!

[Rick Hunter]

Cool writeup. Thanks for sharing!