1. Audi R8

Audi R8 (2007 onwards model)

• What: Audi R8 4.2 FSI Quattro
• Where: Las Vegas, USA
• Date: January 2007
• Price: £76,725
• Available: Spring
• Key rivals: Porsche 911 C4S, Aston Martin V8 Vantage, Maserati GranSport, Jaguar XKR, BMW M6

Summary

Audi’s first mid-engined sports car faces up to some tough and established competition. And it’s more than up to the task. Excellent dynamics, great performance and superstar looks mean it’s more than a match for its chosen rivals.

Our likes & dislikes

• LIKES: Excellent performance, able chassis, bold looks and beautiful interior
• DISLIKES: Heinous fuel consumption, hopeless and expensive optional R tronic paddle-shift auto, impracticality

Audi has good reason to be excited about its new R8, and not just because UK cars are sold out for the next two years. For the first time in an Audi production car, the engine is located behind the driver. It’s the same 4.2-litre FSI V8 that’s used to such good effect in the RS4, driving all wheels via Audi’s quattro four-wheel-drive. The R8 is aluminium too, built using Audi’s ASF (Audi Space Frame) principles. Add double wishbone suspension all round, with the option of trick magnetic damping, and the R8 really begins to look worthy of wearing the badge of its five-time LeMans winning racing namesake.

American beauty

Any reservations about its styling, which in photos can look a touch awkward, vanish when spotting the R8 for the first time on the road. The R8 is a sensational looking car, looking fantastic in the Nevada sunshine. The bold tapering nose, the wide, squat rear and contrasting ‘sideblade’ panel behind the door imbue the R8 with dramatic, purposeful stance. It sounds fantastic, too. Stand beside an R8 and the V8’s engine note will be familiar to anyone that’s heard an RS4, the deep but cultured throb at idle rising to a rich melodic wail when more is asked from it.

Inside the cabin is beautifully finished in a mixture of leather, carbon fibre and aluminium trim. It’s refined in there too, the R8’s absence of road and wind noise meaning that the V8 is the overriding aural experience. That’s no bad thing; this is a sports car after all. But it’s one that’s facing some tough rivals, not least Porsche’s 911. That’s an ambitious target, the 911 traditionally inhabiting the £60-80,000 price and performance spectrum with such dominance that rival manufacturers are left fighting over few remaining customers. What’s more, at £76,725 it’s more expensive than the obvious 911 C4S rival. Audi is obviously feeling very bold indeed.

Thirsty, but a Porsche beater?

The R8 might look more expensive than its Porsche rival, but add some of the equipment that comes as standard on the R8 and the gap is much closer. Audi also points out that the R8’s performance betters the 911; its 187mph top speed and 4.6 second 0-62mph time trump the 911’s 179mph and 4.8 secs respectively. It’s a shame then that the fuel consumption’s not better. 19.3mpg in the combined cycle is heinously thirsty. The heavier RS4 managing better - surprising given the combination of the use of aluminium and Audi’s LeMans-winning, fuel-consumption-improving FSI technology.

The performance makes up for the R8’s thirst. The 4.2-litre V8 is a fantastically flexible unit. Peak torque is available from 4,500-6,000rpm, meaning thrust is an any gear any revs reality. Impressive as that is, changing gear is part of the appeal of driving the R8 – so long as you avoid dim-witted and costly R tronic paddle-shift option. The Ferrari-style open-gate six-speed manual has a crisp mechanical feel to its action, it clicks satisfyingly across its gate, each new ratio bringing more linear thurst. The R8’s other controls all offer deliver similar confidence inspiring response - the standard steel brakes deliver excellent performance and decent pedal feel, the throttle response and steering also impressing.

Friendly, fast and hugely capable

Audi has avoided the temptation to go for a variable power steering system. The result is that the steering is pleasingly direct and weighty. The chunky, flat-bottomed steering wheel rim might ultimately lack the fine precision of Porsche’s 911, but it’s not far off. It’s only really noticeable as the rest of the dynamic package is so polished. The ride with the optional magnetic damper system delivers excellent body control without detachment; indeed, it could be argued that the R8 is one of the best riding cars in the Audi range. Quite a feat for a sports car.

It’s a friendly, easy car to drive too. Not intimidating like its rivals can be, but no less exciting. The wide track and low centre of gravity (Audi fitting a dry sump to allow the R8’s V8 to sit lower in the chassis) and the quattro four-wheel-drive give the R8 enormous stability. Push it hard and initially there’s a touch of understeer, but the R8 will happily allow you to bring its rear wheels into play with power oversteer when you want it. It’s all very easy and enjoyable, the R8’s chassis and engine beautifully matched to deliver a very rapid and accomplished driving experience.

The complete package?

The R8 could so easily have been a vanity project for Audi, but they’ve really delivered. To drive it’s the match of its rivals, offering power and performance to better them in an un-intimidating package. It looks and sounds sensational too, inside and out. Only its lack of practicality, Audi’s claims of two sets of golf clubs behind the seats are ambitious to say the least, and fairly hefty fuel consumption count against it. Otherwise it’s right up there with its intended competition, over-delivering in the exotic stakes with four-wheel-drive, its mid-engined layout and aluminium structure. But the biggest compliment it’s due is that we’d seriously consider one over a 911. Praise indeed.