Merc1

The R8 is the car Audi has built to take on the Porsche 911. Naturally there are other reasons why Audi has chosen to make a mid-engined V8 supercar that costs £76,825 in 2007; and the fact that Audi now owns Lamborghini and has learned much from overseeing the creation of cars like the Gallardo and Murcielago must have had a big influence on its decision to make a machine like the 186mph R8. But be in no doubt, the key motivation behind this car was to upstage the 911 – to go one better than Porsche and, in theory, beat arguably the greatest sports car on earth at its own game.

The R8 was first shown at the Frankfurt motorshow in 2003. At the time it was called the Audi Le Mans. Back then it had a V10 engine and was unashamedly Audi’s way of patting itself on the back and celebrating its many wins at the famous 24 hour race.

But it was also a bold attempt to take Audi into a brand new market and in the process create a halo car to top its expanding range. Three and a half years later and the R8 has become reality. Not only does it look very similar to the original concept, it’ll even get a V10 engine ‘sometime next year.’

Even with this more modest V8 version though, it's clear that Audi has pulled out most of the available stops. The R8 4.2 uses the same thumping good 414bhp V8 as the RS4 saloon, and its mid-engined chassis is four-wheel drive, as you’d expect from Ingolstadt. But, says Audi, the R8 is also civilised enough to use everyday. Just like the 911. So let’s see how good it really is.

Cont....


If you need proof that Audi has taken aim at Porsche with the R8 then look at these acceleration figures. To 30mph the R8 takes 1.7sec courtesy of its excellent mid-engine traction; the 911 Carrera S needs 1.8sec. To 60mph the R8 takes 4.4sec, the 911 4.6sec. Even at 150mph the two cars are virtually inseparable, the R8 taking 27.5sec, the 911 27.7sec.

Amazingly, and despite what you’d expect from a large capacity V8 engine, the R8 needs to be revved if it is to deliver its best results, but revving it properly is in no way a hardship because the higher you go, the better the noise and the smoother the V8 spins.

In fact, the Audi R8 has to be one of the easiest to drive supercars there has ever been. There are no secrets or skeletons in the R8’s closet; instead it delivers classic mid-engined handling (nicely weighted and extremely accurate steering, unimpeachable traction and big levels of grip) with almost none of the flaws normally associated with the layout.

With its ASR and traction controls systems engaged it’s hard to imagine how you could lose an R8 on the road, so secure does it feel even at high cornering rates. The basic balance is excellent, and when you do start to push further the R8 merely understeers gradually.

And the ride is similarly excellent which, again, is not always typical in a mid-engined sports car. Despite wearing sizeable 285 tyres, road noise is extremely well suppressed, so long as you stay well away from the “magnetic” sport button which stiffens the dampers, the ride itself is surprisingly comfortable and compliant.

There is one disappointing element to the R8’s performance and that’s its brakes. The pedal is poorly positioned and the action of the servo makes it hard to modulate lighter inputs. Neither are the brakes as powerful as the 911’s when you lean on them; at the test track the R8 needed 48.1 metres to stop from 70mph in the dry compared with 44.0m for the 911.

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Verdict

9 stars out of 10

If the R8’s goal was to put one over the Porsche 911 then it’s hard to see how it has failed, and the market would seem to agree; the R8 is sold out in the UK until mid-2008. At the moment Audi UK simply can’t get enough cars to meet demand. Which is always a decent situation to find yourself in commercially.

Dynamically the R8 hits most of its targets as well. We’re not big fans of its brakes nor its curiously corny open gate gearshifter but, where it matters, the R8 genuinely delivers.

The R8 is quick, handles and rides extremely well, sounds good so long as you’re prepared to work its V8 engine and is a masterstroke of clean, crisp design inside. True, it may lack the last degree of raw driver involvement compared with its arch rival, the 911 CS, but as an everyday supercar it has few rivals. And even fewer flaws. It is the world’s most sensible supercar, and we mean that entirely as a compliment.


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Curb Zone

 

Mirage77

Audi has made the perfect car that didn't conflict with the Gallardo. When they released the R8 we all said 'Hey, won't they clash?' Now we see that the R8's a comfortable cruiser, yet a sport car when you want it to be, while the Gallardo's more edgier and definitely a sportier car. I see perfect sense in both of them.

Anyway, aside from my comment about the Gallardo and R8, I've got nothing much else to say about the R8 other than kudos. Thank you Audi for giving me an alternative to the 911.

Just_me

All positive critics and strong sales for R8 hopefully is a wake up bell for BMW to develop proper sportcar.

Mirage77

Yup, it's still quite unbelievable that we're hearing of X1, X6 and all and no word on a supercar.

Curb Zone