Audi R8

I’ve always been reserved in my praise for the Audi RS4 because of its ageing A4 packaging. Yet, I’ll openly admit that the RS4 took my breath away when I first drove it in anger… “Imagine,” I thought, “what success Audi would achieve if it produced a pukka sports car with this engine wedged in the back…”. Well, the new R8 is Audi’s emphatic answer to my statement – and driving it felt like “RS4 to the factor 10”.

It may have a price of R1,26 million, but this car looks like it should cost at least twice as much. I’ve gawked at Lambos, Ferraris and recently the Aston Martin DBS, yet the R8 – in the metal - has impressed me more than most. It’s so hard to believe the manufacturer that produces the staid-looking A6 and gargantuan Q7 could have built the R8... the newcomer’s overall design is well-proportioned and exquisitely detailed.

The front end is a sharpened-up and individualized evolution of the Le Mans Concept (which dates back to 2003, believe it not - those updated headlights exude a lot of character) and the rear end is arguably as pretty as that of any supercar produced in Maranello or St’Agata in the last decade. The two rear flanks of vertical fins accentuate the R8’s muscular rump and draws attention to the two pairs of integrated tail-pipes, but the highlight for me was the way that the carbon-fibre “collar” on the B-Pillars draws the eye to the rear glass (showing off the painstakingly-finished engine) and subtly hides the air intakes situated on either side, just behind the side windows, of the R8. You have to see the car in the metal to truly appreciate its dimensions and sheer presence.

If the A5 and new TT models have demonstrated that Audi may very well eclipse BMW as Germany’s leading automotive manufacturer in terms of aesthetics (although Munich’s E92 and X6 are certainly striking), the R8 sports car has not only driven that point into another dimension – it’s signaled Ingolstadt’s brazen desire to eclipse Porsche by building a sports car capable of matching anything that its rivals can produce.

Once you’ve sunk into the R8’s driver’s seat, adjusted the supportive, torso-wrapping pew and caressed the chunky metallic gearlever you immediately forget that the R8 is built by a mass producer of vehicles. That metallic gearshift gate reminds of an Italian thoroughbred supercar and the gears engage with a tantalizing “clack”, the leather and alcantara-trimmed cabin slopes toward the windscreen from bottom to top, the footwell’s arched by carbon-fibre panels and the dashboard consists of familiar “RS” instrumentation with pronounced cowls. There’s no starter button here… just turn the key and you’ll hear that 309 kW 4,2-litre V8 burst to life behind your left ear. I was overcome with goose pimples the first time I heard the R8's exhaust note. It sounds a lot like the RS4's, but rawer and more urgent.

I’m not even going to attempt to extol the performance capabilities of the R8 here, for that you’ll need to read the full road test in the upcoming issue of CAR Magazine. I will say this much, however: It’s not particularly difficult to drive the R8. Its clutch is heavier than most, but its ride quality is comparatively absorbent. At the wheel of the R8, you’ll have huge blind spots to contend with in traffic and you’ve got to be precise with your gearshifts because if you cane the R8, you’ll need to have a quick wrist, such is the V8’s ability to churn revs while accelerating to (exceedingly) illegal speeds. And, no mortal could ever tire of that sonorous V8’s booming baritone.

The R8’s also sublimely reactive to your inputs; It doesn’t know the meaning of “body roll”, and provided you don’t mind the moderately heavy steering feel (I like it that way, actually), you can let the car gobble up the asphalt without having to make a handful of little corrections to the steering – just point it where you want to go and it will comply. And should you need to stop, those huge discs will do so promptly and without drama.

The R8 apparently isn’t a supercar in the true sense of the word, because that title is reserved for Pagani Zondas, Ferrari 599 GTB Fioranos and other exotica. But I don’t care… Audi may not have a supercar pedigree and its sports car credentials trail those of Porsche, but the R8 is a fine first effort at building a headlining sports car. And just think how awesome the new RS6 engine - a twin-turbocharged 5,2-litre V10 that produces 426 kW – could be in this R8 package. Just the mere thought of it makes me gasp!