Audi R8 5,2 FSI V10 Quattro R tronic

SOME things in life are better done than said. When it comes to supercar performance, quoting blistering acceleration and (somewhat less dramatically, maybe) top speed figures does not totally convey the full impact of what the numbers represent unless you have physically experienced something like it. Of course, such actions can only be experienced by those fortunate to have exposure to the machinery capable of pushing automotive boundaries, and it is a privilege that we at CAR never take for granted. With the Audi R8 V10, we have just achieved something very special – a landmark, in fact…

But first a little history. Prior to Audi launching its midengined R8 supercar in 2007, most pundits speculated on how good it would be. Although the company’s vorsprung durch technik ethos gave it the credentials to consider such a move – not forgetting that Audi owns long-established supercar maker Lamborghini and mother- company VW owns Bugatti and Bentley – stepping into the heady world of high performance sportscars is no place for the faint-hearted. But factor-in that by the time the R8 road car was launched, Audi had won at Le Mans five times between 2000 and 2005 with its R8 LMP1 car (in 2003, a Bentley took the chequered flag – powered by the Audi engine...). So, if you subscribe to the belief that racing improves the breed, then Audi was on to a winner, literally and figuratively.

The R8 LMP1 car was powered by a 3,6-litre twin-turbo V8, but the R8 road car makes do with Audi’s respected naturally-aspirated 4,2-litre V8 tuned to deliver 309 kW, enough to deliver a benchmark 0-100 km/h time of 4,67 seconds. Fast, but not shatteringly so. But it was not just the car’s speed that impressed. In CAR’s December 2007 test, we described the R8 V8 as a “Wunderkind… a truly breathtaking design… absurdly easy to drive… turns the supercar world on its head”. We summarised by stating that the R8 saga had only just started, hinting that a “scintillating” V10 monster was on the way. Well, with a bit of help from Sant’Agata Bolognese, here it is.

The engine is essentially the same as that used in the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4, namely a 5,2-litre V10 with quad cams, 40 valves, FSI commonrail direct fuel injection at 120 bar and a dry sump lubrication system. Uneven firing intervals and flexible baffles in the exhaust that bend according to gas flow pressure add some aural character. The engine produces maximum power of 386 kW at a heady 8 000 r/min and a hefty 530 N.m of peak torque at 6 500. Such figures suggest that the engine might be frenetic and peaky in its delivery, which in reality is nothing like the case as it hauls like a loco from tickover to limiter with the kind of linearity that only a big capacity, powerful, naturallyaspirated powerplant can do. Mind-boggling, unrelenting thrust, with a “shrilling” exhaust tone to match.

The lighter (by about 60 kg) “raging bull” motor boasts slightly more power (26 kW) and torque (10 N.m) to deliberately give it a performance advantage over the Audi – marketing rules, OK? Interestingly though, both of these fourwheel drive supercars use the same-size tyres and Lamborghini’s e-gear sequential transmission (dubbed R tronic for this Audi application) – but with totally different ratios. Altogether a case of “the same but different”.

The R tronic is a conventional, electronically-controlled, singleclutch six-speed sequential transmission offering fully automatic changes, or manual override either via the floor console shifter or steering wheel-spoke mounted paddles: left for down, right for up. In either mode, a Sport setting can be activated that not only sharpens-up responses, but enhances the revblips on downchanges to smooth-out the cog swops. The higher the revs the quicker the engagement – in basic auto mode, the changes are characteristically a bit noddy – and while not the quickest, are probably faster than the average driver would consistently manage with the optional six-speed manual gearbox, especially when extracting red line acceleration. Incidentally, the R tronic holds on to manually selected gears.

Continuing with driver selections, there is also a damper control switch that hardens the already stiff default setting, but activating this will only be of benefit if you know the road ahead is smooth and can exploit the racecar precision – double wishbones do suspension duty at each corner – that this mode engenders. The standard setting is fi rm enough to provide rock-steady ride and handling with only severe ruts and corrugations creating some harsh jolts through the cabin. Despite a generous 3,2 turns from lock to lock, the hydraulically-assisted power steering is quite sensitive either side of straight ahead, and needs caressing rather than turning when powering through sweeping curves. To reinforce our previous observation, though: once in a rhythm with an R8 – an attitude that soon becomes instinctive – the car inspires a confi dence that belies its blistering performance. Massive ventilated discs all round provide anchor-like braking ability.

With the heavier V10 engine amidships, the R8’s weight distribution differs slightly from that of the V8 with the result that it pushes into a bend a bit harder and can move its tail out at the exit with less provocation – but only at the very limit. The V8 may be a fraction nimbler, but not that you will readily notice. The composure, the grip, the response – and the noise from the pair of V10- specifi c oval tailpipes – is, as promised, scintillating, but certainly no monster…

Until you switch-out both the ASR and the ESP, select Sport, engage M1, stand on the brakes, dial-up 5 000, take in the cacophony that instantly emanates from the mechanical marvel straining at its mountings just half-a-metre behind your head and… There is a pause that, when fi rmly ensconced in the driving seat staring up the strip of tarmac stretching towards the horizon, sends a cold shiver down an already expectant spine. Why the wait? Is something wrong or about to break? Is the procedure right? The speed of mind races through many grim scenarios in that handful of milliseconds it takes for the R8 to release all its power through four patches of rubber each with a contact area the size of a side plate. What follows is jet-like propulsion delivered with such unerring ease that you marvel at the engineering brilliance of it all.

The tacho needle kisses the red line with metronomic consistency as the revs rise and fall within each gear’s range. Zero to 60 in less than two seconds, 80 in three and 100 – YES! – the benchmark 100 kilometres per hour in 3,98 seconds, making the R8 V10 R tronic the fi rst road car we have ever tested to break four seconds. Simply put – R8+V10=3,98. But the pace is still building: 120 in a tad over fi ve seconds, and as the car fl ashes past the kilometre mark at 246,7 km/h, less than 22 seconds have elapsed since that heart-stopping moment at take-off. Look at the secondshand on your watch and try to imagine the rest…

And all this from a driving position that is so typically Audi ergonomically friendly that you could almost think you are in a fast TT. Which is a good and a bad thing. There is absolutely nothing wrong with Audi interiors, but there is an argument that says a R2-million supercar should feel extra special. Although not blessed with all the adjustments possible, the seats are superbly supportive, and together with the adjustable steering column, practically anyone will get comfortable behind the wheel. To top the R8’s cabin layout and appointments would take something exceptional to achieve. There’s even some usable boot space up front, supplemented by a shelf behind the seats. Taken overall, in relative terms this is a supercar that is extremely difficult to fault, combining persona and performance with practicality.

Test summary

It would be easy to run riot with superlatives just because the Audi R8 V10 is a CAR test record breaker. But there is far more to it than that. As the second R8 model to be released, the V10 simply enhances all the “right first time” accolades gleaned by the V8. The extra two cylinders have added another dimension to an already near-flawless supercar – a remarkable achievement.