Maybe there’s something wrong with me?
Maybe I have a masochistic streak running through me but I imagined supercar ownership to be a difficult, challenging and a demanding relationship. In fact, I would expect it to be, I would insist it was and would be disappointed if it was anything less.
The Audi R8 left me confused and confounded. It wasn’t awkward or difficult, it didn’t try and kill me at every opportunity and I wasn’t crippled when I got out due to a ruinous driving position.
I expected a V8, 4wd, 424bhp, 200mph supercar costing £85,000+ would be fierce and unforgiving.
In reality it was docile and forgiving.
The R8 was so easy to drive you almost forget you’re in a supercar.
When the time comes to pull the pin and you’re always looking for an opportunity to pull the pin in this, there’s plenty to put a smile on your face.
The V8 sitting behind your ear loved to rev but was a little too polite and cultured for a 200mph supercar and really needs more noise.
The R8 was easy to manoeuvre at parking speeds even with those 235/35/19 tyres resisting.
The clutch was manageable and easy to use and the manual gearbox (my preference over the DSG) was precise but light. The interior was very agreeable and Germanic. Not what I had expected at all…….
The R8 V8 was quick though. The V8 has lots of torque but needs revs to really put a smile on your face. I had expected the 4.2 V8 to offer strong power low down and run out of puff as the revs rise but this V8 revs to 8250rpm, higher than most 4 cylinder engines.
It’s difficult to pass judgement on the chassis as I was driving on the public road and you just can’t exploit a car like this on the public road. All I can say is I didn’t get any feeling of under steer or over steer, just masses of grip and when I tried to get a little more adventurous the nanny state electronics chastised me for trying to have fun.
I did manage to see the wrong side of 150mph and it was rock steady, barely breaking a sweat.
So, the Audi R8 V8 was pretty damn quick, pleasing to the eye, effortless to drive and meticulously well built. A perfect supercar you might say.
You couldn’t ask for more in your supercar could you?………
I can’t help thinking if I wanted a fast, easy to drive car I’d get an RS6.
I want my supercars to have some attitude, some passion and to be a bit awkward and difficult.
I expect a supercar to try and kill me every now and then and when I get out to be slightly crippled due to a ruinous driving position.
Then again, like I said, I must have a masochistic streak running through me.