The everyday supercar
According to the membership of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada, the new R8 is the most covetable vehicle on the market, as well as the prestige car of the year (as decided by voters at its annual Canadian Car of the Year TestFest event).
With an entry price of close to $140,000, it is certainly in the stratosphere reserved for elite buyers.
However, according to a PR rep at Audi, the much ballyhooed model is also a supercar for every day.
He may just have a point. Unlike, say, the Porsche Carrera GT (which, granted, is more than three times the price) or the Dodge Viper (which you can put your butt in for about $100K), the R8 actually is easy to drive. It doesn't buck and thrash under you, chomping at the bit to go faster, faster, faster, although you can tell it would love to.
The clutch in the manual model isn't so touchy that anyone whose last name isn't Andretti has a shot at getting it going without stalling it consistently. And the pedals are far enough apart that even Bigfoot would manage.
It is, indeed, a very well mannered supercar.
I won't get too much into the styling you can see from the pictures, it's exquisite, and virtually unchanged from the Le Mans Quattro concept (2003) on which it was based.
What you can't see in the pictures is how exquisitely well balanced it is. With Audi's inimitable Quattro all-wheel-drive system and its mid-engine layout, weight is almost even, with about 56 percent of torque to the rear. That's enough, on the very worst winter days, to get the rear end dancing a bit if you really try, but it's the only "supercar" the manufacturers even have available over the winter. (Just try getting your hands on a Corvette in this weather.) In spite of mountains of slushy snow and more than our fair share of rain, any trace of oversteer was tough to induce.
Like any good grocery getter, it has decent cargo space, albeit under the hood instead of the trunk, and comfortable seating and getting groceries has never been such a spectacle. Exiting my local A & P weighted down by a giant bag of dog kibble (which it swallowed without so much as a hiccup), I heard a wolf whistle "whit woo" behind me. Dressed dashingly in my usual winter uniform of giant parka and dorky hat, I was pretty sure the whistles weren't for me, but cast a side-long glance anyway, just to see who it was for. What I caught was an alarmed-looking girlfriend giving her man the evil eye as he whistled in my direction. He was very quick to appease her: "No, no, the car, the car!"
Everywhere I went, drivers slowed down as they passed, cast longing glances in parking lots and generally gawped openly. I had two requests from horny male friends eager to use it to bag chicks, and if they couldn't do it in this beast, they may as well get thee to a monastery.
Audi's in-car control centre, dubbed MMi for Multi-media Interface, is at first a bit daunting, but easy enough in a very short time. A central knob surrounded by four selector buttons (entertainment, communication, information and vehicle systems control) coupled with a monitor in the dashboard comprise the system. Counter-intuitively (depending who you ask my brother thought it perfectly logical), you turn the knob counter-clockwise to scroll down (through radio presets, say) and clockwise to scroll up. (Likewise, the lock buttons you press down to unlock and up to lock.) But once you're in the Audi mindset, it functioned easily enough not to require too much attention away from the road.
Truly impressive is the 4.2-litre V8, an uncomplicated FSI engine that developed 420 hp, which is housed behind the seats under a transparent cover so you (and your neighbours) can gaze at it lovingly whenever the mood strikes. You can even light it up, turning it into a veritable art exhibit. The carbon fibre panels on my tester, while striking, also boosted the price substantially (see Fact File).
The engine, in addition to its aesthetic beauty, is superior performance-wise smooth, unbelievably quick, surprisingly quiet. The manual gearbox-equipped version I tried at TestFest in the fall was a real beauty, even though the gated shifter was a little clumsy, but the automatic transmission in the tester I had was the only real low point of my time in the vehicle. In R-tronic mode, it functions as a clutchless manual, with your choice of shifter or paddle controls. Functions well, too, as it should. In auto mode, though, it's a stinker.
The computer decides at about the 3,000 rpm mark that it's going to shift whether you like it or not, so achieving acceleration smoothly is well-neigh impossible. The feeling is akin to shifting gears really badly and far too soon in a garden-variety manual. You'd start out great, get it up to 3,000 rpm, and the car would upshift, giving you the feeling of being suspended in space for a split second before it surged ahead. Unpleasant, and given that it boosts the entry price from $139,000 to $150,500, why on earth would you bother? Even if I had the money, I'd buy the manual and give the difference to Meals on Wheels. (And you better have a well padded wallet; the R8 recommends filling 'er up with 98 octane, 95 at the least, neither of which I have ever even seen at a local pump.)
The tranny's quirky layout is such that there isn't a "park" setting. When you shut off the vehicle, you use the R-tronic function to leave it in gear and pull up the hand brake.
The flat-bottomed sport steering wheel is a nice touch in a cabin that abounds with nice touches. There is a cargo net behind the seats that actually held my purse, tote bag and the vehicle's press kits with no bother. There is additional storage available behind the seats, which the company says will store two small golf bags, but I didn't try it. Didn't need to. Cupholders are actually useful, as is a wide map pocket in the fabulous-looking doors. (Fabulous-looking doors? you muse skeptically. Yes, I swear. Uniquely designed and featuring interesting handles.)
A spoiler (which does mar the lines a bit, but isn't too ugly as far as spoilers go) deploys at highway speeds for additional downforce, then retracts again at about 35 km/h. (It can also be controlled with a switch.)
Audi's Space Frame construction means the body is aluminum, which gives the vehicle a power-to-weight ratio of 3.71 kg per horsepower.
Its rigidity also contributes to the vehicle's passive safety features, among them a centrally located fuel tank ahead of the engine, dual-stage airbags, head and thorax side airbags concealed in the seat backs and a backguard system incorporated into the head restraints.
There are always pros and cons to every vehicle, and dissension among the ranks of journalists, but the entire industry seems to be agreed on the R8: It is spectacular.
Fact File
2008 Audi R8 4.2 FSI Quattro
As tested, before tax: $170,700
Options: Navigation Plus, $2,900; premium package, $4,500; leather package, $2,900; Bang & Olufsen Audio, $2,300; carbon fibre sideblades, $2,600; carbon fibre engine bay trim, $4,200; metallic paint, $800.
Freight: $1,500
Configuration: Mid-engine, all wheel drive 2-seat coupe
Engine/transmission: 4.2 L V8/R-tronic sequential automatic
Horsepower: 420 @ 7,800 rpm
Torque: 430 lb.-ft. @ 4,500 to 6,000 rpm
Fuel required (capacity): 98 octane (90 litres)
EnerGuide fuel ratings (L/100 km): 16.1 city; 10.6 hwy.
Observed fuel economy: 15.5 L/100 km over 350 km combined
Basic warranty: Four years/80,000 km
Model price range: $139,000-$150,500
Engines available: 4.2 L V8 (420 hp; 430 lb.-ft.)
Transmissions available: 6-spd. manual; R-tronic sequential automatic
Competition: Porsche Carrera 911 4S, Dodge Viper, Aston Martin V8 Vantage, Ferrari F430
Strengths: Styling, smooth performance, comfortable daily driver
Weaknesses: Auto shift points; price.
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