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| Road Test Audi R8 5.2 FSI quattro |
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More Of Everything
Not the least of the 5.2 FSI's appeal is that it makes the R8 sound like a proper performance Audi. I'm not revealing anything new when I say that I'm a huge fan of the 4.2-litre V8 fitted both to the - ho, ho - "entry-level" R8 and to the phenomenal RS 4 saloon, but it doesn't sound very Audi-ish. Having experienced the original quattro rally cars thundering past me when they were new, I can't help feeling that a fast Audi isn't really a fast Audi unless the number of cylinders in its engine is divisible by five. The huge V10 lying just ahead of the R8's rear wheels, and clearly visible to passers-by when the car is stationary, certainly makes the right noise, but there's more to it than that. It is also a lot more powerful than the 4.2 V8, producing a maximum of 518bhp, and the basic effect of this is that the V10 is more than half a second quicker from rest to 62mph (3.9 seconds) and 10mph faster flat-out (197mph). (Officially it is only slightly less economical, with a combined figure of 19.2mpg, but if you intend to use even a fraction of the available performance that is not going to happen. Not. Going. To. Happen.)
The numbers don't really give an idea of what is going, though. The 4.2 V8 is undoubtedly a very free-revving engine, but by comparison it feels as if you have to ask it to throw itself at the revlimiter. The 5.2 V10 seem to want to live there all the time. Under full-throttle acceleration there's a sort of Waa-AAAP noise as it jumps to just short of 9000rpm almost as if you'd forgotten to select first gear, and the same process takes hardly less long in second: Waaa-AAAAP, sort of thing. The snag at this point, of course, is that you're now doing nearly 80mph, and unless you're either (a) on a deserted, unpoliced road miles from anywhere, (b) on a race circuit or (c) joining a German Autobahn, there's not much more fun you can have without trifling with your prospects of still having a licence by tea-time. There are compensations, though, and one of them is shared with the V8. Like that car, this one is quite extraordinarily docile at low speeds; the engine may feel most at home when it's spinning at nearly 9000rpm, but it will also operate without fuss at 900, so strictly speaking there is rarely any actual need to choose any gear other than sixth.
And the ride - again like that of the V8 - is a thing of wonder. As long as you ignore the Sports suspension button (which can make a motorway feel like a boulder-strewn off-road course) the R8 floats over most surfaces in a way which would certainly cause adverse comment in a luxury saloon but is startlingly civilised for a supercar. Another reason for not worrying your pretty little head about the Sport button is that you don't actually need it. Not on public roads, anyway. In standard mode - partly because the V10's substantial power is divided among all four wheels, partly because the suspension is the work of highly skilled people who clearly take a pride in their work - the R8 can easily handle as much grunt as you are reasonably going to be able to throw at it. Even with so much power available, it never feels like it's going to get you into trouble; or, at least, if you do get into trouble it will be your fault and not the car's. Much of the handling prowess is down to Audi's magnetic ride suspension, which adjusts the stiffness of the dampers according to what is required. This is an option on the V8 car but standard on the V10, and other parts of the V10 package include heated, electrically adjustable, Nappa leather-upholstered seats, automatic headlights and wipers, a 465W Bang & Olufsen audio system, a lighting pack which includes floodlights for the engine bay (an excellent conversation piece in my experience) and the world's first production application of all-LED headlights.
This extra specification compared to the V8 means that the car costs less than £100,000 only in its most basic form. The test car was fitted with £5700 worth of options (most expensively an extra dose of interior leather, plus an advanced parking system, a garage door opener and various other goodies) and there's a further £5090 to pay if you want DSG transmission rather than the normal six-speed manual gearbox. All that being the case, you can easily end up paying over £110,000 for this car, which is rather a lot considering there are so few opportunities to use it to its full potential. But it is so wonderful that part of me can't help thinking that it's something of a bargain. Price: £99,590
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