When we talk about Audi, the first few words that come to our minds are style, class, comfort, luxury, sheen, and sophistication.
People tend to build Audi’s image around its sedans, hatchbacks, and SUVs. It gives an impression of a family carrier or three-piece-draped businessman’s chauffeur-driven vehicle going in and out of glass buildings.
It is understandable. Audi’s A-series Sedans and Q-series SUVs are epitomai of beauty and comfort.
But Audi isn’t just about Sedans and SUVs; Audi has a series of exotic sports cars with all properties of a typical Audi car – style, class, comfort, luxury, sheen, sophistication, and most importantly, speed.
The Audi R8 is not your typical twin-seater coupe. It is a classic sports car that doesn’t have the body sharpness of a Lamborghini Aventador nor the action appeal of a Ferrari 488 Spider.
But that doesn’t make it lesser than these two cars. The Audi R8 combines the sophistication of Audi with the speed and blaze of a sports car.
It is not as spectacular as a Lambo but definitely runs as fast and makes as much noise as any other sports car. It comes in three variants: R8 V10 quattro, R8 V10 performance quattro and R8 V10 RWD.
There are two body styles: Coupe and Spyder.
According to sales figures, the company has sold almost 11,820 units of R8 since 2007, when they first put Audi R8 for sale. This number is not bad considering the latest R8 model costs around 192 grand.
So, what makes it a charming option for buyers? And what are some distinct qualities of R8?
Not a sporty-look
The R8 is your typical coupe sports car with a truncated roof and twin doors. But compare it with other twin door coupes, and you will notice the difference.
It is a testament to the fact that extreme power doesn’t have to come at the cost of elegance. It doesn’t give the image of a showy sports car that can be used as desktop wallpapers with a motivational quote superimposed on the image to rile you up and motivate you to aim big.
It is more of a Sedan truncated from behind to make it look like a sports car. Put it in line with a Lamborghini, Ferrari, or a Bugatti, and the difference in design would be noticeable.
Sometimes, you cannot differentiate a Ferrari from a Lamborghini, but with R8, you can always tell because of its tamer design.
The muscle
What are some of the things you want from a sports car? Top speed, high horsepower, torque, and 0-100 in a blink, Audi R8 offers it all.
Audi R8 is equipped with a 5.2L V10 engine. The R8 coupe has an output of 520 hp for entry-level rear-wheel-drive variants of both Coupe and Spyder. But it can rise to 602 hp in more expensive and powerful all-wheel-drive variants.
The top speed of the standard V10 variant is 205 mph, with bellowing wails. When the meter is pushed to its limits, it goes from 0 to 60 mph in 3.2 seconds.
It has an electronically controlled hydraulic multi-plate clutch with an adaptive suspension to mitigate the effect of every bump and give you a smooth ride.
It is also comfortable in turns and gives you no sudden body motions. High-power breaks and quick steering ensure that the driver has complete control at all times.
The exterior design
The sleek body comes with LED lights at both front and rear for clear vision and proper signaling. The quintessential Audi’s turn indicator has full LED headlights and laser lights to increase dense fog and rain visibility.
The wide front grille is not a signature style of Audi cars, but the company has moved away from their traditional style to give a wide grille for the exhausts.
The car has 20-inch 5-double-spoke dynamic design wheels to give it a firm road grip and carbon fiber engine compartment trim with the Carbon sigma blade to finish off its sporting look.
The tech inside
It is hard to tell what the real deal about Audi R8 is: its style outside or its features inside.
Audi R8’s interior gives you a feeling that you are in a James Bond-type spy-thriller movie, and you can do everything, from switching on headlights to firing off a missile, from buttons on your steering.
Well, indeed, you can’t fire a missile, but it has given enough buttons to provide all control to the driver.
Inside Audi R8, one can see all of Audi’s most incredible tech features. But it doesn’t overwhelm the driver.
It has all controls but yet doesn’t give a feel of an aircraft’s cockpit control. So, there’s also an element of minimalism about these features and the cars overall interior.
Some of the coolest features include a reconfigurable digital gauge cluster and built-in navigation. It has a basic start/stop button right on the steering wheel, which isn’t completely round but flat-bottomed.
The navigation is given inside the compartment behind the wheel and not in the middle of the front seats. So, drivers can easily use the navigation without taking their eyes off the road.
The 12.3-inch digital screen behind the steering is fully customizable, and you can customize the information you want to see on it.
The map is fully integrated with weather reports and traffic information to tell you about the route and terrain.
The stereos are real sopranos. The Bang & Olufsen® Sound System with 13 active speakers strategically placed inside the car surrounds you with calming music on a long drive.
The rest is really basic stuff like Apple Car Play and Android Auto capabilities.
The upholstery and interior come in different colors and textures: Brown, black, red, gray leather, with contrast or matching stitching.
Final words
With all these features, it is no surprise that R8 is preferred by many as their choicest sports car. It strikes the perfect balance between the action appeal of a sports car and the simplistic looks of a family sedan wagon.
