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Audi

Tuesday, 6th of January 2009

Polls

The Audi R8 is mid-engined which means great weight distribution and power coming from a 4.2-litre V8 - this glorious sounding engine kicks out 414bhp. Performance is truly awesome, you can get from zero to 60mph in 4.6 seconds and the top speed is a breathtaking 187mph. this all comes with a roaring soundtrack from that powerful V8 – who needs a CD player when you’ve this to listen to. Some may disagree but this tester loved it.

It looks like a supercar but doesn’t cost the earth - so how does it get on when pushed? The R8 is superb, the four-wheel drive set-up gives the car bundles of grip while the perfectly weighted and direct steering gives the driver lots of feel. This car holds the road brilliantly and would definitely be a match for a Porsche, Audi have produced a gem this is why Quattro was invented. The six-speed manual gearbox is superb due to its open gated look and the satisfying clicks when the lever slides into place. To further improve handling you can add the excellent Magnetic Ride – it improves body control even further, without damaging ride comfort.

The Audi R8 has been hand crafted and only 15 models are built per day at the Audi factory in Neckarsulm. Open the door, jump in and you’ll find that the car is lovingly built. The interior of the R8 is first class, the switch-gear is in the appropriate places and everything that you touch feels classy and solid. The Audi R8 starts from £79,075 but with all our options it will take you closer to the £90,000 mark. This is still not a high price for a stunning supercar. Audi fares highly on reliability and the R8 should be just as good.

Our R8 test car had lots of safety equipment on it making sure that driver and passenger would be as safe as possible in the event of an accident. Audi has equipped the R8 with four airbags, standard xenon headlights and ESP. If you want more…you can add carbon ceramic brakes as an option, these should offer fade free braking for the life of the car – with a car as powerful as this they’re worth having. Our test car was also equipped with front and rear parking aids so that you don’t scratch your car these also come as an option and Audi had also fitted an anti-theft device on our test car.

At only 1,252mm in height the R8 is very low slung and those taller drivers should watch getting in and out of the car or they can be inclined to bump their head. It’s a different thing once inside the cabin, as it is wide and extremely roomy. However, luggage room comes at a price as you and your passenger will have to travel light – with the mid-mounted engine the luggage compartment is in the nose of the car and has a capacity of 100-litres of load room.

It looks immense, starts at just under £80,000 and is going to fare well on residual values – this is a supercar to be snapped up. Fuel economy wasn’t bad for a supercar - 22.9mpg on the combined cycle and that was driving enthusiastically. Less impressive are the R8’s CO2 emissions. Despite its lightweight aluminum construction and a hi-tech direct injection motor, the supercar emits 349g/km of C02. However, the R8 wears the Quattro name with pride – Audi has at long last a flagship supercar for its army of fans to get excited about again.

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