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Audi R8 Spyder 2010 road test report

Spyder 2010

They said it couldn’t be done, but when Audi first launched the R8 in 2007, it took critics and consumers by surprise. Could a volume manufacturer, even one that operates in the premium sector, really build a supercar that could be taken seriously by the petrolhead cognoscenti? Remarkably, the answer seems to be yes. The R8 has received plaudits from all who have driven it and there’s now no doubt that it gives the Porsche 911 a serious run for its money. Three years later, Audi has added a convertible variant, the R8 Spyder, to the line-up. Can it build on the success of the coupe and challenge the best drop-top supercars on their own terms?

Road Test Reports Says 5 star rating
A front-facing image of the Audi R8 Spyder 2010

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CRAIG THOMAS SAYS

Performance Performance - 5 stars

The R8 Spyder is initially powered by just one engine option, the 5.2-litre FSI V10 engine that is also used in the Lamborghini Gallardo (and Audis such as the RS6 and S8). As with the coupe, a 4.2-litre V8 will be included in the line-up, but not until demand for the bigger engine has been sated. The official figures are hugely impressive and hint heavily at its performance: 518bhp at 8,000rpm, 391lb-ft of torque at 6,500rpm enable it to cover the 0-62mph benchmark in just 4.1 seconds and push on to a top speed of 194mph. But even seeing those figures on paper don’t fully prepare you for the exhilaration of firing up the engine in the real world. Stowing the roof away to get the full effect, you turn the key in the ignition and the engine barks to life. And when you get on to an open stretch of road, once you squeeze the throttle, all ten cylinders respond instantly as they snarl and roar, and the car is thrust forward as the needle on the rev counter sweeps up to the red line – and the needle on the speedo also starts to swing rapidly past the numbers. In fact, this is the one problem with the R8 Spyder: the acceleration is so rapid and the engine so powerful that there are very few legal opportunities to really wring it out and see what it’s actually capable of. Unless you take it to a track day at a circuit with a long straight, or take a trip to Germany to give it its legs on a derestricted stretch of autobahn, there’s no environment to experience the limits of what the R8 Spyder’s engine can achieve. Admittedly, that’s true of a lot of cars currently on sale, but cars as special as this really do need to be experienced in this way. The engine is mated to one of two different six-speed gearboxes – a gated manual version and a sequential R tronic automatic. The manual is by far the better option, as the auto ‘box is nowhere as quick or seamless as you’d expect from a car that is so right in so many other departments. The only reason for having one, in our opinion, is if you’re buying your R8 solely as a track day tool.

Ride & Handling Ride & Handling - 5 stars

On the road, the R8 Spyder handles brilliantly, making it an utter joy to drive. The steering doesn’t quite have the communication of a Porsche, but there’s certainly enough feedback to ensure that the driver is aware of what’s going on beneath the wheels. It’s also agile and superbly balanced, and has prodigious levels of grip, thanks to the rear-biased Quattro all-wheel-drive. Obviously, a convertible will never be as stiff as its coupe sibling, but the additional chassis reinforcement that Audi has put into the R8 Spyder means that this loss of torsional rigidity is kept to a minimum. So the body roll is negligible and the Spyder always stays flat when cornering at speed. The absence of any appreciable scuttle shake also demonstrates just how successful the strengthening of the R8’s aluminium spaceframe has been. The other trick up the Spyder’s sleeve is the quality of the ride. Audi’s cars have been a bit hit or miss in this department in recent years, but the R8 very definitely falls into the former category. Magnetic dampers are fitted as standard with two settings, the standard set-up being perfectly judged for daily driving. Indeed, the ride is so compliant that owners can quite comfortably drive around urban roads, and even over speed humps. Unlike most supercars - which tend not to like being reined in when in town, and often run the risk on grounding out on the dreaded sleeping policemen - the R8 Spyder copes with everything the modern British road surface can throw at it. Of all the supercars currently on sale, the Spyder is arguably the easiest to live with.

Build Quality & Reliability Build Quality & Reliability - 5 stars

The R8 Spyder is largely built by hand at Audi’s Neckarsulm plant, where the company boasts a fully automatic measuring system that checks the dimensional accuracy of each car body down to a tenth of a millimetre, using 95 laser sensors to check 220 points within five seconds. This kind of attention to detail comes as no surprise once you spend any kind of time with the car. It is superbly engineered, even for a supercar: every panel gap across the car is consistent, and the fit and finish are of the highest order. Even the canvas roof, with its intricate mechanism, can easily withstand some of the worst weather the British climate can throw at it. During our test, we had cause to close the roof hurriedly and drive through a heavy thundery shower: there wasn’t even the merest hint of any leakage through the snug-fitting canvas and the cabin stayed perfectly dry. As for reliability, the R8 won’t show up in any customer satisfaction surveys, but it’s highly unlikely that a product as exclusive as this, from a company with a reputation as good as Audi’s, will suffer too many problems.

Safety & Security Safety & Security - 5 stars

It will never be crash-tested, but we’re sure that the R8 Spyder won’t be found lacking in the event of an accident. The aluminium spaceframe of the car has been constructed to be light but very strong, with critical areas such as the centre tunnel and the bulkhead specially reinforced to be more rigid. The A and B-pillars and the sills also have thicker sections, and there are extra panels, plates and crossbeams all over the body to improve rigidity and serve as load paths in the event of a frontal collision. There’s also a rollover protection system that consists of two spring-loaded aluminium sections integrated into the bulkhead: as soon as a seatbelt pre-tensioner or airbag deploys, magnetic switches release the interlocks and the sections deploy within 0.2 seconds. There are also the usual airbags (head/thorax side bags in the backrests, plus ‘bags at the front), Isofix anchor points plus a head restraint system to minimise whiplash injuries. Of course, there’s also a comprehensive list of active safety equipment that will help avoid an accident in the first place. Apart from the Quattro four-wheel-drive, there’s the latest-generation electronic stability programme (ESP) that combines the anti-lock brakes (ABS), Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD), Anti-Slip Regulation (ASR) and electronic differential (EDL) traction control. There are also brake lights with LED technology to aid the car’s visibility and a brake system that features eight-piston brake calipers at front and four-piston calipers at the rear. In terms of security, protecting your £112,000 investment is an anti-theft alarm and electronic immobiliser.

Space & Practicality Space & Practicality - 4 stars

For a two-seat sports car, the R8 Spyder is very spacious, the low-slung seats helping to create plenty of head- and legroom for the driver and passenger. Don’t expect to carry much luggage though: there’s no room behind the seats and the boot-in-the-bonnet only has a capacity of 100 litres – enough for one medium sized suitcase or a couple of squashy overnight bags. The driving position is excellent, with all the adjustability in the electric seats and flat-bottomed steering wheel you could need. The seats themselves are also incredibly cosseting, with great lateral and lumbar support: they’re also heated, and covered in sunlight-deflecting Nappa leather. Dials are well laid out and easy to see beyond the steering wheel, with two main dials for speed and revs, plus smaller gauges for temperature and fuel, and a driver information system with a red LCD readout. There’s also lots of equipment on board and the controls are all easily within reach on the compact and well-organised centre console, with some controls also located on the steering wheel. The infotainment system is Audi’s MMI (Multi Media Interface) unit, a tried, tested, logical and easy-to-use system that controls sat nav, Bluetooth-connected phone, CD, radio, MP3 connectivity, air con and car settings. Other equipment includes electric folding mirrors, a light and rain sensor, LED headlights and a Bang & Olufsen sound system that pumps out 465 watts from 12 speakers. There’s a also a neat seatbelt microphone system for the hands-free phone unit: three small, flat, disc microphones are integrated into the seatbelts, with one microphone always located near the mouth, regardless of the person’s height. A specially designed software then analyzes the quality of the signals from each mic and forwards the best one to the telephone unit. Owners might get points on their licences for speeding, but they shouldn’t get any for using their mobiles.

Ownership & Value Ownership & Value - 4 stars

With a base price of £112,500, the R8 Spyder is not a cheap car to buy and, with a long list of options and customisable upholstery and trim, we’re sure that many owners will spend considerably more to spec their car up to make a statement. Running costs are also prohibitive for normal people, but if you can afford to buy an R8 in the first place, they shouldn’t be a problem. It’s almost academic to mention the official fuel consumption of 19mpg on the combined cycle (20.3mpg with the R tronic automatic gearbox) and C02 emissions of 356g/km (332g/km for the R tronic), with vehicle excise duty costing the maximum £435 a year. The one bright spot is that as the R8 Spyder is a strictly limited edition car (the allocation for 2010 is already sold out and availability for 2011 is also running out rapidly), so residual values will be very high indeed. Why you’d ever want to sell one, though, is beyond us.

Submitted: 30/06/2010 14:07:43

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