Firestyle Magazine Issue 2 - Winter 2015 | Page 45

There are two power outputs available, gone are the previous V8 configurations, now it is V10 option with 540bhp or a staggering 610bhp. Gone also is the option of a manual gearbox,the purists may raise their eyebrows in horror but the 7-speed Stronic is an absolute delight. A new development of the all-wheel drive system with a variable torque control has been incorporated to enable the huge amount of power to be delivered both effortlessly and with rewarding feature for the driver. The cockpit has retained a lot of its familiarity, new equipment has been introduced in to the vehicle including what Audi describe as a virtual cockpit. Audi connect and more importantly in my opinion front and rear park assist is now available. The engines have a direct fuel system with on demand technology, considering the out and out power aspect of this vehicle Audi have succeeded in introducing a more mundane stop/ start system more usually found on economy, city vehicles. The new vehicle in its V10 610bhp format is the fastest most powerful Audi ever produced, with a 0 - 60 of marginally over 3 seconds and an astoundingly obscene 205 mph top speed, this really is a vehicle in the pure sports car derivative. I cannot find sufficient superlatives or adjectives to describe, you are cocooned within the vehicle in figure hugging seats. Visibility isn’t too bad forward, to the rear it is somewhat limited by the huge V10 engine, but it is not totally over intimidating. The virtual cockpit display in front of the steering wheel and built in to the dashboard is controlled entirely by buttons on the steering wheel or you can utilise Audi’s well known rotary disc facility on the console, you can even activate a sport exhaust system, from the steering wheel, although the V10 engine in itself is a cacophony of sound to a petrol head’s ear. Even non-motoring enthusiasts have to be impressed by the raucous noise when you first start it up by pressing the ubiquitous red start button. The R8 is a vehicle that despite its huge power and high amount of torque has an engine that likes to be revved and the driver and passenger for that matter are then rewarded by the concerto of sound from the huge exhausts. I suppose some people will miss having a manual gearbox but having once driven the twin clutch derivative it is so user friendly in all situations that I believe they will appreciate what Audi have offered. Overtakes and acceleration were done with less than a blink of an eye, overtake opportunities which you would not dream of in normal conventional car could be done and contained within a very short period of road and when you look through the wonderful 19” alloys and glimpse the size of the disc brakes you see that not only is this a huge performance car but one that is capable of bringing the car and driver to a stop . With its 4-wheel system that can send up to 100% of the torque to either axle this gives reassurance at most driving situations unless you are foolhardy and attempt to defy the law of physics. It is worth a mention that people who buy an Audi R8 are not really purchasing one to be a user friendly trip to the shops or the golf club, it has a small amount of carrying capacity in the frontal area and a slight amount of space beneath the seats but that is about all, this car is more about appearance, performance and style. It would be remiss not to mention the CO2 figure which is given as 272 for the lesser powered V10 and 287 for the higher powered version, the 610 bhp,but this is really academic, if you can afford an R8 you are not going to be worried by high CO2 or excise duty. Fuel consumption figures are quoted at 23mpg, in a spectacular test route that Audi had set out for those fortunate journalists who have been allowed to test drive the first batch of UK spec cars, in a multitude of driving settings which encouraged high speed gallops as well as small local towns, the computer suggested that 18mpg figure had been achieved. A little down from the 23mpg that Audi projected for the 621bhp version but certainly for this type of vehicle totally and completely acceptable. I remember many years ago a particular motorcycle that I owned was only capable of doing 12mpg, so for a vehicle of the R8 size, poise and style, I would find 18-20mpg perfectly acceptable. The hard part for those of us mere mortals is the price structure, the 540bhp, which would be more than enough for any normal person, will cost £119,500 on the road. The bigger beast of 610bhp will set you back £134,500, but if you then look at that very nice Audi specification brochure, you will find that very quickly your particular derivative as in the case of my test vehicle nearer £150,000 than the list price. 45