They will not be used to target adverts to you on other websites. These cookies don’t collect any information that could identify you - all the information collected is anonymous. They also allow us to update our website to improve performance and tailor it to your preferences. which pages you visit most often, and if you experience any error messages. Performance cookies collect information about how you use our website e.g. These cookies allow our website to provide services at your request. That said, the only cruise control system you'll find here is the traditional type and other active safety nets like lane-keep assist and automatic emergency braking are absent.Strictly Necessary cookies are essential to let you move around the website and use its features, such as accessing secure areas, shopping baskets and online billing. After all, buyers with this kind of cash typically have a luxury SUV or sedan available for mundane everyday chores. This single-screen arrangement isn't great if you want your passenger to play deejay or wayfinder, but on the other hand, there's nothing left for them to do but hang on and enjoy the ride.Īlso, I typically don't make a big point of discussing advanced driver assist systems on supercars, as features like adaptive cruise control are usually too practical in nature to be significant considerations for weekend and track-day cars. The R8 gets around that time trap by running everything through its 12.3-inch Virtual Cockpit gauge cluster, including Google Earth navigation and audio chores. These days, very little ages an interior's appearance quicker than a dated-looking infotainment display, whether in terms of size, resolution or even the way it's mounted in the center stack. In particular, the absence of a large center screen unwittingly lends the dashboard a timeless quality. Premium materials and solid-feeling switchgear serve the cabin well. The R8 is in its twilight years, but you wouldn't know it from looking inside. These big-ticket bundles included a $3,600 Premium Package (B&O audio, extended leather, illuminated door sills), $3,600 Sport Exhaust Package (throatier exhaust with dedicated Performance drive mode and sport steering wheel), $3,400 Carbon Interior Package, $3,500 Diamond Stitch Leather Package and the coup de grâce, $4,800 for a Carbon Exterior Package (carbon side blades, air box cover and convertible top compartment lid). That tally included helpful performance hardware like $1,400 for Dynamic Adaptive Steering and $3,500 for laser headlamps, but most of it was dedicated to visual and luxury touches. On top of the base price, my tester added nearly $26,000 in options. In total, Audi says this car is 67 pounds lighter than its AWD sibling, at least before you start piling on the options.Īnd speaking of piling 'em on, the Spyder test model that Audi loaned me did exactly that. (You can add much of this equipment back in à la carte, of course.) In exchange, the R8 RWD gains a larger anti-roll bar up front and substitutes a solid rear axle in place of the Quattro's hollow unit. Out go the brilliant magnetic ride adaptive dampers and electronically controlled limited-slip differential (fear not - what's substituted is still a legit LSD), along with carbon ceramic brakes, carbon fiber side blades, rear wing and laser headlamps. Of course, you don't just lose out on a couple of prop shafts and a front differential for that money - you lose power (the Quattro comes with 602 hp and 413 lb-ft) and you take a meaningful hit to standard equipment levels, both in terms of visual and actual performance parts. Mercilessly flog the V10 on a race track or on a mountain road as I did, though, and you'll be staring down single-digit fuel efficiency and contemplating making a donation to the Rainforest Alliance to salve your guilty conscience. On the plus side, reduced parasitic driveline drag yields improved efficiency the EPA rates the 2WD R8 at 14 mpg city, 23 mpg highway and 23 mpg combined, gains of 1, 4 and 2, respectively, over the AWD car. Away from racetracks, however, those are such slight differences as to only be lamentable by the most pedantic of spec snobs. It also tops out at 200 mph, 4 mph before the AWD model packs it in. To be clear, this topless rear-drive model is about 0.2 seconds slower to 60 mph than an R8 Spyder with Quattro - 3.5 seconds instead of 3.3. The R8 may be remarkably docile and tractable for a supercar, but it never turns a wheel without feeling special. Importantly, that underlying gravitas is also present when you're trundling along in traffic, especially if you play with the shift paddles. Manually shotgunning the seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox into a lower gear, sending the V10 racing to its 8,700-rpm zenith purely for the amusement - or vexation - of fellow motorists is a never-ending temptation.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |