Automotive

ED209
[Purist]
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PuristSPro Test Drive: Audi R8 Spyder, Part 1

During the Pebble Beach Automotive weekend I joined several of my PuristSPro moderators on a cloudy morning for a test drive of the Audi R8.  Our picturesque drive was along the  famous 17-mile drive with twisty roads, a few straightaways, and spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean.  I'm familiar with the Audi R8 Coupe but up until now have not had a chance to sit behind the wheel for an extended test drive.  I was originally scheduled for a drive in the Q5, but was extremely excited to find out during registration that I would be getting behind the wheel of the latest Audi R8 sports car.  Even better was the fact that we took out the 525hp V10 R8 Spyder.

Although this was the first time for me driving the R8 Spyder, I'm very familiar with Audi and their racing program because I'm a huge fan of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the North American ALMS (American Le Mans Series).   Since early 2000,  the Audi R8LMP900 ALMW race car has, in a short period of time, dominated racing with multiple wins in LeMans and ALMS over the past few years.  And at the main entrance of the Pebble Beach estate we were welcomed to the Audi Drive Experience event with a Audi R18 Ultra LMP race car.





The street legal sports car debuted in 2006 as a mid engine 2 seater with the Audi Quattro 4 wheel drive system.  And taking the heritage and successful race history Audi named the road legal sports car with the same R8 model name.   It was initially paired with a 4.2 liter V8, but starting in 2008 Audi introduced a 5.2 liter V10 based on the powerplant in the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 (and shares the same platform with the Lamborghini Gallardo).  And with this information I had several biases and preconceptions of what I had personally expected before climbing into the driver's seat.


Ingress into the drivers seat was easy and uneventful, and before I started the engine I took a few moments to adjust my seat for the proper driving position.  Visibility around the corners were very good and even with my short height I can easily see around and behind me.  The cabin was spacious but did have a jet cockpit feel with a focus on the driver.  The gauges were clear even in direct sunlight while the convertible softop was down. 






As a side note, I'm still undecided on preference of having physical gauges or electronic displays (similar to an ipad) that are on the Tesla Model S, the new 2014 C7 Corvette, and the new Mercedes Benz S63AMG.  I like the fact that these electronic displays are configurable, for example you can choose to have the dash have the tachometer as the primary gauge versus mph display in the center like the R8.  I wonder if Audi designers working on this on future models? But overall the R8 Spyder's gauges are work well.






The R8 is offered with a six speed manual transmission and also an optional seven speed Audi S Tronic dual-clutch transmission.  Upshifts are made with the right side paddle, and downshifts with the left paddle.  This actually took me a few minutes to get used to because of my daily driving experience with the Chevrolet Corvette C6 with the six speed automatic paddle shift transmission.  The paddles on the Corvette have both upshift and downshift on either side of the paddles, with upshifts pushed and downshifts pulled.  However, it only took me a short time to get used to the Audi shifters and I was able to use it properly for the remaining half of my test drive.  As Patrick had mentioned in his driving impressions of the same R8 Spyder, the shifting is quick and smooth even in fully automatic mode.
 








One other minor observation that I noticed was the keys.  The Audi R8 has a standard conventional key fob that you insert into a slot on the right hand side of the steering column.  Based on the racing heritage I mentioned above, I was expecting a keyless entry system with a push button start (like Corvette and Ferrari).  Or if Audi insists on having the keys, I would have expected it to insert in on the left hand side of the lower dash (like on a Porsche since both are German).  I realize that this is personal preference but I hope that Audi considers the push button start on future models.  I feel that it is more convenient and recreates the race car experience.




 

The interior quality of the R8 was excellent.  Seats and interior surfaces were covered in napa leather with nice alternating stitching.  Switches and buttons had a precise and solid feel when activated.
 

 


The one complaint I had with the interior was the use of the Audi Navigation Plus system.  The controls were mounted on the center dash right below the screen.  I had to reach up and lean towards the control knob to find out how to turn off the radio that was playing some type of techno music that was interfering with my enjoyment of listening to the V10 engine.  On most cars, the center armrest area has a small space for various personal items, but I found the space was limited because a 6 disc changer was installed in it. 








Now on to the driving itself, I was again surprised by the engine when I started the R8.  I felt that the exhaust note was rather quiet and subtle especially given that it was named after the R8 LMP car and sharing platforms with the Gallardo.  Maybe it's just me, but I was really expecting a deep and throaty roar from the V10 engine at startup and idle, so I have to admit that I was disappointed with this.  As the driving went on and I started pushing the R8 Spyder to faster speeds the exhaust did open up and sounded great at higher speeds and rpm.  If I owned an R8 I would definitely consider a aftermarket Milltek Sport or Tubi exhaust system to enhance the exhaust note.  The R8 is a fast car and can accelerate from 0 to 60 in 3.6 seconds.  It just does it without any drama or excitement.





As far as the handling goes, the steering was responsive but felt more like a GT car than a true sports car.  A few degrees around center felt a little bit soft and again I was expecting a more aggressive race car feel.  This is the same with the suspension, it was firm but comfortable.  So maybe the closest experience that I had during the Pebble Beach Automotive weekend was a similar drive in a Aston Martin Vanquish. 






On the exterior the R8 Spyder has some visual differences notably the 'side blades' from the coupe were left off in order to have a solid body panel for added structural rigidity with the electric powered soft top.  I actually like this because it gives a elegant contour line across the body and flows very nicely with the convertible tonneau cover.  A brushed silver colored accent frames the A pillar around the front windshield and is standard on the R8 Spyder.  I wonder if there is a body colored option for this windshield area? I noticed that the RS5 also has this too (the A pillar does appear white in my pictures, but it's really brushed silver).  The R8 Coupe A pillar is painted and matched to the exterior body color.