To begin with, a painful fact: supercars have been hopeless in terms of a normal car for a significant part of their history. I once had the opportunity to drive a Lamborghini Countach. In the end, I did not take this opportunity. I didn't have the strength to turn his tiny, non-assisted steering wheel, or to push the non-assisted clutch all the way in. I couldn't see anything through its ridiculously slanted and narrow windows. It was even difficult for me to take a seat in the too small seat, the position of which was only loosely related to the location of the steering wheel and pedals. I can't imagine the owners reversing it, because the operation required sitting with one buttock on the wide threshold of a pool table under the open door and looking back over the left shoulder while the right foot searched for pedals somewhere. The Countach looks great on the poster above the bed, but you really wouldn't want to drive it out of the parking lot.
This situation was due to the fact that all these iconic, supercar dreams were in fact designed and assembled by small companies regularly struggling with financial problems, which had only a fraction of the capabilities of automotive concerns. Even in the 90s in the Ferrari 456, the plastic on the center tunnel melted from the high temperature of the powertrain, and the Aston Martin DB7 used parts from the Ford Fiesta.
Everyone somehow accepted this state of affairs, assuming that it simply couldn't be otherwise, until Audi came along. In 2006, it showed the supercar R8, which stood directly in the line of fire of such legendary companies as Ferrari or Lamborghini. The German brand didn't have such a coveted badge, such a romantic history or experience in creating flashy coupes with upward opening doors, but it had other valuable skills. She could make cars that would start every time you asked for them, were carefully crafted and kept up with the latest technology. The first R8 was also able to breathe fire and make a show on the street even when it was standing, and at the same time it did not have a Kenwood radio attached and could be serviced in its own city, not in the capital of a neighboring country. In the super league of supercars for millions, it was a completely new quality.
The R8 takes on sharp edges
Thirteen years later, a seriously modernized version of the second generation of this model is available on the Polish market. With each subsequent update, R8 is getting sharper. The body design, although still cool and simple in German against the flashy competitors from the south, has become more expressive and bold after the latest modernization. The price is also worthy of a super car. You need to spend at least PLN 926,500 on the presented Performance version and only a few clicks in the configurator separate it from a million zlotys.
The best news is hidden under the tailgate. Fortunately, the downsizing trend bypassed the R8. Behind the driver's back is invariably a naturally aspirated V10 engine (already the last such unit in the world after the end of production of the Viper) with a capacity of 5.2 liters. It now generates as much as 620 hp in the stratospheric rev range of 7,900 - 8,100 rpm. This is enough to catapult this 1.2-meter-high car to 100 km/h in just 3.1 seconds, and eventually accelerate it to even 331 km/h. Six-hundred-horsepower SUVs and sprint Teslas, however fast they may be, can't do these things.
That the R8 can stun with its performance and fascinate with its appearance is obvious. But how does it perform as a normal everyday car? To answer this question, I decided to perform a different test than usual. I didn't drive this copy to the track or any beautiful road, but I used it as I would use any other car. After all, that's supposed to be his specialty.
Simple things that make you happy in a super car
After opening the door, I see a much more inconspicuous view than the exterior would suggest. The cockpit of the R8 is pretty much the same as any other Audi. I can connect the phone via Bluetooth, I can reverse using the camera, I can enter the destination in navigation by drawing my finger on the MMI trackpad. Basically, I can do all the things I consider normal in an Audi A3 here for one-eighth of the price.
However, the R8 loses to him in one category: it only has one screen. Multimedia and navigation support is therefore available only to the driver, because it is a display that takes up the place of the dashboard. The cabin designer would probably say that he wanted to keep the instrumentation to a minimum after the race. Let him be, the cockpit of the Ferrari F8 Tributo is organized in the same way.
As for the standards of a traditional car, the interior of the R8 is still not sensational, but the supercar - it is absolutely ok. Only when dealing with direct rivals from the stables of Ferrari, AMG or Aston Martin you will appreciate some details here. Such as a large storage compartment on the passenger side (Vantage has none) and door pockets (McLaren lacks). Good all-round visibility. The fact that the engine does not heat up to such an extent that the cabin is always too warm and the windows steam up. That thanks to short overhangs, you can easily drive down to the underground garage and drive over speed bumps, even though there is no expensive and heavy car nose lifting system. Simple things that needed only a large automotive concern to figure out
The R8 was also completely well solved from the beginning in terms of functionality. 112 liters of boot space doesn't sound like family car material, but in fact, the deep box at the front of the car holds two cabin bags or a week's worth of supermarket groceries. Behind the front seats there is also a large space that can fit more travel bags or shopping. Longer journeys with a bit of creativity are therefore not a problem.
It's still not an SUV though. Here you have to exercise every time you want to slide into a low-lying seat. The doors are long enough to cause problems in more crowded parking lots. Still, it's better here than in the BMW i8, because you can always at least open it and throw yourself inside with an inelegant leap.
Living with the R8: expectations versus reality
If any element in the R8 is truly versatile, it's its drivetrain. The example of every self-respecting Audi is the countless driving modes. Of course, there is also Comfort, in which the car glides quietly and softly in traffic, but ... let's be honest, no one wants to drive this car like that. For those five days, I used the vast majority of the time in the middle Auto mode, in which the automatic transmission makes a nice compromise between calmly entering higher gears and the invigorating sound of the engine.
Even with the top Dynamic you can easily live every day. Only then, with more dynamic driving, fuel consumption rises to shocking values. Keeping the pace of other traffic users, you can even go down to results below 15 l / 100 km. And what about the burning issue of oil appetite in Volkswagen Group units? According to the owners, a liter is enough for five thousand kilometers. The ten-cylinder FSI, on the other hand, has a greater appetite for ... coolant. Its filler is also more difficult to access, but its level can be refilled even at night thanks to the illumination of the entire engine compartment. Perhaps this was even the original purpose of the presence of these LEDs under the glass cover, and not the opportunity to brag about a technological miracle to passers-by. After all, it's still a civilized, sensible Audi.
It sounds very… boring. But fortunately, the Performance driving mode activated by the checkered button remains absent from other Audi models. Pressing it opens the way to choose one of three subsequent settings: for dry, wet and snow surfaces. Interestingly, even with the third one, the R8 tries to provide the best possible performance, instead of focusing on maximum traction and safety, as the new Porsche 911 does in the completely magical Wet mode. This shows that the R8 wants to have fun.
Just like in the twin Lamborghini Huracan, which I described recently, every touch of the gas pedal is met with a lively, furious reaction to the gas of the phenomenal engine, which breaks out of its seat just behind the driver's ears.
This is where the R8 shows itself to be a thoroughbred old-school supercar. It may not be as crushing as its competitors, which have already switched to turbocharged engines, but it offers much more in return: a very wide rev range, perfectly smooth power development and an ear-piercing, unsurpassed sound. It's downright scandalous that no other engine in its class can exceed 8,000 rpm and does not motivate enough to pass all the tunnels in the area in the name of the stupid fun of spoiling your hearing. The V10 in the R8 is completely incompatible with today's world. Naturally, then, officials will find a way to ensure that she only has a few more years to live. All the more so it is worth choosing the R8 just for him. It's so amazing.
But again, to get the full picture of an Audi supercar, you have to put it in the context of the competition. In terms of handling, it no longer works in his favor. The four-wheel drive system (here uniquely supported by a viscous clutch, although still titled per quattro) robs the car's dynamics of much of the precision and refinement found in the top supercars in this class. It also puts some strain on the steering, which is not as direct and lively as in more sporty competitors. It is closer to those systems that we know from the Audi RS series, which are not even the best in their segments.
On an empty, winding road in the R8, we will not experience the dynamic genius that specialized, exotic competitors can boast of. But with the other 99 percent of driving situations, you can feel most confident and comfortable in an Audi. Thirteen years after its debut, the R8 still serves its purpose.
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