Sitting in the driver’s seat the
all-new Audi R8
and waiting to go on track at Le Mans is a genuine pinch yourself moment, especially as it is happening nearly a month ahead of the car’s official launch. But there’s no time to daydream – a marshal is gesturing for me to go with a rolled-up flag and seconds later I’m bumping through an emergency gate onto the circuit proper.
"Guys, it was meant to be a parade lap..."
Somewhere up ahead Tom Kristensen is meant to be setting the pace in the R8 LMS racer, but by the time the supposedly chasing pack of journos has got onto the circuit he’s long since disappeared into the distance. I’m still reasonably star-struck to be following Nurburgring legend
Horst von Saurma
of Sport Auto Super Test fame. Being more important than I am he’s been given a fully liveried R8 pace car complete with flashing lights…
This is definitely a limited opportunity rather than a full dynamic assessment – we’ve got just one lap. So 8.5 miles, give or take, which is meant to be done at a gentle demonstration speed. Predictably this falls apart almost immediately when it becomes clear everyone is determined to do their own thing. Horst sets off at a cracking pace and I try to keep up.
Horst von Saurma gets flashing lights
It’s certainly brisk, this new R8. There’s no longer a V8 option – the manual gearbox has gone too – with the 5.2-litre V10 now available with either 540hp or, in the ‘Plus’, 610hp. Naturally we’ve been put in Pluses and the engine pulls with howling enthusiasm to the 8,500rpm redline, the colour of the instrument panel changing as the limiter approaches. Gearchanges are brutally fast, too with a noticeable torque bump as the next ratio arrives.
Things get silly as we pass the main grandstands. One of the R8s unexpectedly slows down so its driver can wave to the (mostly uninterested) crowds, meaning some big stops further back in the chain. Confirmation the carbon fibre brakes work well, although the pedal is characteristically Audi-light.
The rest of the lap passes in something of a blur. In some areas the marshals are furiously waving yellows to try and slow us down, in others they’re waving encouragement for us to speed up. The digital speedo reports 260km/h (160mph) before braking for the first chicane on the Mulsanne, achieved without much effort. The claimed 205mph top speed sounds eminently feasible.
Obvious comparisons with related Huracan
On first impressions it feels very like
the Huracan
– unsurprising given the two cars share most of their sub-surface structure and have
identical carbon floors
and rear bulkheads. And yes, that does mean the same springy-feeling over-light steering, it’s direct and the front end is keen to turn but by the end of my sole lap I’ve not built up much rapport with the helm. The Pirelli P-Zeros generate huge grip on the track’s mostly beautiful surface. The new R8 feels far more neutral under power at low speeds than its sometimes oversteery predecessor, likely proof that the electronically controlled clutch that diverts torque to the front when required works far more quickly than the old car’s viscous coupling.
And full credit to Audi for such a great way to introduce its new car, and one I definitely won’t be forgetting any time soon. But strange though it sounds I’m also really looking forward to a chance for a proper go on roads with speed limits and bumps.