RE: Driven: Audi R8 Spyder

RE: Driven: Audi R8 Spyder

Author
Discussion

corcoran

533 posts

273 months

Thursday 11th March 2010
quotequote all
God I'm so horny right now.

v1paul

723 posts

175 months

Thursday 11th March 2010
quotequote all
I think the hard top looked better.

Fartgalen

6,627 posts

206 months

Thursday 11th March 2010
quotequote all
I think the soft top looks better.
(But I wouldn't want either of them anyway).

toppstuff

13,698 posts

246 months

Thursday 11th March 2010
quotequote all
I think it's a shame that Audi played it safe with the R8, choosing to use the same essential design language as for all their cars.

As a result, this no-doubt wonderful car, with all it well-engineered mid-engined V10 splendour, has all the appearance and style of a TT costing a third of the price.

There is nothing necessarily wrong with that for some people, but for more than £120k people expect something more, well, special.


Tallbut Buxomly

12,254 posts

215 months

Thursday 11th March 2010
quotequote all
toppstuff said:
I think it's a shame that Audi played it safe with the R8, choosing to use the same essential design language as for all their cars.

As a result, this no-doubt wonderful car, with all it well-engineered mid-engined V10 splendour, has all the appearance and style of a TT costing a third of the price.

There is nothing necessarily wrong with that for some people, but for more than £120k people expect something more, well, special.
Great thinking line there toppstuff. From the same company who brings you the lamborghini gallardo we bring you the audi gallardo oooh which will you choose????? "

Simple fact is the R8 is designed to appeal to those who feel the g is too flash or too hardcore thereby increasing company profit. There has to be a fairly clear distinction between lambo and audis "supercars".

ganser

103 posts

198 months

Thursday 11th March 2010
quotequote all
I think EVO said along the lines of 'park the R8 next to Gallardo and the R8 all but disappears'. The Gallardo Spyder (and SL63) would still be my choice of weapon

LayZ

1,617 posts

241 months

Thursday 11th March 2010
quotequote all
Looks dull compared to the coupe and its sideblades, but I'm sure they'll sell them to the pose crowd.

Riggers

1,859 posts

177 months

Thursday 11th March 2010
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Shape Shifter said:
Riggers said:
has lopping off the roof compromised what, in coupe form, is surely one of the most dynamically involving Audis ever created?

The simple answer is no: astonishingly, the soft-top R8 manages to pull off the scarcely believable trick of almost-never feeling more wobbly than its tin-topped sister. Yes, strings of lumps and bumps will send minor tremors through the cabin...
So, the simple answer is yes then?
laugh Suppose so. Actually on second thoughts the simple answer IS no - yes is the complicated one...

oh, and...

The Pits said:
Take away the cold crisp efficiency and sales will evaporate. The masses like german cars and that efficiency is what reassures them it's german.

However it seems no journalist likes convertibles. They are dismissed as posers cars in every recent article, this one included.
Nothing wrong with the crisp efficiency - it's the coldness that could be done away with.

And I'm definitely not against convertibles - when I landed my Caterham Seven Academy car was waiting for me in the car park. I took the roof off before I drove back to the office...

Edited by Riggers on Thursday 11th March 17:48

Sicob

478 posts

227 months

Thursday 11th March 2010
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Looks better in the flesh. The roof is pretty good, especially how it folds away above the engine, yet venting in catered for through the vanes.

Forthright MC

8,362 posts

282 months

Thursday 11th March 2010
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Love this just as much as the Coupe, fantastic looking car, it really suits the topless treatment IMO!
Looks great in that shade of red too, a definite thumbup here!

RainerM

827 posts

230 months

Thursday 11th March 2010
quotequote all
.....
and you can drive the thing on SNOW as the Gallardo, and yes there are winter-tyres offered for those cars :-)))
Nothing beats an open-top-drive up- and down-hill(careful there, even with 4WD) on a crisp sunny day driving

Regards from still bloody-snowy, grey, cold Graubuenden-CH :-(

Rainer-CH

The Pits

Original Poster:

4,289 posts

239 months

Thursday 11th March 2010
quotequote all
Riggers said:
Shape Shifter said:
Riggers said:
has lopping off the roof compromised what, in coupe form, is surely one of the most dynamically involving Audis ever created?

The simple answer is no: astonishingly, the soft-top R8 manages to pull off the scarcely believable trick of almost-never feeling more wobbly than its tin-topped sister. Yes, strings of lumps and bumps will send minor tremors through the cabin...
So, the simple answer is yes then?
laugh Suppose so. Actually on second thoughts the simple answer IS no - yes is the complicated one...

oh, and...

The Pits said:
Take away the cold crisp efficiency and sales will evaporate. The masses like german cars and that efficiency is what reassures them it's german.

However it seems no journalist likes convertibles. They are dismissed as posers cars in every recent article, this one included.
Nothing wrong with the crisp efficiency - it's the coldness that could be done away with.

And I'm definitely not against convertibles - when I landed my Caterham Seven Academy car was waiting for me in the car park. I took the roof off before I drove back to the office...

Edited by Riggers on Thursday 11th March 17:48
Journos might want more 'soul'. But most buyers do not. Otherwise there wouldn't be so many german cars around. Most of the cars described as having 'soul' are things like old alfas and people still make jokes about them. I suppose that's the reason behind the success of the ghastly 911. It's an otherwise clinical german appliance with lots of eccentricities (like a rear engine!) ie reliable but still manages to have 'character'. TVRs have bags of character but in truth far too much for most people. I suppose there's nothing less cool than bits falling off your car if you're trying to impress someone (aka the laydeez). I get it, but for me, life's too short to drive german cars. Most of them bore me rigid.

IMI A

9,410 posts

200 months

Thursday 11th March 2010
quotequote all
Its gorgeous!

Daniel1

2,931 posts

197 months

Friday 12th March 2010
quotequote all
i dont like it frown Is there a glass engine cover? It just doesnt look good with the roof down imo.

daz4m

2,900 posts

194 months

Friday 12th March 2010
quotequote all
The Pits said:
Riggers said:
Shape Shifter said:
Riggers said:
has lopping off the roof compromised what, in coupe form, is surely one of the most dynamically involving Audis ever created?

The simple answer is no: astonishingly, the soft-top R8 manages to pull off the scarcely believable trick of almost-never feeling more wobbly than its tin-topped sister. Yes, strings of lumps and bumps will send minor tremors through the cabin...
So, the simple answer is yes then?
laugh Suppose so. Actually on second thoughts the simple answer IS no - yes is the complicated one...

oh, and...

The Pits said:
Take away the cold crisp efficiency and sales will evaporate. The masses like german cars and that efficiency is what reassures them it's german.

However it seems no journalist likes convertibles. They are dismissed as posers cars in every recent article, this one included.
Nothing wrong with the crisp efficiency - it's the coldness that could be done away with.

And I'm definitely not against convertibles - when I landed my Caterham Seven Academy car was waiting for me in the car park. I took the roof off before I drove back to the office...

Edited by Riggers on Thursday 11th March 17:48
Journos might want more 'soul'. But most buyers do not. Otherwise there wouldn't be so many german cars around. Most of the cars described as having 'soul' are things like old alfas and people still make jokes about them. I suppose that's the reason behind the success of the ghastly 911. It's an otherwise clinical german appliance with lots of eccentricities (like a rear engine!) ie reliable but still manages to have 'character'. TVRs have bags of character but in truth far too much for most people. I suppose there's nothing less cool than bits falling off your car if you're trying to impress someone (aka the laydeez). I get it, but for me, life's too short to drive german cars. Most of them bore me rigid.
Can you tell us about steering feel, is it a bit lifeless or can feel everything that's going on?

Tallbut Buxomly

12,254 posts

215 months

Friday 12th March 2010
quotequote all
Interesting you make no mention of the handfree system which sounds pretty damn clever.

steeveebee

8 posts

169 months

Friday 12th March 2010
quotequote all
Interesting that not one single photo shot of the Audi with its roof up . .
Why is this ? - does it look THAT bad then . .?

Tallbut Buxomly

12,254 posts

215 months

Friday 12th March 2010
quotequote all
steeveebee said:
Interesting that not one single photo shot of the Audi with its roof up . .
Why is this ? - does it look THAT bad then . .?
Not at all in fact looks quite good imo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjfF7q5QWms

deevlash

10,442 posts

236 months

Friday 12th March 2010
quotequote all
the sideblades were its only interesting feature

Riggers

1,859 posts

177 months

Friday 12th March 2010
quotequote all
daz4m said:
Can you tell us about steering feel, is it a bit lifeless or can feel everything that's going on?
Far from lifeless. The R8 coupe's steering is a proper old chatterbox, but the Spyder is a bit less communicative - the softer spring rate4s can probably be thanked for that...