Audi R8 'too good': Tell Me I'm Wrong
Has Audi's quest for perfection thrown the baby out with the bathwater?
Audi eventually responded in less emotive fashion. R Tronic too sluggish and clunky? Right then. Have yourself a dual-clutch with shifts so seamless you won't feel them going through. That'll shut you up.
Only it doesn't. Now, I'm not about to suggest we start a campaign to reinstate R Tronic in place of the S Tronic dual-clutch carried over to the second-generation R8. Because even Audi eventually admitted the original auto wasn't really that good. But the danger in seeking perfection is that, once achieved, you're merely left with the ends. The means to achieve them are left on the cutting room floor.
Drive an R8 back to back with the Huracan with which it shares a considerable amount of its hardware and you'll get what I mean. By any rational sense the R8 is the superior car. It's about £50K cheaper, better finished inside, packs more gadgets, gizmos and driver modes and loses nothing meaningful in performance. But when everything is so fundamentally perfect it's the little details you fixate on.
You can let the Huracan change gear itself of course. But if you choose to use the paddles you'll find them large, blade sharp and made from punched sheet aluminium. Pull one - the shape encourages you to use all your fingers - and there's a meaningful movement and a sharp click. Behind you - especially in Corsa mode - you'll get a split second sense of the mechanical drama as the shift goes through. Contrived or not the punch in the back is exciting. Roll off the throttle and back onto it and you'll hear the sneeze of fuel going into the intake plenums before all hell breaks loose.
Do the same in the R8 in whichever of the seven driver modes you've chosen and it's little more than a finger on a plastic gearshift paddle, switch travel as meaningful as the one that turns the heated seats on, a slight change in tone from behind you and- ... holy crap, HOW FAST?
Such is the base level competence in all cars of this level it's these tiny details that make or break a driving experience. And an uncharacteristic weakness in the R8's armour of self confidence.
There are others. Those driver modes. You've got four on the Audi Drive Select - including driver configurable Individual - and an additional three that override them via the Performance Control button on the wheel. And the horrible Dynamic Steering, optioned onto our test car. Confident drivers don't want a steering ratio that wobbles from 9:1 to 17:1. If you care about your driving you want consistent response, the better to tailor your inputs and work with the car, not simply point it in a given direction. The R8 doesn't want you to do that. It wants to remove thought and effort. Leaving only speed. Lots and lots and lots of speed.
It's weird too that, at the heart of it, is an engine that seems dedicated to reminding you what we're missing as the world goes tech enhanced. That 5.2-litre V10 is simply magnificent. For a big, undersquare motor the speed with which it reacts to throttle inputs is a reminder of what we're missing as the world goes turbo, its angry bellow intoxicating. And the way it erupts from 6,000rpm or so and into the final charge to the 8,250rpm redline ... wow.
But of all the modern performance cars that have had to grapple with going turbo Audi's traditional lead in the field leaves the R8 better placed than most to make the switch to something boosty. OK, perhaps not a diesel. But leaving the old-school V10 to Lamborghini would put some welcome ground between two seemingly similar products.
The 911 Turbo shares a similar mindset to the R8 and is its closest rival at heart. But in its application of technology it feels a generation ahead; the 997 Turbo was so focused on speed it forgot the need to make a performance out of its performance. In the 991 Porsche has carefully engineered in some subtle imperfections - a whistle of boost here, a tad more mobility in the chassis there - to at least make you think you're a willing accomplice.
McLaren, meanwhile, proves the benefits of concentrating on feedback and consistency of response, as well as carrying significantly less weight. From 570S to 675LT, these qualities make the cars fun to drive at sensible speeds as well as silly ones. Aston Martin takes it to extremes, making an awful lot of noise and fuss in the name of 'purist' interaction with its deliberately 'difficult' dog-leg manual gearbox option for the V12 Vantage.
Against these cars the R8 reverts to type by being just very ... Audi. It's nearly impossible to criticise as a product. It looks brilliant. People love it. In both big picture and fine detail the design combines surprise and delight with smart functional rigour. All things relative it's astonishing value for money. You could drive it every day in all weathers with minimal allowances for it being in a mid-engined, 200mph supercar. It is, by all rational measures, a masterpiece of design and engineering pitched perfectly at its target audience.
So why does it leave me so cold?
AUDI R8 5.2 V10 PLUS
Engine: 5,201cc V10
Transmission: 7-speed dual clutch, four-wheel drive
Power (hp): 610@8,250rpm
Torque (lb ft): 413@6,500rpm*
0-62mph: 3.2sec
Top speed: 205mph
Weight: 1,630kg (EU, including 75kg driver)
MPG: 23mpg
CO2: 287g/km*
Price: £134,520 (£154,720 as tested, including reversing camera £600; Gloss Carbon engine bay trim £2,950, LED headlights with Audi Laser Light £3,000; Storage package £250; sports exhaust £1,800; Dynamic Steering £1,200; Audi Magnetic Ride £1,600; pneumatic seat adjustment £475; Alcantara headlining £2,400; Extended Fine Nappa Leather package £2,750; cruise control £275; smoking package £50; Bang & Olufsen Advanced Sound System £1,750 and Audi Phone Box £450)
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The GTS was astonishingly good at all it was targeted to do. Incredibly well built. Very fast and unfortunately soulless!
A teutonic masterpiece no doubt but it failed to ignite the basic passion that my weekend toys must.
The Gallardo by comparison is raw, almost agricultural and definitely brutal. A total occasion on every drive and better for its failings than the Porsche ever would be for its perfection!
The price of progress perhaps. Sometimes the old adage of 'less is more' has never been more true!
Audi should leave the V10 to Lambo and have the R8 with a V8. Also it needs to lose a few pounds. I think the as tested weight is 1730KG according to my Autocar Road test.
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