FIRST DRIVE
Audi’s new R8 is all about authentic, unsynthesized character
Updated mid-engined Audi does it all better than before; smoother, sharper, calmer and more exciting
Ronda, Spain — Confession time: I love the R8. Every time I get the nagging thought that it may be the last big-banger naturally aspirated junior supercar. The end of cars such as the R8 is inevitable, and what we’d all lose is immeasurable. The R8 Performance quattro delivers authentic, unsynthesized character like no other car near its price point. The revamped R8 just looks meaner, with optional laser headlights and standard LEDs. Chrome is stripped away from the nose there are three horizontal vents, a front splitter that trails off down the sides, and a huge air diffuser at the rear. The engine note — at any point in the rev range — is one of the most heart-warming sounds known to man and the throttle response verges on synapse-fast. And it helps you to shift your butt faster and further than ever before, with a 3.1-second burst to 100km/h and a 331km/h top speed. The charm isn’t just the speed. It’s the shameless beefiness with which it gathers it, attacking the horizon, the e...
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