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2008 Audi R8 Road & Track Test

Chances are, if you're reading this you're not on the waiting list for the

Now, which one to choose...? So many combinations... (Photo: Jonathan Yarkony, American Auto Press)

first R8s to come to North America, you're not likely looking for my opinion in the process of shopping it against a Gallardo or a 911 Carrera 4S, nor are you even likely to be considering purchasing one in the next few years. I'm not trying to be condescending or anything, it's simple odds, really. Only a few hundred or so will be coming to North America, their waiting list stretches well into next year, so the percentages favor my assumption that you are not one of the lucky few. Barring a winning lottery ticket, a big inheritance or a rather extreme expression of a mid-life crisis in the near future, you just want to know more about it, to know and feel what it's like to drive, to bask in the glow of my good fortune that allowed me several hours behind the wheel, and on a world class race track at that, or perhaps to find flaws in my research and evaluation and then dissect my conclusions and refute my personal reactions (those are the best).

The day started off at one of Audi's new flagship stores, which introduces an updated dealership style, slightly squarer and, surprisingly, even less colorful, if that was at all possible. The monochromatic white walls, fronted by glass and steel, is a perfect backdrop for the array of colorful glass and metal in the

It sits low to the ground, easily slicing through the air. (Photo: Jonathan Yarkony, American Auto Press)

showroom, centered around a bright red 2007 Audi TT. Then again, it was the cars in front of the showroom that had most of my attention. A row of eight R8s lined up, a monochromatic spread in various shades of silver and gray, with one black and one white example popping against the subdued shades of dealership and dreary sky. Of course, the R8 doesn't need a bright paint job to gather attention. No, it's shape alone will turn heads around and down to examine every inch of its lustrous metal hunkered low to the ground, the straked vents that slice through onlookers' eyeballs and a contrasting side blade competing for attention. And then there's the engine bay, which has a gravitational field of its own, on display under a glass portal, detailed in raw aluminum and carbon fiber glorifying the artistry of modern technology, the craftsmanship of Audi's master builders, who assemble this car at their Quattro GmbH facility in Neckarsulm, Germany.

Its form is undeniably artistic, and while guided by the hand of aerodynamic testing, it is nonetheless a vision of Audi's ideals, marrying technology and sophistication to the driving experience. Audi loves their cars, and they make cars that you love to drive ... at least I love to drive them.

The detailing is just plain astonishing. This little lens sits in front of the turn signals on the headlamps. (Photo: Jonathan Yarkony, American Auto Press)

From the diminutive A3 and TT to the svelte S8 and hulking Q7, all Audis still possess a light responsiveness to steering inputs and a solid, stable feel on the road that makes them joys to drive, and the R8 takes this dynamic to the nth degree. It is the perfect expression of Audi, everything that their engineers, product planners and marketers aspire to create, and while the Audi dynamic might not please all, it will greatly please those who have already come to appreciate Audi's fine engines, quattro all-wheel drive and superb interiors. It will also please many who might never before have appreciated their nose-heavy, understeering front-engine vehicles (yes, '07 S4, I'm talking about you). What Audi has perfected with the R8 is balance, an immaculate balance of weight distribution, a balance between power and handling, a balance of speed and traction and a balance between form and function.

With a car such as this, you may be raising your eyebrows and questioningly wondering “Function? What kind of functionality could a two-door, two-seat supercar have in the real world?” Okay, while its functionality may not be grounded in the 'real' world, its function is to be Audi's dream car, a distillation of Audi's ideals and years of racing experience. Just as Audi proved the worth of FSI fuel injection in the ALMS prototype R8 race car and

Big brakes are important when you're stopping from such great speeds... (Photo: Jonathan Yarkony, American Auto Press)

applied it to a range of gasoline engines in the VW/Audi lineup, the R8 road car applies lessons in weight distribution, aerodynamics and suspension (as well as FSI) learned from the R8's successful career in European sports car racing, including Le Mans, and the American Le Mans Series. The road-going R8 is not directly connected to or based on the ALMS racer in chassis or componentry, but its racing career did teach Audi how to develop such a capable machine. To that end, they put the engine behind the driver at the perfect balance point to give the car neutral handling, added quattro to deliver power more effectively (the R8 race car was strictly rear-wheel drive), but with a slight rear bias (44/56) to make it a little more entertaining, tailored every aspect of airflow over, under, around and through the body, and tinkered with the double wishbone suspension, front and rear, to make the car feel as much like the R8 racer as possible, for a road car. Who better to vouch for its success than Audi's factory drivers?

Yeah, this job can be kinda fun sometimes, but from the impression I got from Allan McNish when we met him at the end of our day, not as fun as his. Apparently, he enjoyed three full days of lapping the car around Willow Springs, another of North America's most respected tracks. I am eager to share some of the insight that McNish and his teammate, Rinaldo (Dindo) Capello, shared with us after our day in the R8. One of the things that struck me as most telling about the R8, is that both McNish and Capello gushed over how easy it is to control, not when you're loafing about town, but at the proverbial 10/10ths out on the track. I can vouch for this fact, as a relative novice like myself was hanging the back end out on the development track then bringing it back in line with a slight countersteer tug – granted it was my own jerky driving that got it loose, but in the intermittent rain and on street tires chasing a guy with 24 years of Audi Driver Training experience under his belt, I was happy just keeping up with the pace

One of the men that brought the famed R10 to victory. (Photo: Jonathan Yarkony, American Auto Press)

(nice and easy by his standards) he set for us and living up to my mantra for the day, which was, “Don't lose it.” You'll be happy to hear that I did American Auto Press readers proud and did not, in fact, lose it. Hurray for me. Why was I so nervous? With $109K worth of Audi's most precious metal in your hands flying around a track you've never driven before, well, you would be nervous too.

Aesthetically, I find it more sophisticated than sexy, but the end result is that it is nonetheless practical and usable, within the constraints of the segment in which it competes. Its function is to inspire dreams and instill ambition, but for those who attain it, it will seem as if they had been driving it for the better part of their lives. Its light overall weight (3605 pounds) and perfect weight distribution make it incredibly responsive, and its super stiff aluminum space frame (ASF) chassis resonates the vehicle's actions with delicate clarity – it won't shock or jar you in its communication but rather whisper and caress you with its gentle but unmistakable voice.

While its voice is light and subtle, I find its looks cold and clinical, a surgical tool that reflects its ability rather than its character. As could only be achieved through computer imaging and design, the aluminum skin seems to have been melted and poured over the aluminum frame and cabin, with vents and intakes extruded by lasers and a giant stamping press clamping in the side 'blades' in a hyper-modern factory populated by gods of metal forming. I can appreciate it in much the way that I recognize the impact of a Picasso or an Andy Warhol on contemporary art and culture, but I will never love the R8, or a Warhol for that matter, like I love a good Van Gogh, a Rothko, or an Aston Martin – among the elite, there are always favorites, and though it's not mine, surely there will be many who do find the R8

What an engine! From idle to an 8,250 rpm redline, it pulls so cleanly and smoothly. Of course, who could forget that it's 420 horsepower strong? (Photo: Jonathan Yarkony, American Auto Press)

beautiful and suited to their inclinations. The R8 is a dramatic and forceful design, almost brutally mechanical but rewardingly distinctive in an era of ever-more similar designs, but it still lacks the emotional connection of an Aston Martin's curves, or even a Porsche's profile (the 911, of course) for that matter. Audi looks hopefully toward the future, to a time when young men or women will look back at the first or second generation R8, the one whose poster took the place of honor on their bedroom wall among the Ferraris, the Lambos and the Porsches.

When that day comes, I can't even begin to imagine how awesome the R8 will be to drive, because it is already so good that I tremble slightly when imagining myself back in front of that V8 and waking the demon with the door slightly open to get the full effect of the 4.2L aluminum wonder coming to life. It roars to life with a purpose then settles into a rhythmic burble, lulling you into aggression and evoking feelings of superiority and omnipotence. Cruising along it thrums with a deep purpose, and as revs climb it whines with an edge of technology keening a hypnotic vibration through the cabin. It's never loud yet it feels like the engine is jacked into your brain, you're so surrounded and enveloped by the sounds of mechanical and electronic ballet.

All lined up and ready to go... (Photo: Jonathan Yarkony, American Auto Press)

And then it goes. Forget about wheel slip unless there is heavy rain, because the huge 19-inch tires (235/35R19 front, 295/30R19 rear) launch with complete control, although in the slick, the wide rubber becomes a hydroplaning risk, and no rubber can save you from reckless disregard of physical laws. However, the occasional rain greatly reduced the R8's limits, meaning we could overcome traction at much lower, more controllable (I think) speeds, and boy is it fun. That is, it's fun if you can overcome your nerves and fear of wrecking one of Audi's brand new supercars, which I promptly did once they set us loose on the slalom and training track. While its amazing grip is hard to surpass, by the end of the coned slalom course, I had enough speed and reckless abandonment that I could exceed its grip and summon ESP to my aid, which promptly redirected me in a direction resembling my intended path.

Out on the development track, we followed Uwe Fricker (Audi Driver Training's chief instructor in North America), whose pace exceeded our skill (mine and the driver who was piloting the car between myself and Fricker).

Here is a car that will dazzle on the track, yet impress on the way to and from it. (Photo: Jonathan Yarkony, American Auto Press)

Between it being the first time I was using the persnickety manual that day and familiarizing myself with the clutch, exercising my novice heel-toe downshifting skills and gaping in wonder at the metal gate and shifter clicking, clacking and snicking into play, I was a mess. Nonetheless, I was a mess that managed to keep the car under some semblance of control on the slick track, the massive brakes scrubbing speed, occasionally dancing the rear end out of the racing line, but easily finding a small, smooth tug the other way on the steering wheel pulled me back into form – that and the ESP working overtime. A car like the Viper, Corvette or likely any other high-powered rear-wheel drive car would have spent much of the time facing the wrong way or taking shortcuts through the grass (in my hands, not those of a professional) if pushed to those speeds. Such is the advantage of the R8's rear-biased quattro; it is definitely oversteer-y in those conditions, but I imagine a little more time behind the helm for myself or in the hands of a better trained driver, it would have found the tipping point and held the slip angle in a countersteer lock around the longer, more graceful corners.

And then we moved to the big track. The big track is no place to be pushing the flock past its limits, so Fricker maintained a smooth, even pace, nowhere close to competition pace or even all-out-in-a-road-car pace. Mosport is not a track to be trifled with, challenging in the best of conditions, conceivably disastrous in the wet. Though the rain had stopped, the track was nowhere near dry, so I took the opportunity to spend a couple laps in the passenger seat of Fricker's car, my attention devoted to his smooth inputs on the steering wheel, the gears and most importantly, where he placed the car on the track, guiding it safely and smoothly around each corner. After my study laps, I hopped into the following R8 and did my best to bring it around the track right on his heels and putting only a couple of wheels out of place, allowing us to pick up the pace and push the car to its reasonable

If only you could hear this photograph... (Photo: Jonathan Yarkony, American Auto Press)

limits. Convention calls for me to report the speeds I reached on the back straight, but as I mentioned earlier, I was more engrossed in the scenery and my safe passage through it than documenting my speed, for posterity seemed a low priority.

While my nerves were a justified defense mechanism which protected me from speeds beyond my abilities, my other mantra was more important to getting around the track – “Stay smooth, stay smooth,” advice drilled into us by the aforementioned driving instructor Uwe Fricker. Riding with him for a couple laps and then following his line is probably the only thing that kept me on the track despite some violent and poorly executed downshifts. I won't bore you with a turn-by-turn account of my fastest trip yet around Mosport, but it was the R8's superb balance and four-wheel traction that helped me overcome my flawed driving. It's a beautiful track to drive, with treacherous corners, intimidating hills and gorgeous corridors through wooded stretches, a heavy mist rolling in on the back straight (the Andretti Straightaway for you track map devotees), a scene out of a dream that

This is a car that most anyone could drive every day with ease. (Photo: Jonathan Yarkony, American Auto Press)

taxed my attention, because the last turns (the Esses) before the pits required all of my limited track skills and concentration.

Through it all, the R8 moved assuredly around every turn, its power distribution providing extra confidence, its balanced mass reacting gracefully under the weight transfer of hard braking and its feedback whispering reassuringly as I maintained careful control. In only a short time, I felt truly comfortable taking it to speeds I would never dream of in most other vehicles, and particularly on that track. And that is the R8's blessing, and its curse.

If there was one thing that left me a little disappointed was feeling, “well, that was easy.” Not that it was that easy, but it felt so natural that, despite my comfort, I wanted a little something wild and dangerous and nerve-wracking beyond my own paranoia and inexperience. It's kinda' like a beginner's supercar, one with quattro training wheels

It's a tough job, but someone's gotta do it... (Photo: Jonathan Yarkony, American Auto Press)

and the perfect balance to keep you out of trouble until you know what you're doing. The R8 has all the ability you would need in a street or track car until you've graduated through several racing schools; and while racetracks are the best place to learn the car's and your limits, you can certainly appreciate the artistry of its form and the surprisingly comfortable demeanor on public roads. I'm not sure if that's a recommendation or not, and though I'd get into another one in a second, no questions asked, if ever offered the opportunity again, I don't know if I'd choose it over the untamed power of a Viper, the unadulterated speed of a Z06 or my own childhood dreams of a 911 if I was laying down up to $120K to get one into my garage. It's not quite in the price bracket of a Ferrari or a Lambo, but it easily has the same level of visual drama, so it's got the credentials to win almost any attention contest, especially considering its rarity, at least initially. Rarity itself doesn't make it desirable though, it is simply another asset in the R8's portfolio, a well-rounded investment that should yield huge short-term enjoyment and steady long-term stability. Of course, that's for the lucky few who get to own one. The rest of us just get to dream about it. And that's just what Audi wants from it.

Specifications (Audi R8):

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