Audi R8. A toy for an oligarch
I never became an oligarch, but for three days my neighbors might well take me for a rich man — I pull up to the house in the most striking Audi of recent years. This car costs as much as two Porsche Cayennes, and is $80,000 more expensive than the top-of-the-line A8 Long. This machine, priced like a one-bedroom apartment in my building, patiently waits for me to open the door and turn the key.
The seats are amazingly comfortable, as if they were molded to my figure. The belts pulled me into the backrest, my right foot on the brake, the key turned — the instrument needles shot to the maximum and immediately calmed down. The R-tronic gearbox is a robot without a clutch pedal, familiar from the Citroen C3, Toyota Yaris, Opel Corsa, or Suzuki Swift. It is just as thoughtful, although the operating algorithm is different. And no wonder: it came here from the Lamborghini Gallardo (also, like the Audi, a product of the VW group). In small cars, the lever is put into N, but here it is put into A, after which you need to tighten the handbrake. Living with such a gearbox is a separate quest. In traffic jams, it tires you out; on an incline, it is a real ordeal: the car rolls back and reacts aggressively to the throttle. Like any R-tronic, it is hopelessly sluggish. Do not be surprised if even a Zhiguli overtakes you at an intersection for the first couple of seconds. But then the R8 more than makes up for the claimed 4.6 seconds to 100 km/h, and the roar of the engine wakes up the alarms of parked cars — that is how those around you understand that the new Audi is a true sports car. True, in terms of decibels, the R8 is far from the rolling voice of the ten-cylinder Gallardo. Each gear change is met with a sharp kick, which over time begins to get on your nerves. You drive in kangaroo hops, amusing your fellow road users. For the first two days of the test, while the asphalt was dry, this was still tolerable. On the third day, snow fell, and we found ourselves outside the city. On a dirt road, the rear wheels spun hopelessly, and the all-wheel drive with a viscous coupling (transfer case 35% to the front axle and 65% to the rear) proved practically useless. The situation is the same as with Ferrari, Lamborghini, and the like: in winter, their place is in the garage, especially since studded tires have not yet been invented for the wide rear rollers R19.
After the first wave of pleasure and a dose of adrenaline, which was considerably hindered by traffic jams, it was time to find a picturesque spot for a photo shoot and, as the poet Alexander Aronov wrote, "stop and look around."
The Audi Le Mans concept, shown in Geneva in 2002, went into production almost unchanged under the name R8. The production run will be limited to forty thousand units. Almost 70% will go to the States; a quota has been allocated for Russia, most of which has already been sold (about 80 cars in total, of which more than 20 in Moscow).
Many call the R8 a sports coupe, but it seems to me that this engineering marvel with a body made of magnesium-aluminum alloy is closer to a roadster. The design seems from the distant future. Especially eye-catching are the 12 LED bulbs in each headlight, which glow even when the parking lights are off. There is something of New Year's illumination in them. The R8 attracts the attention of passersby: in our era of universal "phone mobilization," the car is constantly snapped on mobile phones, and you acutely feel that you are driving far from an ordinary car. The feeling of exclusivity is complemented by the interior: the ceiling along with the front pillars is upholstered in natural suede, and the Band&Oluffsen audio system for 1,850 euros sounds simply mesmerizing. Although, honestly, it impressed me less than the Bose in the A8L. And the front speakers under the windshield glare mercilessly in the sun and obstruct the view. The instrument panel, impeccable as in any Audi, has acquired two new "windows" — oil temperature and battery charge. For street racers, it is a treasure trove of useful information. For an ordinary driver, even one who paid $250,000 for the car but prefers calm city driving to deadly races, these gauges are useless luxury that he most likely will not even glance at. The CD changer is hidden behind the driver's seat, and discs and DVDs are inserted from the front. The climate control unit and air flow adjustment on the R8 moved from the Audi TT. And the design of the R8 also hints at TT features.
In profile, the Audi R8 is a TT after crazy tuning. And from the front, it is simply a monster. The huge hood is powerful, convincing, beautiful. I wonder if anyone realizes what it hides? There is a trunk (Porsche owners will understand) with a volume of only 100 liters. Not a trunk, but some kind of glove box. Under its floor are tools and a repair kit in case of a puncture (the R8 has no spare tire). All other space is occupied by empty niches, created solely for safety in frontal and side impacts.
The engine is located at the rear, right in the cabin (in place of the usual trunk), behind glass. For greater effect, it only lacks backlighting, but even without it — impeccably clean, it looks more like a designer decoration than a working unit. The 4.2-liter V8 with 420 hp came to the R8 from the legendary RS4. The main change is the dry sump lubrication system, which eliminates oil starvation under high loads. The operating ranges are the same: the engine revs up to 8,250 rpm with a compression ratio of 12.5:1. Beyond the 120-140 km/h mark, its voice clearly penetrates the cabin. The brakes of the R8 are simply a song. On dry asphalt, the expensive metal-ceramics whistle; on wet, they howl. Perhaps there is also some pleasure in this. But they do their job excellently: the R8 stops dead from any speed.
The Audi R8 is truly a magnificent car that cannot be fully appreciated in a short test drive. You need to get used to it for weeks, not two or three days. For example, I never managed to feel the rear dimensions. The parking sensors work strangely: when reversing, they beep as if you have already hit an obstacle, although there is still half a meter to it. The mirrors seemed uninformative, especially the central one. On the last day of the test, when snow fell and humidity soared, the rear window defroster cleared it instantly, but the partition separating the cabin from the engine fogged up completely. It took almost an hour to "defrost" it, and all this time I had to navigate only by the side mirrors.
And yet, today, for those who are ready to shell out honestly earned $250,000 for a real sports car (with all its pros and cons), there is a real chance to wipe the nose of Lamborghini owners. The R8 is cheaper, growls no worse, and drives quite decently. True, the owner will have to come to terms with high operating costs. The two-seater on 98-octane gasoline consumes 22.2 liters per hundred (my minimum was 18.7 liters on the highway on Sunday). That means every 100 kilometers will cost 450-500 rubles. As for the prices of spare parts, specialists from the dealership said unequivocally: take the analogue from the TT and multiply by five. But I think this is nonsense for you, since you found the money for the car itself. And soon the R8 will grow to a V10 — and then the Italians will definitely be in trouble. After all, the R8 today is design No. 1 in our car market. It is a pity that it is not advertised on TV — it would make a cool video. However, true values do not need advertising.
Technical specifications:
| Dimensions (mm) | 4431x1904x1252 |
| Wheelbase (mm) | 2650 |
| Track front/rear (mm) | 1632/1583 |
| Trunk volume (l) | 100 |
| Curb weight (kg) | 1560 |
| Gross weight (kg) | 1860 |
| Engine displacement (cm3) | 4163 |
| Number of valves | 32 |
| Maximum power (hp) | 420 |
| Max. torque (Nm/rpm) | 430/4500-6000 |
| Front tires | 235/35 R19 |
| Rear tires | 295/30 R19 |
| Maximum speed (km/h) | 301 |
| Acceleration 0-100 km/h (s) | 4.6 |
| Fuel tank capacity (l) | 70 |
| Fuel | A-98 |
| Price ($) | 252,000 |
Dmitry Shavyrin
Source – AUTOMANIA.RU