Audi R8 review

The Audi R8 comes with just one engine – but it just so happens to be one of the best of any car on sale. Sitting just a few inches behind your shoulders is a 5.2-litre V10 which also sees service in the Lamborghini Huracan. In the standard R8, this high-revving masterpiece produces a colossal 570hp as standard and sends all of its power to all four wheels through a seven-speed gearbox for maximum get-up-and-go when you hit the accelerator. With the Audi R8’s settings dialled up to the proverbial 11, it’ll blast from 0-60mph in just 3.4 seconds and reach a whopping 201mph.

If this sounds a little tame – perhaps you’re a fighter pilot, astronaut or human cannonball – there’s always the option to upgrade to the aptly named Performance model. This brings 620hp to the party and outsprint the standard R8 to 60mph by three-tenths of a second and reaches 205mph.

It’s worth bearing in mind that these seriously rapid models come with a smaller fuel tank than the standard car, so you can expect to make more frequent visits to your local petrol station. On the subject of fuel economy, Audi claims the R8 returns 21mpg but you’ll probably see a figure closer to 15mpg in normal driving conditions.

One of the biggest feathers in the Audi R8’s cap is just how easy it is to drive. Were it not for the sound of a great big V10 engine burbling away over your shoulder you might be forgiven for thinking you were pottering around town in a TT.

Sure, you sit so low to the ground you’ll worry about tearing your jeans on speed bumps, but the Audi R8’s relatively large windows mean it’s pretty easy to see out of and the suspension does a good job ironing out potholes. It’s even relatively quiet when you’re cruising at speed and you get cruise control to help take the sting out of long motorway journeys.

Head off the motorway onto a twisty country road and the Audi R8 is only too keen to show off its wilder side. Pull out of a quiet junction with the accelerator pinned to the floor and the glorious V10 lets out a shocking scream and delivers a serious kick to the back of your seat. It responds to your inputs more quickly than the turbocharged engines in the likes of the McLaren 570S and turns every sprint between sleepy villages into an eye-widening event.

That’s not to say the Audi R8 can’t tackle a series of twisty corners. Its quattro four-wheel-drive system coaxes grip from even the slickest of surfaces and helps the R8 cling to the road like day-old Weetabix to a porcelain bowl.

You won’t find yourself whirling the steering wheel a great deal through a series of tight corners either, which helps give you a good sense of what the front wheels are up to. This precision helps you thread the broad-shouldered Audi R8 through surprisingly narrow spaces at speed without worrying about scratching the passenger door on an overgrown hedgerow.