The Audi R8 Is a Charming Relic of a Mid-Engine Supercar

Whereas we have been stopped at a light-weight in rural New Hampshire in a $187,000 Vegas Yellow Audi R8, a middle-aged lady stepped from the sidewalk to holler at us. She may have merely been shaking her fist for the ruckus we have been making, the $3,600 sport exhaust package deal and the pioneering Detroit Techno sounds of Carl Craig popping off alongside Primary Road. Then we anxious that she was making some lame Iron Man remark, referencing the 2008 Audi/Marvel collab that includes the first-generation R8, a quip we’d encountered various occasions since leaving New York. However because it turned out, her question was much more insightful.

“Is that the V8 or the V10?”

I known as again that it was the V10 (after all.) However the query lingered, as a result of it match into a bigger thesis I’d developed throughout every week driving Audi’s mid-engine GT. That it’s, in some ways, a model new, factory-produced classic automotive. An anachronism. And I like it for this.

The speculation requires a quick historical past lesson: Following Audi’s acquisition of Lamborghini within the late Nineties, the primary technology R8 grew to become the premiere product from the four-ring model, sharing DNA and underpinnings with its charging bull cousin. The R8 utilized the identical platform and mid-mounted V10 engine (albeit in several states of tune) because the then-new Gallardo. However the Audi distinguished itself by additionally providing a lower-test powerplant: the model’s personal 4.2-liter V8. The identical deal held true when the second technology R8 was launched in 2016 with apportioned cross-pollination between it and the then-new Huracán. Nevertheless, the Gen-2 R8 didn’t provide a V8. It got here solely with the V10.

Each the Gen-2 R8 and the Huracán have been evolutionary designs. However whereas nobody with an iota of automotive sense would mistake one Lambo for an additional, our street-side New Hampshirite pal thought it was potential that our model new R8 was, at latest, from eight mannequin years in the past, and will have been as a lot as 16 years outdated.

It’s not simply the styling, which, whereas getting older effectively, has gone practically 20 years with out notable change. And it’s not simply its delicious-sounding, naturally-aspirated V10 engine, which (except for its aforementioned Lambo stable-mate) is an outlier throughout the trade. In its middle console, right this moment’s R8 not solely options one of many trade’s final remaining click-wheel controllers for its in-dash multimedia interface, but in addition a pair of USB shops — old-school rectangular ones, not USB-C like practically each different German luxurious competitor. Lastly, and maybe most notably, between and behind the seats, on the firewall, the Audi sports activities that pinnacle of Eighties know-how, a multi-disc CD participant.

We didn’t pack our compact disc pockets this journey, and couldn’t discover any on the native fuel station, so we are able to’t report on that exact element. Due to its age, the Audi R8 represents a peak period of know-how, after we may merely cede in-vehicle infotainment to the comfortingly acquainted realm of our telephones, earlier than automobiles started performing as boardroom, live performance corridor, workplace assistant, dwelling procuring community, meteorological station, and first locus of surveillance capitalism. Furthermore, the R8 — practically distinctive throughout the up to date automotive panorama — has only one display, within the sprint binnacle, straight in entrance of the driving force.

The actual mannequin we examined included the $13,000 dynamic package deal, which appeared like a frivolous addition for the reason that R8 isn’t a hardcore sports activities automotive and doesn’t want carbon ceramic brakes. Worse, this dear add-on additionally swapped out the wonderful, supportive, snug and eminently adjustable commonplace seats with a pair of hard-shell “sport” chairs, the one energy characteristic for which moved the seat up and down. I had a tough time discovering a cushty seating place. However then once more, I’m outdated and plagued with sciatica, so maybe one of many causes I so loved the R8 is as a result of I’m an anachronism as effectively.

Audi has introduced that that is the ultimate 12 months of manufacturing for the R8. It stays all the pieces a elaborate grand tourer ought to be: fast, luxurious, good-looking, athletic, attention-garnering, and cozy. Regardless of issues about its meager cargo area, the entrance trunk and behind-the-seat storage space swallowed baggage, backpacks, and groceries for a protracted weekend (I needed to put the firewood on my passenger’s lap, although). When it vanishes, it should possible get replaced by one thing beautiful and electric-powered.

We’ll have a good time this. However maybe in the future, I’ll discover a used second-generation R8, and once I replenish with $60-per-gallon premium, individuals at gast stations will ask if it’s the V10 or the V8. And I’ll smile and be pleased that they didn’t make some dumb Tony Stark joke.