2010 Audi R8 - Review

By Marty Padgett

Marty Padgett

Editorial Director BIO

Marty Padgett is High Gear Media's Editorial Director, overseeing the words that skim across High Gear Media's portfolio of automotive destinations... More

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2010 Audi R8 V-10

Infineon's a much better showcase than the Atlanta perimeter--and sunny days the best chance to study the R8's subtle but plentiful details, too. It's nothing like the collector-chic Murcielago or 599GTB Fiorano, but the R8 is a rolling introduction to the world of Audi design. It's all here, save for the wood trim applied to the finer four-ringed sedans. The shape's audacious in its own way, with oblique curves, those ear-like "sideblades" that echo the door shapes of the distantly related Bugatti Veyron, and the low-flying wedge shape capped in LED taillamps (and headlamps on V-10 cars). There's a very Germanic minimalism in its silhouette, but the detailing is fine: gloss black and chrome tweaks to tell the ten-cylinder versions from the V-8 R8, otherwise they share the functional ethos, from the ductwork camouflaged by the sideblades to the glass-encased engine bay. It's all on display, with very little of the classic supercar trickery--scissor doors, custom-fitted luggage, and so on.

The same holds true for the cabin, where a distinctive wrap of gauges and finishes barely hides the real inspiration. It might sound like heresy, but my first gut reaction behind the wheel was to recall the Acura NSX. The cowl is low, the gauges are big and clear, and the useful driving space mocks some of the less user-friendly supercars I've driven. Plenty of buttons and knobs control the R8's function, but they're almost muted against the well-executed layout of gauges and controls and the deft touches of aluminum and red.

2010 Audi R8 V-10: Loving the Lambo life

The red details are the clearest hint that the R8's Teutonic roots have been touched up with a bit of Italian rosso. And in truth, there's a palpable change in the R8's demeanor that goes beyond even faster acceleration runs and a much higher top speed once you opt for the V-10. It's the sonorous exhaust, the ripple of performance muscle, that lifts the R8 from its cool-to-the-touch Gaggenau aesthetic into a more emotional realm. Fire up the V-10, click the R-tronic paddle shifter into drive, and push into it as a warm-up, and the R8 respond across its rev range in bel canto--from a clean-sounding launch, to a gruff middle ground, into an enthusiastic rattle that rounds wonderfully at its soaring 8700-rpm redline. A push of the "Sport" button to engage its most engaging reflexes, and we're off.