2017 Audi R8 V10 First Drive: Your new partner in crime

2017 Audi R8 (photo: Audi)

Say hello to the new and improved 2017 Audi R8. (See photos)

Now, if there was one complaint to be made about Audi's original R8 it’s that the car, despite all of its great qualities, was, well, a little bit bland.

Sure, it had its engine under glass, right behind the driver. Sure, Iron Man drove one. And sure, it was low and wide like a supercar should be.

But… It didn’t really set you on fire with excitement like the Lamborghini with which it shared a chassis and engine. The R8 felt tame, buttoned down despite its spec sheet. Any exuberance or bad behaviour there might have been was stamped out by the Audi engineers in Ingolstadt.

This, however, is the all-new R8, call it version 2.0. It still shares a chassis and V10 engine with its Lamborghini equivalent — the new Huracan — but is it more exciting?

Walkaround

The exterior is still a far cry for Lamborghini’s sharp angles. On the outside, the new R8 is only subtly different from its predecessor and in photos the changes aren’t immediately obvious. The signature “side blade” has been split in two. The front of the car has been given Audi’s latest family grille. But In person, the R8 is noticeably lower and wider. The effect is that it looks more purposeful, more special, than the old one.

Interior

First, a note about the model lineup: The old entry-level, V8-powered R8 is no more. Or, at least, its successor has not been announced yet. Rumours swirl about six- or even five-cylinder turbo or supercharged options but for now the only models are the V10 or V10 Plus we had on test in Portugal. An all-electric R8 e-tron will follow later in 2016.

Sliding into the R8’s new cabin is easier than you might imagine. You won’t bang you skull off the roof like you almost assuredly will the first time you drop into a Lamborghini. There’s an airy feeling inside the new R8 — skeletal almost. The climate controls hover in mid air below the dash. The instruments jut towards the driver in their own pod. There’s no central screen to clutter things up. Navigation and infotainment is cleverly integrated into a single display in front of the driver. It’s spacious, with bins for phones and keys. The seats are plenty wide even for girthy North Americans.

The cabin is, in a word, reallyreallygreat.

Technology

Lightweight is the name of the game these days. The Audi uses a new aluminum chassis with carbon-fibre for the transmission tunnel, firewall and B-pillar. This isn’t cosmetic stuff. You’ll never see it. But it helps to make the chassis both stiffer and lighter. Compared to the old R8, the new one is about 100 lbs lighter with a dry weight of 1,454 kg.

The Quattro all-wheel-drive system is again standard — no option for rear-wheel drive here. But this time the system can deliver 100 per cent of the torque to either the front or rear axle.

There’s also a new “Performance” mode on the top-line V10 Plus model, which — in case you were in any doubt about its purpose — is marked by a button with a chequered flag on it.

Performance

The R8 V10 Plus we drove wanted to go fast. The 5.2-litre V10 begged to be revved up to its 8,700 rpm redline. Since there are no turbos or superchargers, you’ll want to use every single rev to reach max power and torque (602 hp and 413 lb-ft respectively). It’s such a rare sensation these days, we forgot how rewarding such an engine can be. You’ve got to work the new seven-speed dual-clutch ‘box to get maximum speed and you must think about the correct gear for each corner. (Or, of course, you can let the computer sort it out, and in Performance mode, it does so perfectly.)

If you’re a numbers person, try these on: 0-100 km/h in 3.2 seconds (3.1 on performance rubber) and a top speed of 330 km/h (205 mph).

The sound is wonderful too — it’s a big part of the R8’s newfound drama. The old one was too muted. This one is just right, offering a happy rumble at low rpm and building to a ripping mechanical tremolo at the high end.

The speed at which we carved the daunting racetrack in Portimao belied the R8’s true talent: it feels both engaging and easy, a rare trick to pull off. The old R8 had the latter down, but the new one offers both.

Value

The R8 V10 sits in a slightly unusual segment. There’s only one direct competitor: the Porsche 911 Turbo S. Both are supercar-fast yet also usable as daily-drivers. Both come in around the $200,000 mark. (Canadian pricing has yet to be announced for the 2017 R8.) But it’s the R8 which ultimately feels the more special of the two cars: for its mid-engine layout, and exclusivity. The R8 is a budget Lamborghini, whereas the Turbo is based on the relatively common Porsche 911.

But there are others car to consider too. BMW’s spectacular i8 hybrid and Mercedes' AMG GT are significantly cheaper. The Aston Martin V12 Vantage S offers an even more spectacular engine, although it’s less of a daily-driver.

Conclusion

The old R8 was the good kid of the sports car world: well behaved but not the most fun to be around compared to some of its peers. So Audi let the R8 get a side-shave, smoke a cigarette and couch surf around Europe. The new second-gen R8 knows how to have a good time. It’ll still get you through your daily commute, but it’ll also be your partner in crime on the weekends. Awesome.