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The Audi R8 is a collection of impossible things. It is a performance behemoth yet as refined as a luxury saloon. It is a mid-engined supercar yet is practical. It is German but reframes from being stereotypically sterile. When the four rings later decided to laden the astonishing car with a 5.2 litre it quite simply became one of the best cars on sale at any time in history. Now summer is in the city and as temperatures rise well above toasty nothing gave us more pleasure than sampling the R8 V10 Spyder. In essence it is the very same car as its coupe sibling but what effect has cutting its head off had?

A major problem with creating a convertible from a car that was originally designed to be a hard-top is that you remove one of the most structurally integral parts of the car. The result is all to often a great car ruined by extra weight and handling that can be likened to wrestling a moose up a tight staircase. Audi have attempted to reduce this rather unwanted trait by adding extra chassis support and some carbon fibre body panels. The rag top may be 100KG heavier than the coupe but the performance figures from that 5.2 litre V10 do a very good job of brushing the laws of physics aside. 0-62MPH is completed in a rapid 4.1 seconds and the Spyders top speed of 194MPH is by no means sluggish.

The fabric roof can complete the R8’s transformation in just under 19 seconds and if you have the unfortunate luck of being caught out by the British weather, the transition can be made on the move providing you are under 30MPH. Now a fairly obvious side effect of having the roof down is the increase in general noise. Not that I am complaining as most of it is produced in a glorious fashion by the howling V10. The sound is incredible as at low revs it emits a rather growly tone that is enough to scare innocent bystanders into a state of alert but let all 10 pistons come out to play and the symphony is nothing short of epic!

The R8 is all-wheel-drive but thanks to various onboard systems that only Stephen Hawking could explain, the balance of the machine is as precise as a decimal point. Make no mistakes this is a big car but it darts through corners with the agility of a mosquito and seemingly never ending levels of grip. It is so incredibly manageable and composed at all times. So much so that words need to be invented to describe just how good the handling is. The car is equipped with a proper 6 speed manual that so satisfying to use that it would be a crime if you chose the R Tronic flappy paddles. This car flatters you and then rewards you further the more you punish it. But once you have finished being a hooligan and decided that the tyres have had enough torture for one day you can relax and drive home in German luxury. The seats that were holding you in place firmly whilst the engine propelled you towards the horizon now hug you in comfort. The lavish upholstery really does make this feel like a car that is worth £112,000. Better still there is a usable boot that you can fit more than just socks in! Unlike many supercars of this caliber the Audi R8 Spyder can also achieve an impressive 16 MPG meaning you need not feel too guilty about killing the polar bears.

What you get from this car is something that is usable everyday and not something just to bring out for a Sunday drive. Just like the coupe it is an utter joy in motion be it bumbling along an A-road or testing your bravery, this machine never ceases to impress. It such a complete product with no real flaws worth mentioning. I said that the coupe was “the most complete car I have had the pleasure if reviewing.” Well I was wrong… The Spyder adds an extra level of engagement and by being every bit as good as its fixed roof counterpart becomes one of the best investments in motoring you could make.

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Audi, a respectable manufacture who specialize in making “banker mobiles”, you know the sort, subtle powerhouses yet in many cases turn out to be as exciting as a hospital corridor. I’m not saying that all Audi’s are sterile but they do tend to lack that little something that makes you tingle inside. That was the case until a couple of years ago when Audi rocked up to the party with their new R8 super car. Not a single person in the industry saw it coming and when it arrived on our roads it was utterly stunning. The likes for Ferrari were quacking in their boots as the R8 set out to redefine the super car with the aid of its sister company Lamborghini. A V8 was placed at the heart of this phenomenal performance machine, all in all creating one of the world’s most faultless cars. It was reasonably practical, very fast, comfortable and above all very good value for money.

Time has passed and the motor industry has taken some valuable lessons from the R8, but now Audi has gone out to run four rings around its competitors again with this! The new Audi R8 V10. This car is a clear example of “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it” as the chamfered edges of the body work appear to resemble its predecessors exactly. But look closer and you can see the tiny alterations that Audi have made to improve this already biblical car tenfold. The most noticeable of which is the new 5.2 litre V10 that produces 518BHP and is capable of launching the car from 0-60mph in 3.9 seconds. 197MPH can be achieved in this bullet and thanks to its four wheel drive system you can stay on the road to achieve it. You see the system in this car is not there to kill your sideways fun, but is there to enhance it. The set-up only enables 20% of the cars power to reach the front wheels, just enough to keep you out of a hedge in case things go belly up. Smaller details on the car have been changed to add to the cars appeal, despite these changes only being worth a few per cent in overall effectiveness, I must say I would rather the changes were there thanabsent. The new exhaust helps deliver the rumble of the magnificent V10 to your ear with more clarity than the original. The grill is no longer plastic but chromed to add an extra sense of depth. The new carbon blades that run down the side of the car also bulge to ensure that its 5.2 litre heart get all the cool air it requires.

The car still has a boot you can use and is still just as refined when you are pottering about town, but just like its forefather it’s always ready to play! Step on the noisy pedal and the once docile beast is awoken in gauze of noise. Every input you apply to the car transforms into a feat of driving heroism. You have all the fun, whilst the on board computer deletes the danger. The entire experience is flawless. In truth the only dislike I have about this car is the interior. Whilst it’s pleasant and functional almost every vent, dial and handle is taken from another Audi. This then is like watering down a fantastic vintage whiskey, it may make it go further but it thins out the purity if the flavour.

However, this being an Audi means it will never breakdown, it will always start in cold weather and it will do all this for eternity. So I can forgive it for its vegetarian inspired interior as the pros outweigh the cons like Johnny Vegas outweighs a bad of feathers. This car, the Audi R8 V10, is the most complete super car I have ever had the pleasure of reviewing.

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