New Audi R8 V10 Plus review

If you were asked to draw up a list of the most important supercars ever made, what would you pick? The gorgeousLamborghini Miura – recognised as the first real supercar – has to be in there, as does the McLaren F1 – a 242mph bullet and the world’s fastest production car for 12 years, until the Bugatti Veyroncame along and re-wrote the rule-book.

A controversial one, sure, but we’d say the original Audi R8 is just as deserving of a place on that list. Launched in 2007 it didn’t have the shock-factor of a Lamborghini, or the top speed of a Bugatti, but it was more approachable and useable than any supercar that had gone before. Quite simply, it made amateurs look like driving gods, while still turning heads and making all the right noises.

The first R8 is an impossibly tough act to follow, so you can’t blame Audi for sticking closely to the first-generation formula. This is an entirely new car from the wheel bolts up, but rather than reinvent the R8, its added some more power, taken out some weight, fitted a sharp new body and interior and ladled on every last electronic aid at its disposal to make this new R8 faster on one hand, and more usable than ever on the other.

As Audi’s design department recently proved with the new A4, it’s not adverse to simply redrawing and old shape with a series of sharper lines, and it’s more of the same with the new R8. The proportions are identical to its predecessor (in fact it’s 11mm wider, 12mm lower and 14mm shorter, but you wouldn’t know without using a tape measure) so the sharper front grille, full-LED headlights and claw-like separators in the front intakes are the most notable new features.
 
The side blade is now split in two by the shoulder line and the rear is a little wider and flatter that before, with trapezoid-shaped exhausts instead of oval pipes. But to be fair to Audi, the R8’s classic mid-engined, cab-forward stance naturally adds drama to the design. Put it this way, if one burbles past you on the high street, you’re going to turn and look.
 

The interior is another exercise in quality and minimalism from Audi, although there’s a feeling that it’s been held back somewhat by the brilliance of the TT. The 12.3-inch ‘virtual cockpit’ behind the wheel is just as dazzling, and as easy to control via the button-heavy steering wheel or the large rotary dial on the centre console. However, the air-con controls are separate switches, rather than integrated into the vents as on the TT, which doesn’t look quite as special. The seating position, however, is millimetre perfect – you sit low with your feet outstretched and the deep-dish steering wheel pulled up close to your chest. Visibility is significantly better in all directions than the Huracan, too – especially out the rear screen.