2008 Audi R8

2008 Audi R8 - The format is just so similar, and Audi already makes the Gallardo’s body in one of its aluminum-space-frame facilities. Besides, with a history of intelligent platform sharing under its belt, why wouldn’t Audi simply indulge in a little badge engineering?

For one thing, the R8’s versatile nature reminds us more of Ferrari’s F430 than it does the more-or-less relentlessly severe Gallardo. This is not a car that gets in your face the whole time you’re in it. When equipped with the stock suspension or the optional adjustable magnetic shocks, the R8 will cruise the freeway with as little ride disruption and mechanical commotion as an A4.

This leaves the flat-bottomed steering wheel calm and nearly free of front-drive contamination. Sure, there’s enough load increase in turns to inform the driver of events at the front wheels, but the leather rim is almost devoid of vibration and kickback shock. It’s so good that we’ll undoubtedly hear criticism aimed at the mechanism for being isolated and uninvolved. It really is not. The steering on this car is for the finely tuned driver rather than those who require feedback at 7.6 on the Richter scale.

The transmission mounts behind the rear axle, and a shaft runs forward through the engine’s sump to power the front axle. Audi needed space for that arrangement. But Audi has camouflaged the offset effect carefully with engine-bay hardware that makes the view through the glass hatch appear symmetrical. You need to check the position of the four-ring insignia on the car’s tail to confirm that the engine is shaded to the right.

The attention to detail is evident in the cabin, too, where there is a so-called monoposto dashboard catering mainly to the driver. Some of us felt the stylized angles and planes in the interior were a little studied, but it’s a model of ergonomic rationality, and you couldn’t wish for clearer gauges. There’s plenty of space, too — enough for exceptionally tall drivers to get comfortably situated — and Audi claims there’s adequate room behind the seats to accommodate two golf bags.

Audi chose to forgo the keyless ignition nonsense for a conventional steering-column-mounted switch. The effect is nonetheless pretty amazing, as the engine spins to life with vehement energy, blurting a baritone roar before settling to a pulsing idle. Throttle response off idle is instant and muscular, making rev-matching exercises easy for those who choose the metal-gated six-speed Graziano box over Audi’s paddle-shifted R tronic servo-manual. Which, of course, does all that stuff for you.

We expect the manual-gearbox car to equal this performance, but the driver’s technique will need to be similar to the program used by R tronic. As usual with these things, R tronic provides the sort of convenience you expect from an automatic transmission. Unfortunately, R tronic uses a single clutch, not the double clutch of the stellar Audi S tronic automated manual (known as DSG at VW) and is therefore not as smooth. Shove the selector to the left, and the transmission goes into automatic mode, but a nudge at the paddles or the selector lever itself quickly reasserts manual control.

It doesn’t happen that often, and perhaps increasing familiarity with the car would inculcate the correct operating habits. But given the smooth and precise way the manual shifter navigates its artfully convex metal maze, that option might be a better solution. We certainly preferred the stick when circulating a handling track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where having to do one’s own footwork provided a clear idea of this car’s formidable integration.

But don’t just take our word for it. Audi had race driver Jacky Ickx on hand to show us how it’s done. He’s in his early 60s now, and this six-time Le Mans winner and 25-time Formula 1 podium finisher hasn’t forgotten a thing on the track. He was at full throttle off the line, the 4.2-liter V-8 behind us issuing a staccato snarl. After that it was rapidly alternating surges of big power or crushing deceleration as he braked hard for the turns.