Audi Sport Showcase!!

[W8PMC]

What a fantastic event:) Stunning location & a great range of Audi's finest.

Highlight vehicles were the SQ5, RS6 & R8 V10 Plus.

Firstly the SQ5, this vehicle was astounding. We have a Q5 already, the 2.0TFSi S-Line S-Tronic & rate the vehicle highly although the MPG is terrible as we can never get over 30MPG. The SQ5 goes like sh1t off a shovel & even though it must have been caned during the day, it's average MPG was 30.3. The amplified sound although a strange concept initially, really grows on you & it does indeed sound like a V8. Can defo see this replacing Sue's S-Line Q5.

The RS6 was plain bonkers, for a car that big & heavy it went like a scalded cat & belies it's heft very well. Never been a big fan of estate cars & although the RS6 is pleasing to the eye in Avant form, i'd be signing an order now if they did a Saloon variant. Can't fault the car at all.

Naturally, leaving the R8 V10 Plus until last applied the old saying of leaving the best till last. This car was about as insane as it gets. Being the Plus it was dripped in Carbon (the real stuff) & had the Carbon Ceramic brakes. Holy mother of god this car was fast & the sound from the Sports zorst was pure aural pleasure. If i had £130k, this would be very high on my list of cars to buy. Oddly enough, on paper my GT-R was a fair lick quicker, however the drama the R8 oozes, that noise coupled with it's presence, you feel like you're travelling at warp factor 10. WANT WANT WANT.

Also drove the RS5 Cab & TT-RS, but it was the above 3 that rocked my car world:)

[HYFR]

Have you driven a V10 R8 before ?

[bam_bam]

DK, I'd be very interested to hear what you think of the S-Tronic R8V10 when you drive it.

[HYFR]

DK, I'd be very interested to hear what you think of the S-Tronic R8V10 when you drive it.

I was speaking to Kim @ QST about that yesterday as he had a plus in recently for a Capristo.

He was astonished with how good to S-tronic is.

He's currently running an RS 5 and he said it was miles quicker and better (gearbox I mean)

Whilst I like the R-Tronic for paddles (2hands on wheels) and the rev matched downshift for aural pleasure...the gearbox itself it one hell of a clunky git and the up changes are really slow...really notice it at GTI Inters when you could easily tell how a DSG would give you more time over the 1/4.

My Spyder is a Manual, and with the open metal gate, its glorious....

[W8PMC]

Have you driven a V10 R8 before ?

Nope, only driven a couple of V8's (a few years ago), but wasn't really impressed with them other than there looks & really didn't think the manual box suited the car.

Had an order slot for one of the 1st batch when they were launched but had a change of heart & handed my slot back to the dealer.

The gear changes on this V10 Plus were as quick if not quicker than anything i've driven before:) I didn't launch it, just buried the loud pedal off the lights & the grip, noise, drama & gear changes were simply epic. What i did notice straight away was the 300+kg weight loss over a GT-R so in tighter bends i'd be confident the V10 could gain advantage & coupled with the Ceramics (which i believe you have D_K?), that would improve:)

[HYFR]

The V10 is epic.
Much more "special" then the V8.

The extra power and exotic noise really add to the experience.

[Golfather]

The V10 is epic.

+1

[doodlebug]

I get the car. What I struggle with is the technology and the money being asked for that tech. No DAB is poor.

911 turbo same money marginally quicker and has all the tech.

[HYFR]

I get the car. What I struggle with is the technology and the money being asked for that tech. No DAB is poor.

911 turbo same money marginally quicker and has all the tech.

Agree, but the driving experience overwhelms off of those bug bears

[W8PMC]

I get the car. What I struggle with is the technology and the money being asked for that tech. No DAB is poor.

911 turbo same money marginally quicker and has all the tech.

But I'd hazard a guess the drama would be lower with the Porker;)

Same kind of analogy as the GT-R vs everything. I know my old GT-R (modified to 620 horses) was quicker across most scenarios than the R8 but i think the ceramics would have just taken the edge in certain corners, however the R8 felt & sounded quicker & it's overall on road presence was something the Nissan could only dream of:(

Saying that, the Plus is circa £50k more expensive

[doodlebug]

I get the car. What I struggle with is the technology and the money being asked for that tech. No DAB is poor.

911 turbo same money marginally quicker and has all the tech.

But I'd hazard a guess the drama would be lower with the Porker;)

Same kind of analogy as the GT-R vs everything. I know my old GT-R (modified to 620 horses) was quicker across most scenarios than the R8 but i think the ceramics would have just taken the edge in certain corners, however the R8 felt & sounded quicker & it's overall on road presence was something the Nissan could only dream of:(

Saying that, the Plus is circa £50k more expensive

How very dare you compare a Datsun with ze Germans!

I take your point in the porker. There's just something about the R8 interior which grates.

Got some test driving to do.....

[HYFR]

Get the right interior spec and it is very nice.

Carbon fibre
Ext. Leather
Alcantara headlining

They are a must for it to feel 'special'
Buckets the icing on the cake, but super rare.

[iR8V10]

Get the right interior spec and it is very nice.

Carbon fibre
Ext. Leather
Alcantara headlining

They are a must for it to feel 'special'
Buckets the icing on the cake, but super rare.

3 things are important when looking for an R8:
Spec.
Spec.
And Spec.

[bam_bam]

Get the right interior spec and it is very nice.

Carbon fibre
Ext. Leather
Alcantara headlining

They are a must for it to feel 'special'
Buckets the icing on the cake, but super rare.

3 things are important when looking for an R8:
Spec.
Spec.
And Spec.

Yeah, yeah but what about spec?

[W8PMC]

I get the car. What I struggle with is the technology and the money being asked for that tech. No DAB is poor.

911 turbo same money marginally quicker and has all the tech.

But I'd hazard a guess the drama would be lower with the Porker;)

Same kind of analogy as the GT-R vs everything. I know my old GT-R (modified to 620 horses) was quicker across most scenarios than the R8 but i think the ceramics would have just taken the edge in certain corners, however the R8 felt & sounded quicker & it's overall on road presence was something the Nissan could only dream of:(

Saying that, the Plus is circa £50k more expensive

How very dare you compare a Datsun with ze Germans!

I take your point in the porker. There's just something about the R8 interior which grates.

Got some test driving to do.....

Do agree about the R8 interior. It is basically unchanged from launching i think in technology terms & the Infotainment system is the same as the C5 RS6+ which really looks dated now among competition, however that also applies to the Gallardo which also has the same system. If you look away from the centre console, things are much much better & the sports seats with lashings of carbon trim look lush.

I can only base my experience in the V10 Plus which I believe comes standard with lots of carbon. Love them Knight Rider indicators too:)

That aside though, the performance, noise, traction & drama far distract from the poor centre console:)