Another quotable write-up
here.
This guys writing just nailed it for me. Here are some of my favs.
Chas Murphy said of the R8 V10 Spyder: "You have to drive the car. It can't be put into words." Well, we drove it and we can put it into words. Rather, we can put it into one word: unfair.
The ways in which the R8 V10 Spyder is unfair leave us a little melancholy. You see, as good as the R8 V10 Spyder is, when you look at it, what you behold is the dumbing down of driving civilization. On the upside, this particular kind of dumb is among the most rewarding, outstanding kinds of idiocy you could ever hope to achieve
While perusing the two rows of R8 V10 Spyders made available to the day's gathering, Andrew Lipman, Audi's East Coast PR manager, proffered the most beautiful words of the morning: "Would you like a manual?" Why yes, Mr. Lipman, we would. And we would also like to salute you...A Ferrari rep told Bloomberg that its 458 Italia had no chance of having a manual transmission because "The technology was too slow and outdated." Well listen to this, Ferrari: the technology behind making gelato is slow and outdated as well, but that doesn't mean they should only offer flavors that can be made in 300 milliseconds.
When the road really ramps up and takes an awful turn (correction: ramps up and takes a glorious turn of capricious and multifarious corners), it's only then that the R8 makes us dumb and sad and really, really happy.
Fourth gear is magical, keeping us thick in the action on everything from long straights down to tight-ish bends. In fourth, you're at 4,000 at about 65 mph, 5,000 rpm at about 80 mph and 7,000 rpm gets you to about 100. At that point, ]there remains 1,700 rpm in reserve and you still haven't run out of torque..."Could I clip the apex of this 30-mph corner at the Spyder's top speed of 195 mph?" No, you couldn't. But you can take that corner flat at 65 mph in fourth gear while autographing the apex for future admirers.
The Audi R8 has made canyon running so easy, and the Audi R8 V10 Spyder has made it look and feel so good, that it's pornographically indecent.
It is The Idiot's Guide to Driving a Supercar, and we mean that in the best way possible. Although it saddens us a little to close the door further on Ye Olde Supercar Experience, we'll happily wear the dunce cap and play the idiot in the R8 V10 Spyder, with nothing but the wind, third and fourth gear, and roads like Silly String to teach us a thing or two about what it's like to be dumb...
Patience is the ability to idle your motor when you feel like stripping your gears