2008 Audi R8

The 2008 Audi R8 is the company's first attempt at building a high end exotic sports car and by all accounts they have been very successful. There is really nothing else like it on the market, at least in the same price range. The R8 offers outstanding performance and at the same time is surprisingly comfortable. Not something that you can say about a lot of high end sports cars. Whether the buying public are ready for a car like this remains to be seen. In a lot of cases the decision to buy an exotic car is going to be based on the reputation and cachet of the name. While Audi have a good reputation as a car builder they aren't known for building cars like this.

In terms of performance the Audi R8 can hold its own with any car on the road. Unlike most of the cars in its class it uses all wheel drive which really helps to keep the car stuck to the ground when going around corners. Acceleration is very good as well. The only area where it may lag a little bit behind some of the top of the line sports cars in terms of steering which is a bit softer than you would expect. Some people may be disappointed with the fact that the R8 may be too comfortable to be a top of the line sports car. It is surprisingly quiet inside and you just don't get the same feeling that you do in other cars. On the other hand it does make the R8 more useful as a day to day driving car.

The only engine option for the Audi R8 is a 4.2 liter V8. In a car that is in a category where most of the other cars have a V12 this could be a problem. Nevertheless the performance is still excellent. Standard is a six speed manual transmission although the R-Tronic transmission is available. This offers a computer controlled clutch with manual shifting, although there is a fully automatic mode as well.

The interior layout of the car is rather different than what you will find most other cars. They basically have the controls wrap around the driver almost like he is in a race car. There is also a surprising amount of space inside the car. Not compared to a sedan of course but compared to other high end sports cars there certainly is. All of the expected safety features are there of course, airbags, anti-lock brakes, stability and traction control.

Audi have created a very good car with the R8 the only question is will anybody buy it. They have kind of fallen in between classes with this car. They cost more than and perform better than most sports cars but are not at the same level as the true exotic cars. Potentially this could work out well for them but that remains to be seen.