Audi R8 V10 quick review: Teutonic Taurean

Cabin and features

The R8 is surprisingly sober from the inside for a supercar, especially for an Audi. We have seen far more toys to play with in regulation Audi cars. But that’s the thing with these performance machines – you want to keep the bells and whistles to a bare minimum so that they don’t come in the way of their singular objective – going as fast as possible!

The most eye-catching and differentiated bit inside the cabin, without a question, is the drive selector lever. The exquisitely crafted aluminum finish shifter stick looks more like a piece of art than equipment. With the beautiful R8 Emblem on top, it invites you to hold it even when the car is at rest.
Unlike the familiar, PRNDL layout for the drive selector, this one is different. You’ll have to choose the A mode for Auto (Drive), push the lever fore and aft for manual gear selection, pull it to the right to engage Neutral, and pull it down further thereon for engaging reverse. The layout may be different, but it’s very intuitive and doesn’t take more than a few seconds to get used to.

The buttons for the MMI interface which are generally positioned on the floating panel between the front seats are shifted into the center console below the flip-out screen. The layout is quite different too with various menu buttons now arranged in a row. The MMI options choice buttons are below the horizontally stacked menu items.

The instrumentation is tastefully done. It adorns the classic look featuring black dials with racy white and red fonts. The twin pod assembly has the tacho to the left and speedo to the right. Holding the center-stage in the left dial is the R8 emblem, while the right part has V10 written at the center. The fuel gauge, which is one of the more frequently used items, is positioned at the top between the tacho and speedo. It gets obscured behind the upper part of the steering wheel sometimes and you have to bend down to have a look at it from time to time. The Multi Information display positioned in the middle offers all the information you may require about the trip and other functions.

Power-adjustable sports seats and folding seat backs are standard in the R8 V10. The standard driver information system on the superior V10 Plus also has a lap timer for recording lap times. The shift pedals on the V 10 come in aluminum look. Navigation and the Bang & Olufsen Sound System are also available.

Now you don’t expect much storage space inside a supercar, do you? Well you’d be surprised to see that the R8 V10 plus has the space to store as many as 12 bottles inside its compact cabin …. Nawwt!

It does, however have a small glove compartment, two cupholders behind the drive selector, and two small covered compartments behind that. In addition, you also have a ledge running across the width of the car behind the seats to store items such as a couple of haversacks or slim briefcases.
And just so you don’t crib about not having the space to store your luggage, there is a boot too – in the place where you usually have your engine. Yep, that sharply styled nose doesn’t have only aesthetic value – it’s utterly functional too encapsulating more than 100 liters of volume.

Other technicalities

The Audi R8 V10 weighs a little more than 1600 kilograms, the V10 Plus variant weighs 50 kilograms less! The hand built, and extremely precise Aluminium Space frame body of the Audi R8 has been modified to achieve the feat.

The upright air intakes on the sides include a solid aluminum gas cap. At the front of the V10, the Audi grille has its struts adorned with fine chrome strips for differentiation to the V8 versions. The Audi logo is not on the grille, but on the hood. The V8 and V10 versions of the Coupé are further distinguished by the design of the side air scoops. They are flared wider on the V10 variants. The sideblades of the top of the line Audi R8 V10 plus are made of Carbon fiber.

All versions of the R8 now come standard with all-LED headlights. The blinkers have dynamic light strips that run outwards when lit. The LEDs for the high and low beams are located above and below the daytime running lights. The headlights also include a static turning light.

As a technology showcase, doing suspension duty on the R8 V10 Plus (not the standard V10) is the Audi magnetic ride active damping system. The shock absorber pistons contain a synthetic hydrocarbon fluid with microscopically small magnetic particles. When the Audi R8 steers into a curve, the damping force on the outermost wheel is increased using magnetic field, which reduces body roll.

The V10 versions have 19-inch wheels with 235/35 and 295/30 section, front and rear tyres respectively. Carbon fiber-ceramic disks come standard in the Audi R8 V10 plus for some ferocious stopping power. Up front are six-piston, monoblock calipers and discs measuring 380 millimeters in diameter; in the back are four-piston fixed calipers and 360-millimeter discs.

While driving, the Electronic Stability Control can be switched to Sport mode, for limited interference for oversteer. The ESC can also be switched off completely.

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