Clarkson: The Audi R8 is exactly what a supercar should be... and I still wouldn't have one
"The whole point of a supercar is that you don't use it every day"
HAVING reviewed the tough little Suzuki Jimny 4×4 last week, Jeremy Clarkson has turned his attentions in today’s Sunday Times Driving to something completely different: the new 612bhp Audi R8 V10 Performance supercar.
Of course, with six times more power than the Suzuki, the Audi R8 doesn’t disappoint JC when it comes to speed. With a 10bhp increase over the outgoing V10 Plus model, this latest R8 is mightily fast: 0-62mph is dealt with in 3.1 seconds, and Clarkson claims the 205mph top speed makes the Audi “faster flat out than a light aircraft”.
But maximum speed isn’t the Grand Tour host’s favourite part of the R8: it’s the powerplant itself. Loud, large and resolutely old school in comparison with the latest turbocharged and hybrid efforts, Clarkson didn’t hold back on his praise for the Audi’s 5.2-litre, naturally-aspirated V10, likening its exquisite noise to that of the organ at St Paul’s Cathedral.
Perhaps most controversially of all, though, are the claims that the R8 is “actually good value”, especially if you ignore the stupidly-expensive options like the £2,500 diamond-pattern roof headlining. As a fast and thrilling mid-engined supercar that’s can be a joy to drive day-to-day, the £141,000 base price is “not bad at all”, according to Clarkson.
And yet, despite all of that — and going as far to say it’s “what a supercar is meant to be like” — Clarkson still wouldn’t buy one. Instead, he’d rather spend an extra £60,000 or so to have “virtually identical” but “more viscerally exciting” Lamborghini Huracan.
According to JC: “If you’re going to buy a car that annoys Sir Attenborough, you may as well get one that really annoys him”.
Read his full review at thesundaytimes.co.uk
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