The 1000 mile report

[James Knight]

OK I have had my R8 for a week and a half now... the first weekend I put on 900 miles cruising motorways and tearing-up the spectacular roads of mid Wales (all arranged around racing my Elise at Oulton Park on the Saturday morning - it's a hard life). In the last week an a bit I've been pottering around London - so it's had a fairly good mix of use. I have, of course, been running it in - no full throttle, no revs over 6k yet, but also not being excessively gentle with it

Likes

- Engine, gearbox (manual - of course) and drivetrain. Just fantastic - elastic and cohesive. The throttle response is superb. I can't see why anyone would need more power for the road, and I'm not using all mine yet! I think my R10 order is going to be cancelled
- Poise and grip. It's phenomenal - not even the greasy mountain roads of Wales could unsettle the car at sane road speeds
- Ride quality - its a very well judged compromise, and the car feels like it's hewn from rock. Very impressive structural rigidity
- Brakes - the ultimate stopping power is awesome
- It's a very comfortable place to be on long journeys, with few of the usual "supercar" drawbacks
- For such a wide car it is also pretty easy to drive around the city, with pretty good visibility all round

Dislikes

- Brakes - the initial bit is a little too sensitive
- The front bonnet doesn't shut properly (so much for CT scans!), and needs adjusting
- the boot/trunk is a little small
- errrrrrrr.... the display doesn't show the CD text track names, and iPod integration is poor.... but now I'm really scratching around

And one last thing... and certainly NOT something I crave... the car gets a huge amount of attention, everywhere, including London. It has great road presence and is still unusual. Given I'm used to driving a race spec/liveried Elise around London (and a 987S), I'm surprised by how many heads the Audi turns. One guy in Wales even fell off his bike rubber-necking . As mentioned, that is not something I bought the car for - and rather hope it tones down over the next few years.

Once run in, I'm taking it down to Dijon-Prenois and a couple of other French tracks to test its ultimate balance and limit handling. Can't wait

Here are some photos just after I had the paint/glass/leather treated at http://www.gtechniq.com/. This is the first car of mine I've had done there, though friends report very impressive results - it is supposed to leave the car easier to clean, protect against swirl marks, and last for at least a year. I will update on that!

[James Knight]

Should also mention that mine appears to be an MY09 car, with a white DIS and a few other tweaks.

[randombloke]

The car looks great after the treatment.

I found the boot to hold more than I thought it would to be honest, I've been able to use the car for more than I expected as a result.

It will be interesting to see what happens to the overall handling balance with the v10 as although the v8 can feel a little underpowered in a straight line, the package makes up for it on more interesting roads.

What other tweaks did you get for the 09 model year?

[James Knight]

Thanks - how easy it is to keep looking good is key for me. There is so much snake oil sold in the car prep arena, but I have high hopes for this

I'm comparing the boot with my Boxster, which holds a surprisingly large amount!

Whenever I press the loud pedal on the road, I seem to be doing illegal/silly speeds pretty quickly..... I've raced cars for years, and drove a Koenigsegg at 200mph last year, so I know what f*cking quick is. The R8 isn't that, but it's more than enough IMO. For me enjoying a car means exploiting it, not trying to restrain it.

'09 tweaks? Not sure of the full list, but I've noticed white DIS, electronic engine cover release button, AUX-in in the centre armrest box.

[800]

congrats!!!

any interior photos to share? the white dis?

[James Knight]

Not yet.... will take some if I can remember. Too busy driving it