R8 V10 Spyder vs 911 Turbo Cab on Top Gear

[desperado]

Did anyone see this? We'd love to hear a report on this side of the pond.

Top Gear Season 15 Episode 4
Top Gear — By MR on July 18, 2010 at 1:38 pm

Top Gear is back tonight with Episode 4 of Season 15. The three presenters have to build cool and interesting motorhomes before setting off for a bank holiday weekend in the West Country to see how each of their creations performs in the real world. Jeremy, Richard and James were caught filming the trip by some embarrassing parents.

Clarkson also tests the new Audi R8 V10 Spyder against the latest version of Porsche’s enduring 911 Turbo cabriolet. As always a celebrity steps behind the steering wheel of the brand new Reasonably Priced Car.

Tune in tonight on BBC Two at 20:00 BST in HD.

[fkuist]

It's on YouTube. Go to the site and search for Top Gear Season 15 Episode 4, and it should come right up. You want to check-out Part 1 and the first few minutes of Part 2. Enjoy!

[desperado]

Interesting. When Top Gear is viewed in America, it is mirror-image backwards. I'm musing it must be something about watching a right-hand drive show in a left-hand drive country!

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6H5Lb8tQVq0[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDThYjl5R6s[/ame]

[harrison]

Strange, I wasn't able to see the vid. But it seems awefully strange to do a mirror view. What's the big deal, they have the steering wheel on the wrong side ,so what?? It should be in the middle.

[r8vten]

If you can't find it on You Tube, then you can watch it here:

http://www.streetfire.net/video/top-...-4_2039186.htm

In summary, performance-wise the cars are practically indistinguishable, and effectively shows what a poor attempt at an objective review the Fifth Gear one was (where the better driver was always in the Porsche).

Of course, we all know that the performance might be the same, but the Audi is infinitely more beautiful and exciting, and Jeremy is in raptures over the sound of the V10

[gazza1]

Thought this was a pretty lame review of both cars.

As a aside I thought the whole episode was pretty average
compared to the other episodes in the new series.

[hmp10]

Of course, we all know that the performance might be the same, but the Audi is infinitely more beautiful and exciting, and Jeremy is in raptures over the sound of the V10.

While I find the comedic aspects of Top Gear entertaining, most of these shows are plagued by the same problem that causes car magazines to test Corvettes against fighter jets. They have far more episodes to produce than there are interesting cars to review.

One way to handle the problem is to compare versions of the same two cars over and over, focusing on just subsets of their overall characters. And this almost always puts the R8 at a disadvantage, as most cars in its class can best it in one dimension or another.

But what this approach misses is the perfection of the totality of the car. Several cars, including at least two much cheaper ones, can beat the V10 in a straight line. Some can beat it on a course that puts a premium on constant heavy braking. Many can provide more teenager-thrilling antics near the edge, mainly by virtue of being less controllable. (The most infamous example of this was that absurd Jeremy Clarkson review where he found the V10 R8 to be better in almost every dimension but then recommended buying the Corvette ZR-1 instead because it was "something worse", i. e., harder for most drivers to control and providing the thrill of random parts falling off during hard driving.)

Frankly, these kinds of reviews are now getting tiresome. There is no car on the market that more adroitly makes the right trade-offs to produce a car that is as blindingly fast and as beautifully sculpted and as tightly built and as adept on a track and as comfortable for daily driving and as sure-footed in bad weather and as attention-grabbing on the streets and highways . . . and that makes as much of its performance envelope safely accessible to the average drivers that most of us are.

The first reviews after the R8 introduction captured some sense of this accomplishment. But most since have succumbed to the need to produce one episode or article after another that find something seemingly novel to say about a car that has, perhaps, been reviewed too much.

[Garyhun]

While I find the comedic aspects of Top Gear entertaining, most of these shows are plagued by the same problem that causes car magazines to test Corvettes against fighter jets. They have far more episodes to produce than there are interesting cars to review.

One way to handle the problem is to compare versions of the same two cars over and over, focusing on just subsets of their overall characters. And this almost always puts the R8 at a disadvantage, as most cars in its class can best it in one dimension or another.

But what this approach misses is the perfection of the totality of the car. Several cars, including at least two much cheaper ones, can beat the V10 in a straight line. Some can beat it on a course that puts a premium on constant heavy braking. Many can provide more teenager-thrilling antics near the edge, mainly by virtue of being less controllable. (The most infamous example of this was that absurd Jeremy Clarkson review where he found the V10 R8 to be better in almost every dimension but then recommended buying the Corvette ZR-1 instead because it was "something worse", i. e., harder for most drivers to control and providing the thrill of random parts falling off during hard driving.)

Frankly, these kinds of reviews are now getting tiresome. There is no car on the market that more adroitly makes the right trade-offs to produce a car that is as blindingly fast and as beautifully sculpted and as tightly built and as adept on a track and as comfortable for daily driving and as sure-footed in bad weather and as attention-grabbing on the streets and highways . . . and that makes as much of its performance envelope safely accessible to the average drivers that most of us are.

The first reviews after the R8 introduction captured some sense of this accomplishment. But most since have succumbed to the need to produce one episode or article after another that find something seemingly novel to say about a car that has, perhaps, been reviewed too much.

Agree totally! Also, to "just" cane the Spyder around a track and declare it more "wobbly`and "less of a car" than the coupe misses the point by about 10 gazillion miles.

[ignomini]

You guys do realize that Top Gear is more about entertainment than serious automotive journalism...right? That's why Clarkson will rubbish the Vette, then choose it as his favorite. He's having fun entertaining people, not trying to present an objective review.

Having said that, I agree with the general sentiment here about the R8. And being three weeks out from receiving mine, I'm betting on the R8 being a better total package, not just "faster here, or crazier there."

[Bodhii]

Here is a link for us on this side of the pond.
Enjoy:

http://www.casttv.com/shows/top-gear...sode-4/usuwr41