Autoblog

Click the image above for a high-res gallery of Audi R8 pics

It's not something many people have talked about, but perhaps the biggest problem with the Audi R8 is that the car doesn't offer enough storage to haul its own growing bundle of awards. Among a passel of other international pubs, Automobile, Playboy, and Autobild have all named the R8 the ant's pants and the bee's knees, or something like that. Latest to sign the R8 Fan Register is the Robb Report, which has placed the R8 on the top step of its Car of the Year awards.

It was apparently "the closest voting in the award's recent history," which is not hard to understand based on the depth of the field. The stupendous machinery trumped by the R8 includes the Ferrari 599, 911 Turbo Cabriolet, Bentley Continental GT Speed, and Aston Martin Vantage V8. The award is decided by automotive professionals as well as Robb Report readers privileged enough to join in. Coming from a magazine that caters to people who can have anything, and often want people to know just how much they spent on everything, Audi's award is no small beer.

Of course, none of these accolades truly count until the car gets Autoblog's stamp of long-term-test approval, so Audi, whenever you think you're ready, we're here. In the mean time, you can check out the full Robb Report press release after the jump, and check out the gallery of hi-res pics below.

Gallery: 2008 Audi R8

[Source: Robb Report]

In what is not a surprise to most lux and exotic car lovers, the Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT won the Robb Reports 'Best of the Best' sedan for the second time, a first for the publication. (The sedan first won in 2004.)  The judges found the sedan "...a styling masterpiece ... the unpretentious Pininfarina shape will continue to turn heads when other sedans have become yesterday's styling fad. It is these concours-winning looks, underpinned by performance and fit and finish that are world-class, that make the Quattroporte Sport GT our favorite new sedan."

Other competitors included the Audi S8, Bentley Continental Flying Spur, BMW M5 and the Maybach 57S. Full details can be found in the magazine when it hits newstands on May 23rd.

[Source: Maserati North America via PR Newswire]