Thoughts on the 2017 Audi R8 V10 Spyder

We discuss our thoughts on the 2017 Audi R8 V10 Spyder. It's both fast and comfortable. The Everyday Supercar.

Transcript

GREG MIGLIORE: Let's talk about-- this is the legit spec sheet. Audi R8 Spyder. Meat and potatoes-- 540 horsepower through to 98 pound feet of torque. It's bright red. It's the Spyder. There's carbon fiber fangs coming out of every angle. I love this car.

REESE COUNT: Yeah. I've been saying it. We do the live drives every week. So go to our Facebook page. Go to the site. Watch some of the live drives that we host every week. And I've been trying to get all the sports cars in before it gets really cold in Michigan. And last week, it was actually kind of nice for the second half and convertible and sports cars.

But driving the Audi is awesome. I had the top down even when it was 50 degrees outside. And you roll the windows up, turn the heated seats on, you're fire. But, yeah, the R8's awesome. I hadn't driven one since the original V8 manual.

GREG MIGLIORE: Wow. That's a gutsy car.

REESE COUNT: That's a great car. But I drove that when it came out. I knew some people at the Audi dealer where I lived at the time, who let me get behind the wheel of it. And I still think I might try to find one of those in a few years. But, yeah, this one's great.

It's got the V-10. It's based on the Lamborghini Huracan. It's got a same version of the V-10, same platform. But very different cars. The Audi is very civilized, very buttoned down, very easy to drive. Where the Huracan's a little hairy. I mean, what did you think about it?

GREG MIGLIORE: So let's see, Lambo versus Audi, I would probably take the R8. Just because when I see this car-- we'll get that comparison right out of the way. When I look at them side by side, the Lambo is-- I don't know. I've seen Lambos. Maybe I sound too much like a car journalist or whatever.

But the R8 to me, still a decade on here, still has a really special look. We were doing a video and photo shoot with his car yesterday. And I'm just literally at one point standing in this clearing in this park sipping coffee, looking at the R8. And it still stands out. It's still something different, something special. And I think that's great.

I drove it back yesterday in rush-hour traffic. And like you were saying, it can be pretty comfortable. It can be you as docile as you want it to be. The suspension doesn't abuse you too much. But on those stretches of road where I could open it up, holy cow, man. V-10-- oh, that's awesome. I mean, it sounds good. It's obviously powerful. It's right behind your ears, which is pretty wild. And it's just a riot to drive.

REESE COUNT: Yeah. I was blown away about the ride quality of this car, especially 'cause it's got the optional 20" wheels. So it's got no sidewall. But this might be the best riding sports car I've driven probably all year. I mean, it's--

GREG MIGLIORE: Wow. High praise. OK.

REESE COUNT: Especially over this cracked pavement. Where I live, it's kind of even worse. Yeah, the R8 was phenomenal. But that V-10, it really makes you lament the loss of naturally aspirated engines.

I mean, I like turbos. And I like torque. And I like that low down power. But the way that engine builds revs and really just pulls all the way to the top, that linear power delivery-- God, I miss naturally aspirated engines. Yeah, that car is awesome.

My biggest complaint about is there's not as much drama as I would like from a sports car. I'd like it to be a little hard-edged. The Audi's almost too easy. You can drive it really fast and really push it. And you're not gonna lose any control.

And I like to work for that just a little bit. I don't know. I haven't spent much time behind the wheel of the Huracan to make a call one way or the other. But I could definitely drive the R8 every day.

GREG MIGLIORE: To your point, the only really challenging part is visibility. Your low to the ground obviously. There's some pretty big pillars in front of you. And that's about it. I mean, that's the only challenge.

It's fairly comfortable, as long as you calibrate your brain that you're driving this low to the ground supercar. But the challenge is not-- it's a much different dynamic. Example, this video shoot we were doing yesterday, I drove the Cayman S out to there. And it's a manual 6-speed 350-horsepower boxer 4. I mean, I love that car too.

But that car, you gotta work a little bit more. Whereas this thing, it's a 7-speed S tronic. You get in traffic and you just point it ahead. And for a while, you're just cruising. You know?

REESE COUNT: Yeah. You can be dumb in this thing. Just flat-footed out of a corner and quattro will sort the traction out. You're not gonna lose control of this car unless you turn everything off and really do something stupid. But it's a really, really special car.

I like the size of it too. It actually feels pretty compact, especially compared to some of the other mid-engine cars we've had recently. That Ferrari we had in the spring was a really big car actually. Far more powerful, far faster, but just a really sizable vehicle.

I think even the McLaren felt a lot bigger than this. It drove small, which is something I like. But to your point, the visibility, especially with the top up-- it's not great. Even looking at the "Monroney" here, it's fuel economy is decent-- 15-city, 22-highway.

GREG MIGLIORE: 22 on the highway is not bad, I mean, for a V-10.

REESE COUNT: So I think this is genuinely a viable every day supercar. And I think that's what the R8 has always been. I think you put it up against pricing-wise this one costs with tax and our gas guzzler and destination, $192,625. So closeness makes no difference to $2000,000.

And that's an interesting price point. That's McLaren 570GT. That's a Porsche 911 Turbo, Acura NSX. I mean, there's a lot of different stuff there. And they're all very different vehicles. I think the closest thing would be the Porsche. I mean, that's a car that does everything. It's really comfortable every day. It's supremely fast when you want it to be. I don't know.

GREG MIGLIORE: I think I'd probably put the NSX a little bit closer, just because of the layout and the fact that the NSX is actually pretty forgiving as well. When it comes to putting the 911 into these conversations, I always go back to the fact it's still a 911, which is an awesome thing.

But I don't know. I have a tough time putting it in the conversation with Lamborghinis, R8s, McLarens. Even though, based on pure performance, it's certainly capable of that-- and it's engine layout too.

REESE COUNT: I guess because you can get a $70,000, $80,000, $90,000 911-- a $200,000 doesn't feel quite as special. but because the NSX, because the R8, because the Huracan, because of the McLaren don't really start for less than $170,000-- you get into it and even the base ones-- because this isn't even the V-10 Plus. This is just the standard V-10 Spyder. It feels special and different and new. So, great car.

GREG MIGLIORE: Great car. We gotta leave it there. If you have any questions about the R8, let us know. I think we hit that car pretty hard. And if you want to more, though, hit us up. We'd love to tell you more. It's a fun car. It's a bright red Audi R8 with a V-10. So, again, you want to know anything more beyond that, let us know.

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