Attention, Porsche 911 Turbo, Lamborghini LP560-4, Mercedes-Benz SL63 AMG: Here comes your nemesis.
This Audi probably would have never happened had Porsche gained control of the Volkswagen Group five years earlier. But now the Audi R8 5.2 is out, larger than life and even better than expected. True, the Gallardo is sharper. The SL63 AMG is wilder. And the 911 Turbo is all that in a more compact package. But in terms of total dynamic balance; anyone-can-do-it, A-to-B ground-covering ability; and that all-important blend of confidence, compliance, and comfort, the 5.2-liter V-10-powered R8 is the new leader of the pack.
That's the inescapable conclusion after a memorable day in which even losing my driver's license ten times over would not have dimmed the sparkle in my eyes. In the morning, I left Marbella, Spain, for the remote, privately owned Ascari racetrack in a Suzuka gray R8 with a three-pedal transmission and magnetic dampers (standard in the U.S.).... Read full article