Funny thing about the word super. Despite the promise that anything described as super will exceed every expectation, using that label almost guarantees that it will possess at least one crippling weakness. Superman crumbles in the presence of kryptonite. The Super Bowl smothers football in overhyped commercials. And for supercars, an otherwise perfect driving experience will inevitably be spoiled by an inability to handle trivial, everyday challenges.
Yet it shouldn't surprise you that we begged Audi for a mid-engine R8 to add to our long-term fleet. For its touring-car comfort, exotic performance, relative bargain price, and stunning sheetmetal, we had named the R8 our 2008 Automobile of the Year. Now, as a daily driver, the four-ringed supercar would face every challenge that's ever stymied a Ferrari or a Lamborghini. In our Four Seasons fleet, the R8 would be tested by crawling traffic, a brutal winter, frequent road trips, and expectations of impeccable reliability.
Our Mugello blue Audi R8 arrived in July 2008 with 15,127 miles on the odometer and a brand-new six-speed manual transmission. Since our test car had previously made the rounds through Audi's press fleet, we attributed the need for a new gearbox to ham-fisted journalists rather than mechanical fragility. However, it was immediately clear that even the new transmission had issues. Directing the shifter into third gear took finesse and patience, as the R8 had a penchant for spitting the stick back to neutral before the gear was engaged.... Read full article