Car review 2007: Audi R8

So this is it, the moment of truth. The day we discover whether Audi really has managed to build a car capable of beating the 911 at its own game.

We knew the day would come, but I don’t think we expected it to come in Las Vegas, Nevada. Land of the endless straight road and Highway Patrol officers who are as proficient with a radar gun as they are with a handgun, it’s not the ideal launch venue for a 187mph mid-engined supercar. Or rather it would be if it weren’t for the fear of incarceration that sweeps through you every time you prod the throttle.

There’s a greater irony attached to launching the R8 in Vegas, but it emerges only after we’ve checked in to our hotel. A huge and lavish affair, it’s a convincing facsimile of an Italian Renaissance villa. However, when you get up close, it’s clear the hotel developer doesn’t ‘do’ flaking grandeur, and it’s this perfection, not to mention the replica Pontevecchio complete with obligatory Wedding Chapel, that betray its artificiality.

The fact that it also sits on the shores of ‘Lake Las Vegas’ – a super-sized Charlie Dimmock-style water feature – despite being in the middle of the desert only cements the whole sense of unreality. As you soon come to learn in Vegas, nothing is as it seems.

So what of the R8? Will it possess authentic, enthralling dynamics to match the slinky mid-engined styling, or fall foul of Audi’s oft-cited lack of passion? More crucially, are we really looking at a genuine, no-excuses alternative to the Porsche 911, or another promising challenger that ultimately falls wide of the mark?

In the cold – and I mean cold – light of a near-freezing Nevada morning, the R8 immediately answers one question: namely, does it fulfil the abundant promise of early pre-drive pictures? The answer is an emphatic yes, for the R8 is imposing and supremely aggressive. It’s exciting and unconventional too, studded with bold touches and sexy details. There’s certainly plenty to take in, and a few things to get used to, but the overriding impression remains one of purity, cohesion and originality.

Given Porsche’s predilection for unembellished, pebble-smooth and increasingly predictable forms, the R8 really grabs your attention and holds it.

Following time-honoured launch ritual, we’re ushered to our car and given a short pre-flight briefing. Unique amongst the launch fleet, our test car is an interesting mixture of standard and optional hardware: standard six-speed manual transmission, cast-iron brakes and gorgeous 19in alloys, supplemented by optional switchable magnetic dampers at £1350 and the £1500 carbonfibre ‘sideblade’ (the carapace-like panel that sits behind the doors). All the others are fitted with the paddle-shift ‘R tronic’ transmission, reflecting Audi’s expectation that as many as 90 per cent of R8s will come equipped with R tronic.

But we’re not disappointed to be shifting with a shifting with a stick; the UK market remains the last bastion of drivers who enjoy the added interaction of changing gear manually.

At £76,725, this manual R8 is way more expensive than a 911 Carrera 4S (£72K), let alone a Carrera S. The £81,925 R tronic version is more closely aligned to the pricing of Aston’s V8 Vantage (£82K). While that’s to be expected from a product that’s hand-built in small numbers (a maximum of 15 cars per day – that’s 3000 per year – will emerge from the specially constructed block at Audi’s Neckarsulm plant) it’s disappointing that yet another purported 911 rival strategically sidesteps a genuine head-to-head battle through bullish pricing.

Open the driver’s door and the R8 does a great job of justifying the asking price. The driving position is excellent, the sense of space impressive, and the use of contrasting materials and bold design make it the most exciting Audi interior by quite a margin. In fact it’s right up there with Aston Martin. The stainless steel pedals, aluminium gearlever and knurled rotary controls shine brightly against the high-gloss piano black centre console and door pulls (these can also be had in optional carbonfibre), creating an exciting, supercar-like environment while retaining the uncompromising quality and logical layout you’d expect from an Audi. A Gallardo owner will certainly feel like the poor relation. A 911 owner will weep.

It all comes at a price, though, for another quick glance through the extensive options list reveals that the satnav, Bang & Olufsen stereo, full leather upholstery, Alcantara headlining, hill-hold assist, acoustic parking system, electric heated seats and even the Daytona Grey paint fitted to our car are all cost options, which together add the best part of another £9500. Combine this with the carbon sideblade and magnetic dampers and you’re looking at an £88,500 R8. As none of these options is what you’d call an extravagant choice (for that you want the £2750 carbon engine cover complete with Pimp My Ride engine bay illumination package) there really is every chance people will be blowing around £100K on fully-loaded R tronic models. That’s not just 911 money, that’s 911 Turbo money.

So Audi hasn’t been shy with the pricing. Question is, can the R8 live up to the 911-beating claims? Settled behind the wheel, and with a hot tip for a great road that’s not on the prescribed launch route, it’s time to find out.

You start the R8 with a key, rather than with a starter button as you do in the RS4 and even the Q7. This seems perversely conventional for Audi’s first out-and-out sports car, but it matters little once the 4.2-litre, 414bhp V8 engine has spun busily on the starter motor. It fires with an encouragingly vocal bark: not as exuberantly as Aston’s pumped-up fanfare, true, but with smile-inducing gusto nonetheless.