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2011 Audi R8 4.2 2dr All-wheel Drive quattro Spyder 4.2 (M6)
- Original MSRP:
- $127,700
- Vehicle Class:
- Two-Seaters
- Fuel Type:
- Premium unleaded
- MPG:
- 11 city / 20 hwy
- Warranties
- Basic:
- 4 Years / 50,000 Miles
- Drivetrain:
- 4 Years / 50,000 Miles
- Roadside:
- 4 Years
- Rust:
- 12 Years
2011 Audi R8 4.2 Reviews
- Body Style: Convertible
- Vehicle Size: Two Seaters
- MSRP: $127700.00
- Mileage: 11
- Fuel Type: Premium unleaded
- Fuel Capacity: 23.80
- Horsepower:
- Seating Capacity:2
- Build Location: Neckarsulm, Germany
Overview:
A new Audi R8 Spyder joins the Audi R8 coupe for 2011. Hand-built in Neckarsulm, Germany, the R8 is Audi's flagship supercar, named after the race cars that dominated endurance racing from 2000-2005. After driving the R8 Spyder and the R8 coupe, we think they're every bit as good to drive as to look at.The R8 offers a high-revving 430-hp V8 or a 525-hp V10. The engine is mounted amidships and can be seen on display beneath a clear engine cover on the coupe or found nestled under the Spyder's stowed soft top. The R8 comes with quattro all-wheel drive, massive multi-piston brakes, aluminum suspension components, and a nearly flat floor to help keep it on the ground at speed.
Inside is a finished cabin with controls very much like any Audi. The R8 is stylish but not gaudy, luxurious without forsaking efficiency, roomy enough to avoid feet squeezed off to one side or your skull stuck in the headliner. Seats are contoured to fit a variety of sizes without reshaping them, and you can hold a conversation without an intercom. As one indicator of how far Audi's gone to make the R8 useable as a daily driver, consider the Bluetooth microphones in the driver's seatbelt on the Spyder.
Audi was able to exploit some engineering development from sister-company Lamborghini in the form of the Gallardo V10 engine, transmissions and chassis, but any notion of the two being the same car wearing different badges should be banished. If the Lamborghini, or any other angry Italian exotic is Lucifer in outlandish Milan-runway garb, the R8 is still Lucifer but one that's been to finishing school and toting a classic Navy blazer.
Exotics and high-performance sports cars vary greatly in style and concept compared to more plebian cars so there is no set class the Audi R8 competes in. Those cars potential R8 buyers might also be interested in, to what degree determined by their location on the performance-style continua, include the Aston Martin DB9 and Vantage V12, Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1, Ferrari 458 Italia, Lamborghini Gallardo, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, Porsche 911, and Nissan GT-R.
Coming soon is the Audi R8 GT, which will go on sale in the U.S. as a 2012 model. The GT is a bit of a misnomer given it's the sportiest R8 and the least useful for grand touring purposes. The R8 GT will be right at home on race track, however, as it is tuned to play with Porsche GT3 and Ferrari Challenge cars. The R8 GT features a higher-revving V10 engine near 560 horsepower. Lightened by 220 pounds, the R8 GT can accelerate from 0-62 mph in 3.6 seconds and can top 198 mph, according to Audi. It's expected to come with ceramic brakes, lighter glass and polycarbonates, fixed rear wing, and a much lighter battery. Expect it be just slightly faster than an R8 5.2 FSI but notably quicker around a road racing circuit. Only 333 will be built. We anticipate a price around $190,000.
High-performance cars tend to have unique and easily identified styling. Fortunately in the case of the R8, unique and attractive go together, and since the luster hasn't worn off in the five years from its debut, the R8 doesn't change for 2011.
At the ends every R8 is similar. Three separate grilles on the front and more on the rear, gloss-black on V10, variously inhale and exhale cooling air. Bi-Xenon headlights are traced by LED running lights on the V8 while the V10 uses LED headlamps, some chrome details and slightly larger grilles with fewer slats. At the rear rectangular light inserts echo the Audi TT; twin tailpipes on either side identify a V8, a single oval on each side a V10. The GT version will get a big round barrel on each side, air extractors behind the rear wheels, a fixed rear wing, more aggressive diffuser and a wider, more contoured leading edge.
Aerodynamic function and engine placement define the basic bones of any mid-engine sports car. A low snout improves visibility and keeps the nose to the ground, and the creases above the front wheels keep air moving over the windshield and not spilling over the sides. At the tail end a pop-up spoiler automatically lifts at certain road speeds or if the engine needs maximum cooling; it can be done manually as well for cleaning. Look underneath and you'll find it almost totally flat like many race cars.
In profile the R8 coupe is dominated by what Audi calls a sideblade, that vertical slice of bodywork that runs from the roof to the bottom just ahead of the rear wheels. It can be ordered in a variety of finishes, including painted to match the rest of the car. All the scoops and vents are there for machinery cooling or propulsion, and on the V10 the sideblade scoop is larger. Both V8 and V10 come with 19-inch wheels, five twin-spoke on the V8 and five tri-y design on the V10.
The Spyder features a fabric folding top (two colors) with two buttresses over the engine cover. It can be opened or closed in about 20 seconds, and it can be done so at speeds up to 30 mph. The buttresses help direct air around the rear of the car but they don't actually sit on the paint and won't scratch it. The silver panels behind the headrests are engine bay cooling vents, replacing those that run down the roof pillars on the coupe. What the Spyder loses to the coupe is the clear engine cover that lets onlookers admire the beast within.
A Spyder has an electrically lifted rear window (with defrost) to limit some noise and buffeting, and a drop-in wind-blocker closer to the headrests for further reductions. We found with just the window it's possible to converse at legal speeds with the top down, and lowering the window with the top up adds engine intake sounds to the exhaust noise.
The coupe has a minor advantage in cargo space. Coupe and Spyder have a small 3.5-cubic-foot trunk up front, a compact but deep well that might hold your carry-on duffel or a half-case of wine. The coupe has another 3.1 cubic feet of storage space behind the front seats for soft-sided bags or a minimal golf bag. On the Spyder that space is consumed by the folding top.
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