The Audi that thinks it’s a Lamborghini

Looks like a Bugatti, drives like a Lamborghini, sounds fantastic... just don’t expect to pack a suitcase

Iwonder how many times this is going to happen over the next three years? I find myself reviewing the new Audi R8 not once, but twice. First, for this week’s More column and then, on film, for a Top Gear power test.

When the R8 and I had our initial meeting, ’twas a few nights before Christmas on a grey, wet and blustery morning in north London. The next time we met was a fortnight later in California, where we were about to set off on one of ‘the’ great drives in the world: San Francisco to Los Angeles via Highway One, the PCH.

We’ll go with the second backdrop for both reviews, if that’s OK? Just from a blue-sky, inspirational point of view.

I know people rave about other roads, like the Stelvio Pass and the Amalfi Coast, but for me, a lifelong West Coast Yank-o-phile, Highway One is just about as good as it gets. The mighty breakers of the Pacific, at times more than 1,000ft beneath you, crash in silence against the rocks. This is the bit of the USA they say is destined to drop off whenever the San Andreas Fault gets angry enough. You might want to go see it before then.

And the R8 is the perfect car for one of the prettiest rabbit runs on the planet. Except, that is, if you want to take anything more than a toothbrush and a clean pair of knickers. There is more storage space in my son’s pencil case.

You see, the thing about supercars is that they are great fun for the lucky bod behind the wheel, but barely any fun at all for the poor soul seat-belted in next to them. After the first minute or two of wowees, all that’s left for them to do is to try not to chuck up for the rest of the journey. Especially when we are talking about the acceleration of 0-100kph in 3.2 seconds in this brand new V10 missile.

Well, I say brand new. What we actually have here is a Lamborghini Huracan (its VW Group cousin) wearing a different, much more attractive, tracksuit.

Hold down the red button, then, for main engine start and wait for the crescendo of pistons, all fighting to be first at the bar. She sounds fantastic – all the time if you like. Just select the ‘please sound fantastic even when I’m only nipping down the road for my Mail On Sunday’ button.

There are lots of buttons. Most of them on a Ferrari-style gadgetheavy steering wheel. The four driver modes to choose from start at exhilarating and go up from there: white-knuckle, scared stiff, I want my mummy!

Whichever mode is selected, the car is a wonder to drive, inspiring heaps of confidence thanks to the latest chapter in the famous Audi Quattro all-wheel-drive opus. Push her as hard as you dare on public roads and you’ll have to do something either pretty spectacular or horrendously stupid to get any of the orange driver assistance system warning lights to so much as flicker their presence in your direction. I couldn’t get them to do it once.

The good news is that she stops as well as she goes, thanks to the massive carbon ceramic brakes and lots of little pistons doing exactly what they need to in precisely the right order. The gear change is instant, although smoother on the way up than on the way down. The steering is more assured in some modes rather than others, but visibility is CinemaScope-excellent. Tick, tick, tick.

Unlike the cargo issue, the R8’s cabin space is über-generous. There’s plenty of room to stretch out your legs, and with the multiadjustable seats, there’s plenty of head room. It’s naturally comfortable, as you would expect from Audi, with plenty of high-quality leather wrapped around almost everything. It also seems that Audi considers smoking may be back in vogue, as you can opt for a cigarette lighter and ashtray for extra.

I also liked the look of her as much, if not more, as I enjoyed the driving. She has a bit of the Bugatti Veyron about her from the B-pillar back. There’s the odd new subtle curve, which softens her lines, very un-Audi-like. And her rear end is different again, from the massive diffuser up – it is gigantic but not at all bulky, domineering but not at all aggressive. All very clever.

So what’s not so good? Mostly

I THINK IT MAY HOLD THE RECORD FOR HONEYCOMB PANNELLING. CAN YOU OVERHONEYCOMB? ‘She’s a wonder to drive, turns heads wherever she goes, and sounds fantastic even when you’re just nipping down to the shops’

the extras on my checklist. €3,409 for the Bang & Olufsen sound system is expensive but worth it, amazing quality. Whereas the Alcantara headlining with stitched diamond design comes in at an inexplicable €5,024.

Equally baffling is the price of the gloss carbon engine bay trim: €6,100. I could only count five pieces, barely visible through the glass anyway after one journey on a rainy day. Why would you?

I also think the new R8 may break the world record for honeycomb panelling. Can you over-honeycomb? Not in my book, but Audi comes pretty close here.

So what’s the verdict? Well, I’ve never seen so many turned heads as this car casually collected. Whether it was fellow road users, passers-by, children reaching for their smartphones to grab a quick pic, or people quietly admiring it in the car park.

Sure, €263,000 is a huge chunk of dough, but it’s still around €100k cheaper than a standard Ferrari 488 and a lot less in the rest of society’s face. No one’s going to despise you for owning an R8 and the new rasping V10 Plus is an ace supercar – five stars all the way.

DON’T MISS PHILIP NOLAN’S BRILLIANT MOTORING COLUMN IN THE IRISH DAILY MAIL ON SATURDAYS