Audi R8 V10 plus Coupé:
YOU’RE staring at a sizeable Christmas bonus after a great year spearheading growth for your business but can you really justify spending more that £130k on your next set of company car wheels?
After dismissing that argument as unproductive negativity, the only other obstacle to your decision is that supercars don’t usually make sensible company cars.
Yet this is where the brutally quick new Audi R8 V10 plus Coupé makes its best sales pitch – it’s one of the most docile hypercars you’ll ever drive despite being a fully-fledged member of the elite 200mph+ sportscar brigade.
Select comfort driving mode and the R8 will whisk you away on that long distance business trip as comfortably as most large engined premium executive bruiser-cruisers.
And despite its 0-62mph time of just 3.2secs and delightfully unrestricted top speed of 205mph, the Audi R8 V10 boasts a comparatively relaxed benefit in kind (BIK) tax rating of 37% thanks to efficiencies in both fuel economy and C02 emissions.
An even more fuel efficient, albeit slightly slower, 540PS ‘standard’ model will be marketed alongside the ‘plus’ although its BIK rating will be the same.
What is it?
This is the second generation R8 sports car based on the original Le Mans R8 LMS GT3 racing machines that have proved so successful for the German manufacturer. The main changes include a part carbon multimaterial Audi Space Frame that has increased chassis rigidity while shaving 50kg off the weight of its predecessor.
What’s hot?
- Let’s start with that awe inspiring 5.2-litre V10 power plant that kicks out 610PS in the range-topping ‘plus’ model delivers the 0-62mph sprint in just 3.2secs and a top speed of 205mph.
- A BIK rating of just 37% for such a high performing car is impressive and down to a claimed C02 emission of 287g/km and 23mpg average fuel economy.
- A super quick reacting 7-speed S tronic gearbox is a delight to use to keep the engine spinning inside its sweet zone.
- Variable adaptive magnetic suspension is coupled with a new electromechanical steering system to improve road feel at pace. An optional dynamic steering system changes the weight of the steering to suit the speed and road surfaces being encountered.
- With Audi’s iconic quattro system, it would take a very brutal driver indeed to make the car misbehave by much even with the EPS traction system turned off in the wet.
- Audi connect comes as standard allowing internet connection for personal devices through the car’s wi-fi hotspot via a SIM card holder in the rear bulkhead. Its Audi Virtual Cockpit shows instruments as digital displays that allows for toggling between traditional instrument dials to a full sat-nav or Google Earth display behind the steering wheel, allowing the driver’s eyes less time away from the road straight ahead. And there’s more, much more – click to the next page to hear about the “symphony of chaos” from the V10’s exhaust and see the full details.
