Audi R8 4.2 FSI S-tronic first drive review

There are a few things I can’t tell you about how the R8 drives, given the weather we’ve just had, but one of the things I can report is that the new gearbox is very good indeed, certainly when fitted to the (unchanged) 424bhp V8 of our test car.

The speed of the shifts, their smoothness and the way the clutches gently allow the R8 to be manoeuvred around at low speed without clumsy over-revving are very impressive. I’m still no great fan of the look of the lever’s gate, mind – it looks a little, well, ordinary – and the manual overrides are in the ‘wrong’ direction (forwards to change up and backwards for down). 

The steering wheel-mounted shift paddles have been revised, though, and they’re quite sweet, diddy things that operate with a pleasing tactility. I’d rather that the steering wheel wasn’t flat-bottomed and the driver’s seat could do with being able to be set lower, but other than that it’s a decent cabin environment. Only small tweaks such as revisions to the instrument cluster, iPod connection and a spot more chrome here and there mark the new model out from the first one.

On the outside, it’s similarly hard to tell a facelift R8 apart from a first-generation variant. There’s a new rear valance and exhaust pipes, but the biggest clue is in the LED indicators that make a KITT-style sideways sweep as they flash. Um. Yeah. 

Anyway, moving on, the V8 gets a new 19in alloy wheel design, which brings me to the chassis. Similarly, that’s unchanged, which is no bad thing, because it was fine before and remains so now. The ride at low speeds seems a touch less settled than a Porsche 911's, but there’s no denying the keenness of the chassis. It steers quickly and accurately, and because only between 15 and 30 per cent of the power ever goes to the front (enough to make slippery getaways viable), the balance is sweet.

I know that in the dry there’s a spot of understeer on the way in and a spot of oversteer on the way out. In these conditions, you can multiply both, and the braking distances, by a factor of about 10. 

The R8 has always occupied a small but desirable niche, offering mid-engined exoticness and spectacular agility for less than £100,000. Now that it comes with a viable two-pedal option, if you're in the market for such a car, there's every reason to consider the R8.

Audi R8 4.2 FSI S-tronic

Price £94,475; Top speed 187mph; 0-62mph 4.3sec; Economy 22.8mpg (combined); CO2 289g/km; Kerb weight 1585kg; Engine V8, 4163cc, petrol; Power 424bhp at 7900rpm; Torque 317lb ft at 4500-6000rpm; Gearbox 7-spd dual-clutch automatic