Audi R8 Spyder 2017 Review

It was German-born writer Herman Hasse that once opined: “Everything becomes a little different as soon as it is spoken out loud”.

History shows the Nobel laureate shared little interest in the automotive space, but in the hustle and bustle of a chilly winter evening in Sydney -- top down, seat warmers on full blast -- Hasse’s words encapsulate exactly what’s great about the new Audi R8 Spyder.

Unfettered access to the screaming wail of the R8’s mid-mounted, naturally-aspirated V10 engine is a key virtue of the Spyder. One that helps make it “a little different” from its coupe sibling along with just about every other modern supercar.

If it’s theatre you’re after, this is like a symphony orchestra on wheels.

Now available in Australia, the R8 Spyder is priced from $388,500 (plus on-road costs). That represents a $34,000 premium over the regular R8 Coupe and $1400 less than the more powerful V10 Plus coupe version. An R8 V10 Plus Spyder is also in the works.

Not only is the drop-top more expensive than its comparable coupe sibling, the Spyder weighs an additional 125kg, loses some torsional rigidity and is slower to 100km/h. The rational thinker would question why you’d even consider the R8 Spyder. But numbers alone don’t tell the full story.

Engineering nous
Audi seemingly left no stone unturned in developing the R8 Spyder. Confronted with more weight and less torsional rigidity, engineers went about adding a thicker gauge of aluminium to the door sills, along with more reinforcement in the A-pillars and windscreen.

Elsewhere on the R8’s spaceframe chassis, forged aluminium and cast aluminium nodes are seamlessly integrated with carbon-fibre reinforced polymer to bring a total weight of 208kg. More than 1400 welds on each Spyder are performed manually by six master technicians based in Audi’s specialist factory.

The upshot? The Spyder now purportedly offers the same torsional rigidity as the previous generation R8 coupe, an increase of 50 per cent on its drop-top predecessor.

Nestled in the renewed spaceframe is the R8’s Lamborghini-sourced V10 naturally-aspirated engine. The 257kg power plant is mid-mounted, contributing to a near-parity weight split of 47:53 front to rear.

At 3.6sec, it’s just a tenth of a second shy of the R8 coupe to 100km/h. It takes just 11.8sec to blister from 0-200km/h and its 318km/h top end is only 5km/h slower than the slipperier hardtop.

Staving off tightening emission targets, Audi engineers adopted port injection to accompany the atmo V10’s existing direct injection system, bringing Euro6 compliance.

The engine is cleverly shrouded by the R8’s fabric soft-top roof mechanism, which stows neatly behind the cockpit and cover a carbon-composite central tunnel. The entire roof system contributes just 44kg to the Spyder’s total 1720kg kerb mass and can be open and closed in about 20sec at speeds of up to 50km/h.

Statement piece
Nearly every sheet of metal is new on the R8 Spyder, coinciding with shorter, wider and lower proportions -- though you wouldn’t know it from looking at it. Audi’s flagship drop-top clearly subscribes the German’s understate corporate look, with a smart and sophisticated take on styling.

Chief among the visual changes for 2017 are a re-designed rear end, a carbon-fibre engine hood, new side blades that channel air into the engine and cleverly disguised door handles. Up front, new edged front fenders now provide an additional 40kg of downforce over the front axle.

Inside (well, sort of), the R8 carries over Audi’s now familiar ‘monoposto cockpit’ – the marque’s buzz phrase for driver-centric cabin. This is headlined by Audi’s ubiquitous virtual cockpit display, which cleverly integrates all the driving and infotainment functions (there is no traditional centre screen) into a clear and interactive 12.3-inch display, including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

The eight-way adjustable seats offer decent lateral support, there is an adequate though not generous spread of incidental storage, and the R8 has decent cabin proportions. The cabin feels more Teutonic than painstakingly crafted, but it’s a nice place to be nonetheless.

A 112-litre ‘frunk’ is located up front.

Daily driver
In keeping with its cabin’s everyday amenity, driving the R8 on the road is a cinch. Indeed, at times, you could easily forget you’re driving a $400,000 convertible, such is the logical placement of the controls, the outward vision and the calibration of the throttle, steering, gearbox and ride – in Comfort mode, at least.

Even the open-top experience is well considered. With the fabric top stowed and the windows up, the cabin is exposed to minimal buffeting; simply enough overhead wind to help you take in the surroundings.

Ten bustling cylinders directly behind your ears is one sure-fire way to ensure open-top immersion…

The engine is impressively refined and efficient for a big juggernaut. Cylinder de-activation technology benignly shuts down one bank of five-cylinders during certain low-throttle scenarios, while the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission can de-couple itself from the engine in coasting scenarios, essentially allowing the Spyder the free-wheel down the road.

It all culminates in a claimed fuel consumption average of 11.7L/100km combined and Euro6 compliance.

On country roads, the R8 maintains its around-town composure with excellent compliance over bumps and strong noise isolation attributes. The steering is equally well suited to daily conveyance, with light weighting and pin-sharp accuracy.

Track tamer
Let’s be honest though, the track is where the Spyder really has a point to prove. Has Audi really managed to maintain the coupe’s brilliant dynamic strengths given the extra weight and engineering?

Absolutely. At the Sydney MotorSport Park (SMSP), the R8 Spyder is almost faultless in terms of lateral grip and torsional strength.

It’s a forgiving device, combining instinctively-fast all-wheel-drive grip with excellent feel and feedback from its magnetically-controlled dampers. Rushing up onto the circuit’s sixth turn with a tad too much stick, the R8 remains composed, its body resisting any temptation to squiggle under heavy application of its six-piston steel wave brakes.

Later, on a fast, slightly off-camber left-hander, the body holds tight for all but a marginal mirror shimmy, as the car’s outside Continental rubber plies for traction.

Everywhere on circuit, the engine is a true firebrand. It builds linear pace effortlessly from the bottom of the dial, with no mid-range sledgehammer to the back to speak of like that found in modern turbocharged engines.

From the mid-range, the engine gathers serious momentum. The V10 feels as though a storm is brewing at about 6500rpm, when all 540Nm is on tap and then the engine confidently strides to its 7800rpm power peak.

In fact, the V10 pulls hard towards its 8250rpm redline, at which point the razor sharp seven-speed dual clutch transmission swiftly intervenes, and begins the whole process again. It’s mesmerising stuff.

Our tilt at the SMSP facilitated a quick flutter with the R8’s Sport mode in the stability control suite (we chose not to turn everything off). In this setting, the electric Gods will happily loosen the reins for more lateral movement, enriching driver involvement and maximising the all-wheel drive system’s inherent rear bias. But cleverly, the R8 does this with one eye on the car’s speed, telemetry and driver behaviour, and will quickly pull things into line if need be.

All in all, Audi’s drop-top R8 provides enticing levels of speed and theatre, and makes a neat point of difference from its more conventional coupe sibling.

While the statistics don’t read as impressively, the smile on your face after driving one surely will.

2017 Audi R8 Spyder pricing and specifications:
Price: $388,500 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 5.2-litre V10 petrol
Output: 397kW/540Nm
Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel: 11.7L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 277g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star ANCAP