# clarkson r8 review



## murcie (Oct 29, 2006)

http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/tol/li ... 869881.ece



> We all know what businessmenâ€™s hotels are like. Thereâ€™s a priority check-in section where you wait behind some rope, on a bit of carpet. There are staff in shiny suits who say things like â€œIf thereâ€™s anything else at all for yourself at allâ€. And you are given a credit card key that makes lots of whirring noises when you put it in the lock but will not, no matter what you do, open the door.
> 
> After youâ€™ve kicked it down, you have the room. Thereâ€™s no obvious button to turn off the fan, which sounds like a Foxbat jet. The light switch by the bed turns all the lights off, except one. Which can only be extinguished by hitting the bulb with your shoe. The plug you need to charge your mobile is always behind the mini bar, and the â€œtea and coffee making facilitiesâ€ are designed to ensure you canâ€™t make either.
> 
> ...


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## YELLOW_TT (Feb 25, 2004)

Jampot will be happy with that review


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## The Silver Surfer (May 14, 2002)

I can really see myself in one if these in a few years, once depreciation has done its work.


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## jampott (Sep 6, 2003)

I think he should have given it a 6th star.


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## Nem (Feb 14, 2005)

Clarkson's bought the "wrong car" again! 

Nick


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## nutts (May 8, 2002)

jampott said:


> I think he should have given it a 6th star.


Man, are you NEVER satisfied :lol: :lol:

I can't remember the last time Clarkson gave a car that much praise 8)

It'll be a long wait Tim... :wink:


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## jampott (Sep 6, 2003)

No, in fairness I don't think he could have heaped any more praise on it - especially from a starting point of being prepared not to like it at all.

He's well respected as an entertainer, and even though he isn't an expert on cars, I think he's driven enough to have an opinion - and if he says it ticks all the boxes, then I'm not going to argue.

It will be a long wait, but I've some other stuff going on this year which should ease the suffering somewhat, but I'm looking forward to properly finalising my order, getting a confirmed delivery date, and getting all geared up for it.



> I donâ€™t think Iâ€™ve ever driven a car that works so well on both the road and the track.


Dream on, Porsche fanboys... :lol:


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## W7 PMC (May 6, 2002)

jampott said:


> No, in fairness I don't think he could have heaped any more praise on it - especially from a starting point of being prepared not to like it at all.
> 
> He's well respected as an entertainer, and even though he isn't an expert on cars, I think he's driven enough to have an opinion - and if he says it ticks all the boxes, then I'm not going to argue.
> 
> ...


Lucky fecker 

Roll on September is all i can say :wink:


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## IanWest (May 7, 2002)

nutts said:


> jampott said:
> 
> 
> > I think he should have given it a 6th star.
> ...


That'll be the RS4 Cab then  I'm sure Graham will agree with me that he got that spot on as well! Hope you are still enjoying it Graham- we had the roof down all weekend this weekend.


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## DXN (May 18, 2002)

Suprised JC didn't make some comment about driving the R8 like

"It makes you feel like an overpaid extra from iRobot" :wink:

:mrgreen:


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## garyc (May 7, 2002)

James May's full Telegraph article:

I know almost everyone is terribly excited about the new Audi R8 - having been restricted to 20mph at the official launch in Nevada a few months ago, Motoring editor Peter Hall sent my colleague Tony Dron to drive it in Italy, and you can read his opinion next week - but every time I look at it I can't help thinking it's not quite right. It's all very well from the nose all the way to the rear edge of the doors, but thenâ€¦ What is it? Too long? Slightly too broad? Whatever it is, its makers have drawn attention to it by painting that bit of it in a contrasting shade.

In fact, I know exactly what's gone wrong, and by way of explanation I would like to turn to a figurine of Jesus Christ that I recently acquired in an exchange of plastic novelty items with our self-styled saviour here on earth, Jeremy Clarkson. There's no point leaving the Light of the World with that miserable sinner, because He'd end up in the back of a dark cupboard. Whereas I quite like having the old Nazarene around, so Jesus is currently brightening up a shelf in my kitchen.

advertisementUsually, my first reaction on considering this sort of thing is to conclude that Islam had the right idea in forbidding all depictions of the Prophet Mohammed, thus saving its popular culture from a tidal wave of ecclesiastical tat. Consider the Mezquita in Cordoba, Andalusia; a great, sprawling edifice that started life as a mosque but was later turned into a cathedral. The surviving mosque part is elegant, austere, dim and altogether conducive to deeper thought. The church bit is gaudy to the point of revulsion, and includes a statue of the Virgin dressed as if preparing for an appearance in the popular celebrity trash mag Halo!.

But as Jesus nick-nacks go, mine's not that bad. He's dressed in a simple shift and sash, and shod with a pair of convincingly miniaturised Desert Dockers. His arms and legs are fully jointed, so he can be posed in attitudes ranging from the contemplative to the ecstatic. His torso even incorporates a small electronic voicebox thing, so when you press a hidden button in the small of his back he delivers an uplifting Gospel quotation.

Never mind that despite what William Blake told us, this Christ child seems to have spent some time on the east coast of America, or that he was immaculately conceived in China. Curious visitors to the May household will often pick up my Jesus, unwittingly press the voice button, and be reminded to love their neighbours. Thus Jesus of Hammersmith is fulfilling a useful civic function as well as a purely decorative one, and if I were the local Councillor Wonderful being interviewed on the radio, I could reasonably add "in the community".

Last night, however, Fusker the Cat toppled the injection-moulded Prince of Peace from his position on a high shelf, causing his sacred head to come off, happily without sustaining any permanent wounds. As I pushed it back into place, I noticed something odd. Jesus's head is a very different colour from Jesus's body.

Then I noticed something else odd. Jesus's body is blessed with the most steroidally inflated pectorals and biceps ever to adorn a man who turned the other cheek. He didn't get those from helping Joseph in the carpentry shop, nor even from overturning the odd money-lender's table. And what's with the gripping hands? They'd be great for holding, say, a machine gun, or for allowing Action Jesus to abseil down a rope, or even for helping him grasp the paddle of a miniature canoe. The only thing his hands aren't good for is being reformed into an attitude of prayer. They always spring back into the attitude of someone about to strangle a disloyal disciple.

I know what's happened here. Someone who will almost certainly not enter the Kingdom of Heaven has taken an existing action figure, substituted a vaguely Jesus-like head, incorporated a few out-of-copyright Biblical passages and then dressed the whole thing in the garb of a poor Galilean in the hope that no one will notice. And then they charged Â£35 for it. This is not an honest and heartfelt piece of Christian iconography at all. It's a Teenage Mutant Ninja Jesus, a graven image and, to my mind, blasphemous.

Here, then, is the problem with the Audi. I know they keep wittering on about how much they've modified the weight distribution, and I know it has a different engine, but in the end it's based on the Lamborghini Gallardo, which was designed as a Lamborghini Gallardo and looks better as one. I know platform-sharing is supposed to be the saviour of the car industry, but this platform only seems to work in its original incarnation and won't tolerate a second coming. It just doesn't quite work.

You might as well try to pass a Camel Trophy Land Rover through the eye of a needle.


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## murcie (Oct 29, 2006)

garyc said:


> I know what's happened here. Someone who will almost certainly not enter the Kingdom of Heaven has taken an existing action figure, substituted a vaguely Jesus-like head, incorporated a few out-of-copyright Biblical passages and then dressed the whole thing in the garb of a poor Galilean in the hope that no one will notice. And then they charged Â£35 for it. This is not an honest and heartfelt piece of Christian iconography at all. It's a Teenage Mutant Ninja Jesus, a graven image and, to my mind, blasphemous.











but not quite ... didn't audi start on the r8 before the gallardo was even developed?


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## garyc (May 7, 2002)

murcie said:


> garyc said:
> 
> 
> > I know what's happened here. Someone who will almost certainly not enter the Kingdom of Heaven has taken an existing action figure, substituted a vaguely Jesus-like head, incorporated a few out-of-copyright Biblical passages and then dressed the whole thing in the garb of a poor Galilean in the hope that no one will notice. And then they charged Â£35 for it. This is not an honest and heartfelt piece of Christian iconography at all. It's a Teenage Mutant Ninja Jesus, a graven image and, to my mind, blasphemous.
> ...


Don't think so, the finished production Gallardo was shown in 2003, first cars rolled in 2004. The Audi Le Mans concept car was shown at Frankfurt in 2003. R8 production plans announced in 2005, cars rolled in 2007.

Gallardo is now mid life. But still looks fresher than the R8. :wink:


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## Carlos (May 6, 2002)

garyc said:


> Don't think so, the finished production Gallardo was shown in 2003, first cars rolled in 2004. The Audi Le Mans concept car was shown at Frankfurt in 2003. R8 production plans announced in 2005, cars rolled in 2007.
> 
> Gallardo is now mid life. But still looks fresher than the R8. :wink:


I see that having been completely wrong with your predictions of doom on the way it would drive, you've now had to retreat into barbs about it's aesthetics. :wink:

Which I agree with, btw, but let's be honest, unless Audi have bribed all the magazines, what they've achieved with the R8 is pretty astounding.


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## kmpowell (May 6, 2002)

Carlos said:


> but let's be honest, unless Audi have bribed all the magazines, what they've achieved with the R8 is pretty astounding.


Let's not be misunderstood here, the R8 is a great car in terms of what it can do, *BUT* - and it's a *BIG* but! - how long will the 'appeal' last?

Gary previously mentioned the NSX (which I happen to regard as an amazing motoring technological achievment), however it is flawed by image, hence why in its final year it only sold 8 worldwide!!! The NSX combines perfect balance with an amazing engine, and is reknown for this - but it's a honda and even with their motorsport heritage, sales still dwindled. What we are seeing with the R8 is another car that I predict will be flawed by image. People can see past the grotesque looks, and forgive its overhang and LED's now, but in 12-24 months time when the novelty factor wears off, who the hell is going to want to pay Â£90k for an Audi?!? The footballers of this world wil have moved onto their next bling machine, and the R8 will be left looking like a white elephant in the classifieds, just like NSX's are today. HERE is a prime example - it's been for sale since January, and in reality would proably sell for Â£40k (Â£45k at a push to a specialist), half what it would have cost new.

What concerns me most though is what will happpen when the V10 is introduced. I fail to see how the pricing structure can be more for an Audi! the V8 will therefore suffer in terms of desirability and in turn be hacked in teh used market.

People are saying, "These will be great buys in 2-3 years time", but in all honesty I can't see anybody wanting to drive one in that time, simply for the fact they won't want to pay the price. With a price comes exclusivity, without the exclusivity comes a depreciation.

Audi can put as much spin on it as they like, however time will tell and it's destined for the history books IMO, just like the NSX and to some degree the Ford Capri (although that was over a much longer time).


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## murcie (Oct 29, 2006)

in 2-3 yrs time it's probably still going to be a viable alternative to the 911, aston. in that respect, audi would've succeeded. the r8 was never really meant to be an all out supercar, unlike the NSX.


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## garyc (May 7, 2002)

Carlos said:


> garyc said:
> 
> 
> > Don't think so, the finished production Gallardo was shown in 2003, first cars rolled in 2004. The Audi Le Mans concept car was shown at Frankfurt in 2003. R8 production plans announced in 2005, cars rolled in 2007.
> ...


To echo KMP:

It's only ever been the external proportions and aesthetics of the R8 that I have consistently disliked. I have Never commented that it would handle poorly or perform any worse than an RS4 let alone the Â£80K competition.

Although it is at least 250kg too heavy for an alloy spaceframe contruction , it could never fail to handle well with mid-engine and Audi/Lambo technology behind it. Any car so configured, spawned and funded should perform fantastically. For Audi not to achieve motoring nirvana for some at Â£85K would have been surprising. :wink:

I have also consistently said that for Â£85K average invoice it should be nothing but an outstanding drive. Good looks would be a plus at that price point. :wink:

I see the RWD Gallardo GT (GT3) racing program has got off to a good start in British GT with a creditable 4th at Snetterton on first outing:

http://www.crash.net/news_View~cid~14~id~148738.htm

I look forward to reading more R8 tests.

Maybe i'll just wake up one day and 'get' the R8 looks. LEDs et al. and it will suddenly make sense as an Â£80K proposition. Never say never. :lol: :lol: :lol:

Aw, f**k it i'll say it.



Statement:

"The Audi R8 is an outstanding design and towering accomplishment to boot. That Audi were able to achieve this with _only_ a Lamborghini as a base car, is a truly remarkable feat. Getting it to the show room at pricing of less than Â£90,000.00 is amazing. And beating a dowdy Â£60,000 Porsche 997s hands down, really shows that this company is capable of digging deep and taking on the world's best.

Furthermore, it does everything it needs to and is a really good way to spend circa Â£85,000.00 of your money. 
But not mine."

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## V6 TT (Sep 24, 2002)

jampott said:


> Dream on, Porsche fanboys... :lol:


...nah no need to 'dream', mines on me drive fella!

Seriously: With all this talk of not even confirming your order yet I can't help but feel you've missed the boat on this V8 R8, you could of driven for the 1st 6 months for 'free', I mean what happened, customers are taking delivery already...

Not so seriously: I got it Tim, you're still dreaming and saving you hard earned sterlings!! :lol: :wink:

D


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## garyc (May 7, 2002)

murcie said:


> in 2-3 yrs time it's probably still going to be a viable alternative to the 911, aston. in that respect, audi would've succeeded. the r8 was never really meant to be an all out supercar, unlike the NSX.


I think you will find that the NSX was positioned as the practical and usable, comfortable alternative supercar for those who did not want to be terrified by the wayward and hard to drive 911s and 348s of the day, but still be safely on the pace if they wanted to. Plus they could get it service at their local Honda dealer with the wife' s Civic. Plus Ayrton Senna had kicked the tyres. Of course very few could drive it like Ayrton Senna. the Type R NSX can still hold it's own on track today against some giants.

That appears to be the same positioning that Audi has for the R8.

NSX better-looking tho. :wink:


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## jampott (Sep 6, 2003)

V6 TT said:


> jampott said:
> 
> 
> > Dream on, Porsche fanboys... :lol:
> ...


Err... no?

Deposit went down in June '06, before it was even unofficially released, so only the odd disguised spy shot to go for.

I have "confirmed" my order (which currently states Mugello Blue with Night Blue blades) but I will FINALLY confirm it when they allow me to spec the colour I want to have, but I have until probably November / December in order to see what other options are viable, see if they do anything differently, choose between carbon and standard engine bay etc before I have to sign-off the build for production.

Customer deliveries in the UK haven't started yet... the dealer ones are show only, at this time (as far as I know).

As the JC article points out, Audi can only make 20 a day, and cannot satisfy demand. Order now, you are looking at 2 year waiting list. Mine will arrive in 6 months. Yep, my order is SIX MONTHS after release, and that's having put my money down WELL before launch.

Still, I had a good celeb party to attend, and an R8 track-day coming up shortly, so don't you worry about me, I'm getting my mileage out of the wait, and in hindsight the timing isn't too bad, as it gives me chance for a house move AND another new car in the interim. :roll: :lol:


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## Nando (Feb 5, 2004)

jampott said:


> Still, I had a good celeb party to attend, and an R8 track-day coming up shortly


Look out for Chef Ramsey - he's getting one of the first UK cars courtesy of Press Office.


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## mark88 (May 7, 2006)

Nando said:


> jampott said:
> 
> 
> > Still, I had a good celeb party to attend, and an R8 track-day coming up shortly
> ...


The more Audi whore themselves out to celebs and wot not the less likely I am to want one.


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## Guest (Jun 5, 2007)

Nando said:


> jampott said:
> 
> 
> > Still, I had a good celeb party to attend, and an R8 track-day coming up shortly
> ...


That doesn't surprise me.
He also had a Q7 which he proudly drove around on Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares.
Should have renamed the show "Ramsey drive's a car that gives kids nightmares".
Dont think Channel 4 would've gone for it though.


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