2016 Audi R8 V10 Spyder review, test drive

More dynamic than before

Sticking the Spyder in Dynamic mode isn’t purely about the pantomime. In this mode, the electro-mechanical steering weighs up nicely and gets a lot more direct, while the magnetic dampers (optional, but our test cars came equipped) stiffen up the ride, allowing you to feel everything the car is doing through your backside. The seven-speed dual clutch transmission becomes a lot more responsive too, though it’s a lot easier to exploit the motor’s heady 9,000rpm redline using the steering wheel paddles rather than depending on either the automatic D or S modes to do that for you. The quattro all-wheel drive system has been revised as well, and now gets a water-cooled electro-hydraulic clutch for the front axle, as well as a mechanical locking differential at the rear. The amount of grip that the quattro system provides is incredible. Chucking the car through the tight twisty mountain roads around Costa Brava felt extremely easy and even when got overly bold around some of the corners, the car never felt hairy. In fact, that’s one trick that Audi has pulled off quite well with this new generation of R8 (and the Spyder); making it feel a lot smaller than it actually is, and therefore a lot less intimidating to drive.

Apart from the Drive Select modes, the Spyder also comes with optional driving performance programmes, which can be set by pressing the chequered flag button on the steering and then rotating the knurled metal dial around it. These offer three settings – dry, wet and snow, which set the car up even more precisely for those conditions. But since the roads we drove on were exclusively dry, we didn’t really get a chance to explore how the other modes worked.

Lean and green

It’s not just above improved performance with this new Spyder. The boffins at Audi have really worked on the motor to make it more efficient and environmental-friendly than before. While the direct-injection system has been maintained, Audi has also added an indirect-injection system, which squirts fuel into the intake manifold instead of directly in the cylinder. This indirect injection works prominently at lower RPM and provides much better bottom-end response. At the mid-range, while indirect injection is playing a bigger role, the direct injection starts to come into play, and at the top-end, almost 85 percent of the fuelling is done through direct injection. Combined with cylinder deactivation as well as a new coasting feature that will disengage both clutches in the transmission and let the car freewheel if the driver gets off the throttle at speeds above 55kph, making it more efficient than before. Just how efficient? Well, Audi claims a mileage figure of 8.5kpl, which considering that the same engine also makes 540hp, isn’t too bad at all.

Drop that top

The new canvas soft-top is extremely well designed and finished, and weighs in at just 44kg. To operate its mechanism, it features ten small hydraulic pistons driven by an electric motor, which can elegantly open or close the roof in about 20 seconds, at speeds of up to 50kph. However, if you have remotely good weather, the car is a lot more enjoyable with the roof down. Plus, how else will you enjoy the wonderful noise from the exhaust?