Audi is still among most-desirable cars

I think this will be my last official road test of Audi's R8. It's not that it isn't a great car; indeed, the opposite is true. Nor is this because I don't enjoy driving the lithe little Porsche fighter; I love the darned thing. Audi can park one in my driveway any time it wants and, were the automaker to forgot where it left one errant supercar, I would happily drive one for, oh, the next five years or so.

Nope, the reason I am not proceeding with any further road tests of the R8 has nothing to do with driving but everything to do with writing. Succinctly put, I have nothing really new to say about the car. Oh, yes, the one tested here is the new 5.2-litre version, powered by a double overhead camshaft V10 remarkably similar to the one that drives the Lamborghini Gallardo. Yes it is faster, but I could have just rescripted my last road test of Audi's top-of-the-range sportster with a few extra "mores," particularly as it pertains to the engine, its sound and the wonderful kick in the pants you get every time you mat the throttle.

Certainly, everything I've said previously about the R8 being the most desirable automobile on the planet remains completely apropos.

The most remarkable thing about the 2010 R8 isn't its new 525-horsepower V10 engine -- though it is quite remarkable -- but that the R8 has lost none of its allure despite being two years old.

Two years is an age in the world of automobile desirability. Even the reactions one sees to new Ferraris get toned down dramatically when the shine wears off. Corvette Z06s now pass largely unnoticed, and even pricey Aston Martins fail to garner much attention once the new model line is more than 12 months old.

But the R8 still renders the general public speechless.

Of course, from inside the cabin, the biggest change is that monster motor sitting not half a metre behind your head. A whopping 5.2 litres of displacement spread out over 10 high-revving pistons is the stuff of which sports car legends are made.

And the R8 doesn't disappoint. For one thing, the exhaust note is positively intoxicating. That's a surprise since the V10 layout doesn't always yield the most exciting exhaust burble; just ask Dodge Viper owners. In this case, however, judicious exhaust system tuning has resulted in a tonality not that dissimilar to Aston Martin's V12; high praise indeed. Especially as it passes 5,000 rpm as it screams its way to 8,000 and beyond, it offers up quite literally the proverbial "ripping silk" soundtrack.

With 100 more horsepower on tap, the R8 graduates from sports car to supercar status, Audi claiming a 3.9-second, 100-kilometres-an-hour time.

The rest of the R8 is largely unchanged. Oh, there are some new rims, the tires are slightly larger (PZ35/35R19 front and 295/30R19 rear) and the spring rates are slightly stiffer to accommodate the 5.2's 60-kilogram weight gain. But the combination of quattro all-wheel drive, an aluminum chassis and mondo Brembo brakes remains while Audi has wisely made its ultra-quickly adjustable magneto-rheostatic suspension standard equipment. There's no way to test such attributes on the road without losing your licence, but my race track sojourns in previous R8s tells me this is one car that is super in more than just engine.

Inside, the same remains true with Audi's combination of excellent fit and finish and exquisite materials separating the R8 from the common exotic.

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