Audi R8: Delhi Drive

  • Nov 9, 2008
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Vikram Gour gets behind the wheels of the gorgeous Audi R8 right here in Delhi for a session on a handling course, and he's come out shaken and stirred!

The delicate sound of thunder rumbles from the exhaust of the Audi R8 as it passes me, as I walk towards the pit for a quick briefing, and honestly, that sound was enough to give me a complete download of what lay ahead for me out on the track set up on the outskirts of Delhi.

A quick briefing, mainly about safety standards, and I found myself just where I was destined to be; right in the driver's seat of the stunning Audi R8 supercar. Now, I've heard about the R8 from Adil (Bossman here at Zigwheels.com) who has driven the car earlier this year on the Lausitzring road course on the outskirts of Dresden, and I also have the distinction of being present when this car rolled out for its global launch in Paris in 2006, so I was well prepared as to what this machine packs.

Fitted with a mid mounted 4.2 litre FSI engine that churns out 420 PS @7800rpm and a gut wrenching torque figure of 430Nm@4,500-6,000rpm, I knew that this beast is seriously a track machine designed to drive on the road, and here was my chance.

Turning the ignition key, the engine came to life right behind my head and I shot off onto the track, which was designed more as a handling course. The quattro technology coupled with all the gizmos such as ESP, EBD, and ABS did the their duty to keep me from sliding out of line and as I made my way through the various turns at a pretty decent speed, the R8 just clung to the road like glue. I almost felt that this car could drive upside down in a tunnel with that kind of grip!

Lap after lap, I steadily increased my speed, yet the R8 was unshakable. The most minimal of driver inputs is translated by the onboard computer in nano-seconds, so despite my amateur run at a handling course in a full blown supercar, I was unable to ruffle the feathers on the R8. The sheer influence of all the electronics means that the car remains well behaved no matter who is behind the wheel.

Now, before you think that the electronics would steal away from all the driving pleasure, provided you are a seasoned driver, let me tell you, it can be done and all that takes is to turn the ESP off and viola, it's a beast that can be drifted and spun! Unfortunately, I don't have a crores of rupees stashed away in a Swiss bank account, so I used the rational side of my brain (which was rather weak at this moment, especially since I was behind the wheel of a dream machine) and decided to stick with the program and drive the car like I was told. (I did, however, get to sit with one of the professional driver's from Audi and go for a 'hot' lap which left me rather weak in the knees, but that's another story!)

At the end of my drive, I came out of the car feeling like James Bond. Alright, he's British and drives an Aston Martin, but the feeling has got to be mutual here. I mean, come on, this is one brilliant driver's car that handles like a race car and it's been built to be pushed to the limit-very Bond like. I only got a flavour of that experience and as the sound of the engine still buzzes in my head and the sheer dynamics of pushing this car through turns will dominate my dreams for time to come, I can only ponder on how to get my hands on this beast once again.

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For Audi, the R8 is the ultimate in technology. It packs so much cutting edge material that I would have to write a book on all of that if I were to document it! The car is now available in India, and for all those millionaires looking for a spectacular ride that literally defines the term handling, then you have to look no further than the R8.

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