The article was originally produced on June 12, 2019, some facts and prices may have changed since then.

Audi R8 V10 Performance

With ten more horses, more precise steering and a new performance mode for ESP, the new R8 V10 Performance takes you around the track even faster and safer. Cars Collection went to the Ascari circuit north of Marbella to check the status of Audi's super sports car.

Ever since the gauge needle passed 300 for the first time in my life, the Audi R8 has been close to my heart. Flying forward so fast but at the same time stable gave the nickname "The iron" its rightful meaning. Back then, the mid-mounted engine was a 420 horsepower V8 engine that applied to the first generation of the R8. Since its introduction in 2006, a lot has happened and several different versions have been released which have meant that the performance has been increased considerably. The latest generation of the R8 has a 5.2-liter V10 engine that is also shared with Lamborghini. The horsepower number is now 620 hp and 580 Newtons in torque. The power is transmitted via a 7-speed double clutch box to all wheels. The combination of this means a sprint from standstill to hundred in just 3.1 seconds and a top speed when the meter needle stops at 331 km/h. In other words, the R8 is an awfully fast car!'

Now if we disregard all performance for a while and focus on what the soul likes and is stimulated by, in my case what lives and does so in a harmonious way. When I then say a V10 engine, it might sound a bit strange, but that's how it is. The character that this brutally beautiful singing engine offers is in a class of its own. Comparing it to other engines, it's really easy to spot from a mile away. I immediately hear about it for an Audi R8, with the caveat that it could also be a Lamborghini Gallardo or Huracán, driving on a road far away. The engine has a deeper and rawer sound than any other car. Then what you like best is, of course, just like the rear split. For me, this V10 engine, any day of the week. 

How does the car feel when it really goes fast? To experience this, Audi had invited to the Ascari circuit in Spain north of Marbella. A long, fast and suitably technical course that is often used by car companies for launches of various kinds. As usual, we journalists are not let out directly and on our own with a car like this and 620 horses under our right foot. We often have to start by "following John" after an instructor to get an idea of the car and the track. After this, this day we had two options, drive on our own or behind an instructor. I choose the latter because I still feel too unsure of the track and that the car has too much power to be fully experienced on its own. I get to follow a German factory instructor called Clause, we have identical cars and the pace increases every lap. On a section of the track where there is a straight with a quick right turn followed by another straight, I notice after a couple of laps that we are going 100% flat out. I stay mute through the fast right and Clause can't shake me off, even though this isn't his job. The feeling of letting the 620 horses give everything they have and what the tires can handle in the fast right is euphoric! The adrenaline rush after the laps has not only affected me, but Clause is also visibly excited by the pace we kept. Whether it is my competence behind the wheel or that the R8 V10 Performance is so easy to drive, I will leave it unsaid.