The R8 has been a phenomenal success for Audi, simultaneously raising the company’s profile and allowing it to compete in the rarefied air of the supercar segment for the first time. Certainly in its latest V10 guise, the coupe’s Porsche-like top speed of 194 mph — not to mention rapierlike handling — gives Audi sporting credentials it had not previously enjoyed.
The Spyder, like all current Audis, truly surpasses the competition when it comes to the fit and finish inside the cabin. The leather seat coverings are of high quality, the instrument gauge design still pleasing and the switchgear easily operated, if a little too numerous. As for the actual build quality, the Spyder has the tightest gap between its stowable roof and the windshield frame of any convertible in recent memory.
Unlike the coupe, which was first introduced in its V8 guise, the Spyder is currently only available with Audi’s 5.2-liter V10 (Audi says production at its Neckarsulm plant is limited, so why not build the most profitable model?). That means a spec sheet boasting 525 hp and 391 pound-feet of torque.
The other specification in the power department that bears noticing is the 6,500-rpm peak for all that torque. That’s unusually high, especially for such a large engine with such an undersquare design (the 3.3-inch bore is much smaller than the longish 3.7-inch stroke). Yet the Spyder, like the coupe, thrives on revs, the party not shutting down until the rev limiters kick in at 8,700 rpm (when the pistons are traveling at a very F1-like 26.9 meters per second).
