Blade Runner

FirstDrive: Audi R8The blue Nevada sky, the wide open road, the stunning new Audi R8 and only the bright lights of Las Vegas on the horizon. Michael McAleer, Motoring Editor, tried the latest new metal on for size

Where else would you launch a new sports car but in the mecca to fast money? Las Vegas stands as an icon to excess, a community where possessions and wealth equate to success.

If Audi was out to prove the desirability of its first performance sports car, it couldn't have picked a tougher testing ground. In a city where even the most ardent attention seekers find it hard to stand out, yet another sports car was unlikely to cause a stir. Yet the R8 managed to do just that. Forget Elvis or Sinatra - Vegas had a new idol with crowd-pleasing pulling power. Even in Vegas, where one of the casinos features a Ferrari and Maserati dealership in the lobby, the new R8 managed to draw catcalls and open-mouthed approval.

Over the years, we've encountered public adulation for sports cars we've been driving, but never on such a scale. Imagine a bikini-clad supermodel strutting through a crowded prison yard and you start to appreciate the reactions the R8 evoked. Driving down the outer lane of the interstate to Boulder City, entire families dived to the leftside windows to get a look.

At one stage, while parked in a lay-by on the Arizona side of the Hoover dam, we came back to find a note on the windscreen. It was from a German, living in America, who left his cell phone number in the hope we would ring and tell him about the car. As we were about to leave he came running up the hill. A bearded gent in his early forties, he didn't look the type to let boyish excitement overcome reason. And yet in the presence of the R8, questions shot from his mouth like an eight-year-old who'd just met his idol. "How fast? How much? Can I sit inside? Can I get my photo taken next to it?"

His eyes danced as he took in the car's lines - wowed at the distinctive carbon sideblade and visible engine block - and listened to the stats. He only stopped short of asking for the car's tyre print. He was not alone. Leather-clad bikers riding in convoys on desert roads came to a halt as we passed them. Teenagers snapped the car with their phone cameras.

Perhaps it was the carbon sideblade or the unique LED light clusters, but the R8 has pulling power far in excess of the traditional performance car.

Yet Audi is aware that, as with singers and sports stars, public adulation for performance cars can be fickle. And our own concern would be that the design, while truly breathtaking today, may date very quickly. To remain on top, it must have the engineering underpinnings to earn long-term respect.

Here, Audi has the benefit of working alongside its legendary sibling brand Lamborghini. The new R8 may only share a handful of parts with the Lamborghini Gallardo, but its engineers worked closely with the Italians when developing the car. Their advice, according to Jens Steingräber, head of the R8 project team, was invaluable. The R8 can be seen as the latest version of technology already featured on the Gallardo.

For example, the R8 shares the same aluminium spaceframe technology as the current Gallardo, though this is the latest generation. Similarly with the optional automatic transmission, known as R-Tronic, it's also more advanced than the one in the Gallardo and featuring the sort of performance flexibility that many potential owners will desire. The new car is powered by Audi's well-respected 4.2-litre V8 420bhp engine, already featuring in the RS4. Late next year, a 5.2-litre V10 is expected to be added to the range, an enlarged version of the Lamborghini Gallardo's engine and currently featuring in the S8. For now, the current engine manages to push the car from 0-100km/h in 4.6 seconds. This is fast enough to match up with its new playmates in the performance market, rivals like the Aston Martin Vantage and Porsche 911 Carrera 4.

Not that we got a chance to test it fully on our first run. With Nevada's traffic police keeping their beady eyes on our progress all morning, our convoy of R8s crawled through the desert parks on the Arizona border and the Valley of Fire.

It was only at the Las Vegas Speedway that we started to discover the true potential of the R8.

The first thing to note is the fantastic rasp of the V8 engine as it roars to the 8,250rpm redline. The redline figure is not just some off-hand statistic; the R8 can settle in the mid-7,000rpm range and still offer headrest smacking punch.

From a company with a reputation for four-wheel-drives, it's not surprising that the R8 offers phenomenal grip, even in tight and twisting corners. The low centre of gravity combined with the well-positioned engine to keep the car on line in chicanes and even when it did feel like we were losing out to the laws of physics, it was a gradual process and not the sudden lurch you get with some Italian models, where drivers can become passengers in an instant.

Of the two transmissions on offer - the R-Tronic and a six-speed manual - we'd opt for the manual, though our Irish colleague at the launch preferred the ease of the auto and most Irish buyers are likely to opt for this. Admittedly, the gates on the manual feel longer than on some competitors, but it has a fantastic clunky mechanical feel - like an old-fashioned racing car - and in cars like this we prefer to retain control of the powerflow than hand it over to a computer chip.

In terms of suspension, the R8 also offers the option of Audi's magnetic ride. Similar to that offered by Porsche, it uses electric currents to adjust the viscosity of the fluids in the dampers, allowing you to further stiffen the suspension depending on your driving needs. We tested this system and while there is a noticeable difference between the settings, the regular suspension is so perfectly suited to the car to make the system irrelevant for most owners.

One key factor the engineers were keen to underline with the R8 is that it's aimed at building on the brand's current reputation for reliability and sound engineering. So, there was no room for the R8 to have the sort of erratic reliability for which some of its Italian rivals have become renowned.

The golden rule during development, according to Steingräber, was that this car had to be a performance car that's capable of handling everyday motoring needs. Of course, it won't be much use on the school run, but it's meant to cope with M50-style traffic on a daily basis without overheating.

In that regard, the Porsche 911 seems its most direct competitor, a real icon in its own right and one that manages to handle everyday motoring without too much trauma. The Porsche also has that all-important brand cachet, is slightly larger inside and is the benchmark against which the R8 will be judged.

Where the Audi wins out is in its crowd-pleasing looks. The 911 may have the credentials as a sports car and doesn't share its badge with mainstream models like the A2. Yet the R8 has a look that leaves the 911 seeming a little frumpy. And for driving fun, it comes as close as any 911 rival.

Prices will likely start at €150,000 to €160,000, with annual sales in Ireland in the region of 15 to 20 cars, determined largely on supply. Audi assures us this is not a one-hit wonder, like so many other performance cars from mainstream - if premium - rivals. The R8 range is here to stay.