2012 Audi R8 GT: Flying over the Alps at low altitude

Wörthersee, Austria – Over the last few years, the R8 has helped Audi carve out a prime spot for itself in the high-end sports car market. With its striking looks, V8 and V10 engines and all-wheel drive, the R8 is a member of a very select group of exotic cars – especially the R8 5.2, which is at the apex of the Audi pyramid, at least for the time being. With the new GT version, Audi’s quattro GmbH division is raising the bar a notch. This car is made for clients who like to take part in on-track test drives. That’s why the GT is both lighter and more powerful than the R8 5.2.

The R8 GT has a thinner windshield, the rear window and the bulkhead that separates the cockpit from the engine bay are made of polycarbonate, the rear hatch is made of carbon fibre as opposed to aluminum, and the fixed rear wing is made of carbon composite and is 1.2 kilograms lighter than the removable deflector on the conventional R8. But that’s not all. The exhaust system is both thinner and lighter, the engine’s underframe is made of magnesium and the designers even decided to use shorter cropped carpeting. The result is that the R8 GT weighs 1,525 kg – that’s 100 kg less than the R8 5.2.

Internal strife

A recalibration of the electronic engine control has helped increase the power to 560 hp, which is exactly the same as the Lamborghini Gallardo (although the Italian brand can still claim supremacy over the German with its Superleggera, which produces 10 more hp and is lighter to boot). As both Audi and Lamborghini belong to the Volkswagen Group, the marketing and public relations divisions of the respective brands take these subtle differences into account, but in real life, there is no clear advantage.

Right from ignition, the V10 comes to life with a rich and low sound that seems louder in the GT than in the R8 5.2. As soon as you get on the Autobahn and rev the engine to 5,000 rpm, the engine sound becomes a veritable scream until it reaches the 8,700 rpm limit. Meanwhile, the car is literally catapulted forward with significant – and addictive – force.

Quick, the S-tronic!

As for performance, this car is absolutely brilliant. There are doubts, however, about the single-clutch R-tronic gearbox, although it still changes gears faster than a conventional manual transmission. That said, it is neither as fast nor as smooth as the Audi’s dual-clutch S-tronic. Note that the brand’s engineers are currently developing a dual-clutch gearbox capable of dealing with the R8 engine’s power and torque, but it’s unlikely that it will be available on these cars for another year or two.

On the German and Austrian backroads between Munich and Wörthersee, the R8 GT proved to be more direct and more precise in quick turns and demonstrated less understeer than the R8 5.2. Indeed, the GT’s all-wheel drive sends only 15 percent of the torque to the front end in normal circumstances, which means that 85 percent of the toque is delivered to the rear wheels and that the GT handles a lot more like a rear-wheel drive than an AWD.  The internally-ventilated and drilled ceramic composite brake discs are extremely powerful and easy to adjust, which is not the case with certain rival brands.

Sporty luxury

The R8 GT’s passenger compartment sets itself apart from other R8s with the addition of white dials bearing red GT logos, carbon fibre and aluminum accents, and a superb Alcantara steering wheel with paddle shifters. Despite its more radical personality, the R8 GT is still equipped with air conditioning, a navigation system and a high-end audio system. In Europe, specialized equipment like a roll cage, racing seats with safety harness and fire extinguisher attached to floor on the passenger’s side can be ordered on option. This equipment will not be offered in Canada.

Exclusivity is guaranteed since Audi will only build 333 units of the R8 GT for the global market, and only 25 of these cars will be sold to Canadian buyers for a price of $228,000, some $55,000 more than the price of a R8 5.2. Sorry to disappoint you, but all those cars already have takers. However, you’ll be happy to learn that Audi just announced that it will market a Spyder version of the R8 GT that will be just as exclusive with production also limited to 333 units.