A couple of hundred miles west of our meat and greet, we had a run in with this mullethead and his Mitsubishi Eclipse.
He tailgated the R8, circled us a few times and basically made a pest of himself. We even saw him on his cell phone telling his buddies the tale.
"No I'm dead serious, it's an Audi R8 and I just passed the guy like he was standing still...
Actually it was fun to toy with the guy who was obviously into our ride. But he also revealed a problem with the Audi's R tronic transmission. If you don't have it in Sport mode it is slow to downshift. Like reeeeeeaaaaaaaal slow. Floor the throttle at 75 mph or so and you get a two count before the thing kicks down and the motor revs up.
We know this because Mr. Mullet actually caught us off guard one time. He was coming up on our right, and I laid into the throttle just too damn late. By the time the Audi's transmission caught up to my right foot, his Hockey hair was past us. Honestly it was embarrassing. We got beat by an Eclipse. At least it had the V6.
Oh well, at least my mustache looks better than his Camaro Cut.
Scott Oldham, Inside Line Editor in Chief @ 8,315 miles
kurtamaxxxguy says:
05:14 PM, 06/19/08
ohhhhhboyyyy... at least he didn't run into you.
Wrt the Audi trans do a slow downshift in normal mode... Perhaps for emission reasons? Many modern transmissions do slow downshifts.
Meanwhile, How strong is the urge to get that vehicle into the triple digits "one more time"?
Perhaps someday there will be an American AutoBahn for this kind of car.
louiswei says:
05:21 PM, 06/19/08
Woo Hoo... now the LT blog is officially the sponsor of street racing...
Just kidding. But seriously, why did you even bother messing around with a Mitsu Eclipse? You were driving an Audi R8 for crying out loud, don't lower yourself.
I can understand the Aston Martin DB9 but not this.
dragonflight says:
05:28 PM, 06/19/08
An Eclipse does seem a bit low for the R8. I mean, I can take an Eclipse in my Hyundai!
funkymunky says:
05:39 PM, 06/19/08
Would you say him passing you qualified as a mullet surprise? You are a journalist, after all.
zjev says:
05:42 PM, 06/19/08
I cannot stand any downshift lag!! I'm driving the car if I tell it to downshift either with the paddle shifter or with the accelerator buried, it better downshift!! I would think that regardless of whatever mode you're in there should be no delay longer than a few milliseconds
billt9 says:
09:14 PM, 06/19/08
That Eclipse is just gorgeous. I love its side rakes. Just like the awe inspiring Grand Am. I can't possibly imagine why anyone would want an R8 after seeing the Eclipse. Wow. That's an amazing car.
cruiserhead1 says:
09:34 PM, 06/19/08
"Oh well, at least my mustache looks better than his Camaro Cut."
Hey, Denial isn't just a river in Africa ;-P
karjunkie says:
06:11 AM, 06/20/08
If you wanted respect on the back roads of Texas, you should have painted the R8 Candy Apple Red and slapped some slicks on the back!
s197gt says:
06:20 AM, 06/20/08
what man would want to drive a mitsubishi eclipse? might as well have been driving a new beetle.
06scooby says:
07:02 AM, 06/20/08
karjunkie, don't forget the gas pedal shaped like a right foot and the random primer spots too!
crowb says:
07:41 AM, 06/20/08
Don't listen to 'em, Scott.
That's a sweet 'stache, bro!
skierx420 says:
07:55 AM, 06/20/08
It really would have been a west texas moment if you had been passed by an '84 'maro in turd brown with t-tops.
felonious says:
08:13 AM, 06/20/08
"If you wanted respect on the back roads of Texas, you should have painted the R8 Candy Apple Red and slapped some slicks on the back!"
KA-CHOW!
elbee says:
09:53 AM, 06/20/08
Speaking of bad taste from bygone eras, was that a screaming chicken I saw on your T-shirt?
chunnel says:
10:06 AM, 06/20/08
That lag in shifting is exactly the same thing I had with my V8 Touareg. During the lemoning process, my attorney produced a document calling it the "Lag of Death". Should you be at almost a stop and hit the gas, and should a car be coming quickly, god help you, you'll be watching the car broadside you as you pull all the nails off your fingers.
greenpony says:
10:38 AM, 06/20/08
That body style Eclipse is my favorite.
ne1butu2 says:
06:57 PM, 06/22/08
Hey, this is the reason to own a hi-performance car... so at stoplights, you can completely wax a garbage collector driving his baby's momma's crappy rice rocket.