Audi R8 V10 Road Trip: The Everyday Supercar For Every Day?

In the minds of most folks that have driven the R8, it seems, the mid-engine Audi is successor to the Acura NSX for the Everyday Supercar crown. We won't argue with that assessment.

We will note two things first though. One, the R8 super-low nose hanging way out in front of the front wheels means that unless you are uncommonly careful, everyday driveway aprons leave everyday scratches on the underside of the Audi's nose. And, two, even Lamborghinis and Ferraris don't just go down the street shedding parts and lighting themselves on fire anymore. At least not in our experience.

Still, with two tall dude, two medium-to-large-size duffel bags, two laptops, a tripod and a couple of cameras, the R8 was a perfectly adequate weekend-trip car for two. You might scoff at the idea of only fitting two soft-sided bags into the R8's (front) luggage compartment, but you couldn't do half as much in a Pontiac Solstice. Keep in mind, we had only each other to impress, so we employed to cram-and-wrinkle method of packing. The two duffels and the tripod went into the deep well under the hood and our computer bags fit nicely on the shelf behind the seats. One issue: The heat generated in the nose of the R8 (even at quite cool ambient temperatures along the coast) was enough to melt some of my toiletries. And they are never the same after that.

Of particular use was the candy-bar dispenser pictured above. Once melted and mashed, we could cram a couple of Heath bars, a Kit Kat and a couple of those horrid Power Bar things. There are even little map pockets in the doors that are large enough for maps, a deep glove box and a little covered compartment on the center console. Nice.

Categories: Audi,Road Trips,Sports Cars