2017 Audi R8 V10 Spyder first drive review

Given the expense can be similar to buying a decent family home, you'd think not many people go shopping for an exotic, high-performance supercar in convertible form. Those who do, however, might be surprised by the amount of choice available.

It doesn't matter if it's a Ferrari 488 Spider, Porsche 911 Turbo, Lamborghini Huracan Spyder or an Aston Martin V12 Vantage, there's an awful lot of quite sexy metal out there and presumably just as many dollars giving the option of al fresco motoring.

Into the mix we can now add the latest Audi R8 Spyder, or at least we will when it arrives in Australia in about the middle of 2017.

Priced at $388,500 the mid-engined roadster will cost around $34,000 more than the coupe version that made a bow locally earlier in 2016.

While that's obviously a lot of money to spend on what is, after all, a two-seater with minimal luggage space or any sort of practicality, the pricing is pretty keen compared with the Huracan convertible (from $470,800) or the 488 Spider (from $526,888).

Like the R8 coupe, the Spyder utilises a platform shared with the Huracan which uses a mixture of aluminium and carbon fibre components to help give strength without too great a weight penalty.

Removing the roof obviously negates much of a car's structural integrity so to compensate, Audi has added door sills of a thicker gauge aluminium plus reinforcement to the A-pillars and windscreen surround to maintain some torsional rigidity.

The upshot is the Spyder weighs in at 1795kg including driver, or 125kg more than the coupe.

With the same 5.2-litre V10 engine sitting over the rear wheels as the coupe the Spyder is not exactly short of poke to shift the extra kilos. Maximum power of 397kW is produced high in the rev range at 7800rpm and the 540Nm of torque is handy, although not class leading.

Still, performance is claimed to be in the region of 0-100km/h in 3.6 seconds and if you have access to an autobahn, it'll top out at 318km/h.

From behind the wheel the Spyder feels every bit that quick, at least in terms of acceleration.

With no turbos to boost mid range torque it does prefer to use revs for outright performance but the big V10 feels so lively that's not much of a problem. Tootling around at low speeds it still has enough urge to see off more mundane traffic; boot the throttle and it zings towards its 8500rpm redline with a mighty bellow from the exhaust and an increase in speed that reels in the horizon.

Speaking of noise the lack of a solid roof offers little but good news. At cruising speeds with the roof on there's enough sound insulation to make progress comfortably quiet. But the real fun is in folding the roof back – or even just lowering the little rear window ahead of the engine bay – and getting the full foldback effect of the blaring tail pipes.

Lowering or raising the roof is a painless, one button operation that takes about 20 seconds and can be done at speeds of up to 50km/h. With the roof down and all the windows up there's virtually no turbulence in the cabin to buffet driver or passenger at highway speeds.

In fact, there are quite a few aspects of the R8 Spyder that makes it the most practical of supercars despite its outrageous styling, shape and specification. Visibility is remarkably good despite with the roof on, despite the high rear deck and flying buttress style additions to the rear and the driving position is no more compromised than any conventional Audi.

But the degree of ride comfort offered is astonishingly good for a car of the R8's ilk. The suspension simply absorbs all sorts of rough stuff including expansion gaps in bridges that might be expected to produce all sorts of crashing and banging.

The standard wheel and tyre combination is 19-inch diameter but even with the optional 20-inch rubber comfort levels are enough to make this a comfortable long distance tourer.

The adjustable magnetic dampers play a part here, and of course there are available performance modes that firm up the suspension – although not to an uncomfortable degree – while adding more weight to the steering and altering the gearshift points of the automated gearbox to be more aggressive.

The seven-speed dual-clutch transmission adds to the ease of driving the Spyder – like others, it can be left in full auto or used manually with wheel-mounted paddles – but even in the quietest "comfort" setting it seems too keen on kicking down one or more gears even on light throttle inputs. It's not harsh, but surprising and a little annoying.

With well-weighted, very direct steering and bounteous traction from all-wheel drive and those fat tyres the R8 Spyder tackles winding sections of road pretty much with disdain. On a dry road there's almost limitless grip and if you add the output of both horsepower and noise from the engine plus the sights, smells and sounds available with the roof down, there's tonnes of entertainment to go with the precision of the driving experience.

Inside it's much the same with the coupe's minimalist interior that does away with the usual centre console touch screen and instead gives the driver a so-called 'virtual cockpit', projecting everything from the main tachometer and speed readouts to GPS information straight onto the instrument panel.

Without wanting to sound too much of a party-pooper, it's worth remembering cars like this are total toys for those who can afford them and far removed from what most car buyers would ever expect from their daily transport.

But the R8 Spyder is also close to being the total performance package: fast, loud and crazy-fun but still with a surprising amount of comfort and day-to-day usability. Being able to pop off the roof to see and be seen just makes it that much more desirable.

2017 Audi R8 Spyder V10 pricing and specifications

On sale: Mid 2017

Price: From $388,500 plus on-road costs

Engine: 5.2-litre V10

Power: 397kW at 7800rpm

Torque: 540Nm at 6500rpm

Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch automated manual, all-wheel drive

Fuel use: 11.7L/100km

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