Test Drive: 2012 Audi R8 GT Coupe

2012 Audi R8 GT. Click image to enlarge

Other visual cues include blacked out taillights, side sill extensions, a carbon fibre rear diffuser, coffee-can sized exhaust outlets and an on-hatch rear central air intake. In Samoa Orange Metallic, this tester was stunning.

The GT comes fitted with the R Tronic automated six-speed single-clutch transmission, which is a blessing and a bit of a curse. This transmission works best when driven in Sport mode and in anger. Any R8 accelerates faster and gets around a racetrack more swiftly with the R Tronic, but in day to day operation there’s a considerable lag between upshifts that requires recalibration of your inputs in order to smooth thing out. Dare I say this? Just like in a Smart ForTwo, you’ll be doing the head bob until you shift with the paddles and finesse the throttle.

Ferrari’s F1 Superfast single-clutch automated transmission in the 2008 430 Scuderia was worlds better than this, and since then the Italian automaker has moved to twin-clutch technology.

Nonetheless, this tranny is light and tough, and until they engineer a twin clutch for the R8, this is what we get.

2012 Audi R8 GT. Click image to enlarge

Inside, the GT gets an Alcantara trimmed wheel, body-coloured stitching, white-faced gauges and a metal shift knob engraved with the car’s production number, in this case 90/333. Unfortunately, the dashtop carbon-fibre panel throws up some wicked reflections in bright sunlight.

This is where I’m supposed to tell of incredible track exploits in this rare Audi. Uh, no. As most owners will do, I spent the week tooling around, basking in celebrity-grade attention, answering questions, scaring my friends, blasting around on/off ramps, relishing those scintillating high-rev downshifts and burning up premium fuel at an alarming rate.

No question the R8 GT dishes out a bit more of a really good thing. It’s more focused and harder edged, yet still makes for a civilised daily driver – one that turns even a run to the corner store into a memorable motoring event.

At this point, I’m sure a few of you have all ready called your broker or are wondering just how important your kid’s secondary education really is. Relax: only twenty-three 2012 Audi R8 GTs are coming to Canada, and they are all sold.