2010 Audi R8 5.2 V10 FSI Quattro Road Test

A bigger stick for the soft-spoken supercar, and a price to match.

By making available an R8 with a monster 525-hp V-10 engine—complementing the 420-hp V-8 model that was introduced two years ago—Audi has elevated its exotic-looking two-seater from “almost-a-supercar” status to a true competitor in the high-performance realm above mere sports cars.

The 105-hp increase comes from a 5.2-liter, direct-injection V-10 that is virtually identical to the engine found in the Lambor ghini Gallardo LP560-4.

Unique engine programming and intake and exhaust systems are the chief differences in the Audi engine over the Italian job, although both engines are made in the same plant in Hungary.

We’re told that the V-10 weighs just 68 pounds more than the V-8, and that fuel economy with the bigger engine will worsen by only 1 mpg.

Output is listed by Audi at 525 horsepower and 391 pound-feet of torque, 27 horses and seven pound-feet fewer than in the Lambo, but we suspect some of that difference is simply marketing.

With the help of launch control, a first for the R8’s manual transmission, we managed the 0-to-60 dash in 3.7 seconds and a quarter-mile in 11.8 seconds at 121 mph.

That’s a full second quicker in the quarter-mile than we recorded in a manual-transmission V-8 R8 and dead even with a Porsche 911 GT2. This was measured in a down-and-dirty test run during a preview drive in Spain.

Lamborghini owners need not fret that this R8 will steal the Gallardo’s thunder, as the V-10 R8’s numbers are quite a few ticks behind those of the automated-manual LP560-4 we tested in February.

A more formal test with the paddle-shifted transmission should improve our times, but still, we don’t see a lot of cross-shopping between these corporate cousins.

The Lamborghini is a car for extroverts—loud, brash, in your face. The Audi is more of a speak-softly-and-carry-a-big-stick car. The exhaust—quiet during relaxed driving and escalating in volume above 4000 rpm—never fully intrudes on the serenity in the cockpit until you approach the 8700-rpm redline (700 more than the V-8’s and 200 higher than the Lambo’s).

The extra oomph is obvious as soon as the R8 5.2 starts moving, but the power increase hasn’t upset the R8’s user-friendliness and neutral handling. Easy driving is still the name of the game; both models have graceful manners even when driven hard around a track.

Visual differences between V-8 and V-10 R8s are slight. The V-10 model has wider intakes behind the doors, which sit atop wider body sills. In front and back, the black accents are glossy instead of flat, and there are two crossbraces to the air intake rather than three.

The V-10 R8’s exhaust tips are larger and oval-shaped, and this model also sports standard LED lighting, previously an option. The seats, a carry-over from the V-8 model, had us at times wishing for more lateral support.

We’re pleased the R8’s optional ceramic brakes might make it to North America. They’re strong, completely free of fade, and—unlike the on-off brakes in the Gallardo—can actually be modulated for smooth driving.

Audi won’t pinpoint when the V-10 R8 will go on sale or what it will cost. We’ll bet on late this year at the earliest, with a premium of maybe $45,000 over the V-8 R8’s $117,500 base price.