High stakes: Audi's R8 in Las Vegas
Posted by Jason Barlow at 11:00AM on Tuesday 30 January, 2007 3 Comments
A fat bloke has just fallen through a plate glass window.
Granted, the evening hasn't exactly been going according to plan for us either, but at least none of the Top Gear group present in Las Vegas has confused a large tinted window for a door. An easy mistake to make, assuming you are a) pissed and b) a blithering idiot.
Perhaps he meant to do it. After all, Audi's hot new R8 has been circulating for a good 20 minutes right outside the hotel foyer, and Vegas punters have been falling over themselves to get a closer look. This guy decided to fall through a window instead.
With only the scantest of efforts to dust himself down and apparently unscathed, he then legs it into the neon-strewn night pursued by a notably ineffective security guard and a redneck called Tom.
We know he's called Tom because he's just been breathing Budweiser fumes all over our R8, while his associate Don stares in wonderment at the Audi's impressive headlights.
"They're LEDs, Tom," says Don, in an accent thick enough to tarmac a road. "What would you do with them?"
"Heck, I could modify me any kind of shit," says Tom, by now no doubt modifying the fat bloke.
It's close to midnight and we still have a few hours to go. Few cities are as nocturnal as Las Vegas, and we're shooting a three-car comparison test in, on and around Vegas's famous strip.
This is no mean feat, and the images you'll see in the next issue of Top Gear magazine don't happen by themselves, but by no stretch of the imagination could this possibly be classed as hard work.
With its lysergic skyline, seedy underbelly and bizarre cast of characters, Vegas at night isn't so much a city as total sensory overload.
Slicing through it in Audi's new supercar flanked by a Lamborghini Gallardo and a Porsche Carrera S is proof that, however flighty her behaviour might be in Vegas's spectacularly gaudy casinos, Lady Luck is out here right now lap dancing for us.
But is the R8 any good? You'll have to wait for the full story in the next issue of the mag, but the short answer - contrary to what Mr Harvey of this parish recently suggested - is yes, very.
Beautifully engineered, strikingly styled, stunningly composed even at very high speeds, and surprisingly interactive for an all-wheel-drive Audi, the 'want one' factor - that nagging urge that nestles somewhere in the solar plexus - burned more intensely the longer I drove it.
We've already had the fabulous RS4; the R8 proves beyond doubt that Audi's Quattro division has finally realised that it's OK to actually enjoy driving.
Wouldn't throw myself through plate glass for one, though...
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3 Comments for "High stakes: Audi's R8 in Las Vegas"
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An incredibly handsome car, with a subtle but special interior. Then there's the engine... I'd have one over a 911.
Looking forward to that comparison - I saw the R8 in Detroit at the Auto Show and it's just a stunning piece of kit. I sincerely hope it can back up those looks with some kick-ass performance.
If I had to hazard a guess I'd say the fat bloke was pissed and probably stupid, as well as possibly a native of that continent. Sounds like the new Audi is impressive. Can't wait to get a proper look at it - hurry up and get the next issue out!