Canada’s 2008 Car of the Year just got a whole lot
sexier.
The 2011 Audi R8 Spyder has ditched its roof — well, it will if you ask it to — and it’s now a
convertible.
And let me repeat: It’s that much sexier.
Freelance writer Jim Kenzie wrote in the Toronto Star: “One kid on a scooter got so excited he laid his bike
down right in front of us, as if he wanted to become part of the sculpture.”
He didn’t fail to mention that this was in Southern France, where sexy was invented and sports cars
are almost commonplace.
Nonetheless, you can bring the R8 Spyder home to Canada later this spring.
Aside from expectedly being great at ripping up the roads, it’s being touted for being the most user-friendly
supercar on the market. There’s an amazing sound system, three microphones in the shoulder belt for
Bluetooth-enabled cellphones and a roomy cabin for its size. The windows aren’t attached to the roof, so they
can be kept up when the roof’s down, depending on what you prefer.
And, naturally, the car is fast and doesn’t hesitate — or lose a smoothness of ride — when you decide to test
it. It does 100 kilometres in 4.1 seconds seamlessly with 525 horsepower, and when you take that speed higher
and add in some sharp turns, it doesn’t even blink.
Another Canadian publication writer, David Booth for the National Post, wrote, “In my 20-plus years testing
cars, I have never seen such a visceral and universal positive reaction to any automobile.”
The only criticism has been that the car needs to be put into manual when you’re hunkering along in traffic.
The R-Tronic has one clutch and six forward gears, so there’s a definite and palpable hesitation between
gears, especially during up-shifts. But it already went without saying that this car is not meant for rush
hour.
At the very least, rush hour could have you testing the optional carbon ceramic brakes with six-piston Brembo
calipers. In other words, you’d be testing brakes fit for the Indy.
It all combines into what may become the car industry’s current pinnacle of exoticism and lifestyle
enjoyment. The Spyder sounds like unparalleled driving fun and the critics are raving.
But frankly, all anyone needed to hear is “a Car of the Year is now a convertible” to be sold. •
