Toss-up between a Maserati and Porsche? Look to the 2010

Toss-up between a Maserati and Porsche? Look to the 2010 V-10 R8 Audi Race Car Instead

On one hand are the green advocates who push hybrids, plug-in hybrids and now all-electric vehicles to help you make peace with your conscience, and on the other is the raging and snorting brute, the R8 Audi race car, a shattering blend of German precision and Italian pizzazz, all held together with a little brutal power. The Italian part comes, if you remember, from Audi's acquisition of Lamborghini eight years ago. Actually, Lamborghini's influence goes farther than skin deep; the Gallardo lends the R8 its basic underpinnings - the suspension, and power train. The way it all comes through, though, is distinctly no-nonsense and Germanic - extravagant and impractical, married to the precise and calculated.

First for the extravagant and the impractical part. This 2010 Audi race car runs a 5.2-liter V-10; when the engine's 8700 rpm shrieks and growls, understandably, any environmental responsibility should evaporate from your horizon, or any fiscal responsibility, for that matter - the sticker reads $150,000. With the responsibility out of the way, let's look at what the German part of the equation brings in. To begin with, to those who forever find it hard to forgive Lamborghini for the price in physical discomfort they have to pay for that kind of performance, Audi's indulgence should be refreshing. They couldn't do enough about the legroom, but there are luxuries such as a great 12-speaker Bang & Olufsen sound system with an iPod dock, and decent luggage space out front (you do realize, of course, that the engine is in the middle of the car). The headlights are all-LED, and you get optional satellite navigation.

Before we get into writing about its performance, might we linger at the transparent cover over the engine that shows off the power-train lit by LEDs? Now, Audi Race has raced this car and won five times at Le Mans, and at 62 endurance races around the world. It might cost nearly $100,000 less to buy than the competing Ferrari F-430, but it still runs rings around it. Its top speed is close to 190 miles an hour, and it accelerates to 60 mph in under 5 seconds. But Audi made it manageable unlike what Lamborghini likes to do. If all you ever want to do is cart your children around to school and the local Dairy Queen's and take your mother to her dental appointment, this car would probably manage it better than a minivan. But when you want to take the gloves off, this supersonic, all-wheel drive Quattro will strictly be the beast within whose existence you always suspected.

The beast is definitely a bit domesticated on this Audi race car. It does roar and it does bullet you from here to eternity. But somehow, it isn't as visceral as on a Corvette or a Ferrari. The exhaust note is more rasp than a rumble. The R-Tronic transmission is overkill for anything but a racetrack, and the automatic shifts could have been smoother for daily use. There is a bit of a thunk each time. Nevertheless, in its category of supercars, there really is no competition to touch R8. The creature comforts are spectacular, and the performance is extremely visceral. It is a winner.