• Summary
• What's Good
• What's Bad
• On the Road
• In The Cabin
• Prices and Specs
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Few cars have been as eagerly awaited as Audi's new R8, already sold out in the UK until late 2008. Advance orders have been taken since 2005. You can't wangle yourself onto the waiting list. So the only way you can get early delivery is to buy someone else's.

Which means you'll pay a premium. And the list price of £76,825, plus extras, could easily rise by overs of as much as £10k.

So the question everyone wants an answer to is, "is it worth it?"You get a lot for the base price. Stunning looks, a 420PS 4.2 V8 with 430Nm torque, quattro four wheel drive, leather, air, Audi's new, non-distracting LED daytime running lights, leather seats, fantastic 8 piston brakes, a pop-up rear spoiler you can bring down at the touch of a button; even a Ferrari-like visible engine in an open compartment under the back window. Plus a 0-60 of 4.4 seconds a top speed of 187mph and the phenomenal performance that implies in-between.

The standard colours are Ibis white (which I haven't seen but which looks sensational on the S5), with Ice silver "sideblades" (the large vertical air intakes behind the doors), or Brilliant red with Brilliant red sideblades, effectively disguising them and turning the car into a Ferrari. So I'd think very carefully before spending an extra £700 for "optional" colour schemes, all metallic or pearl and mostly with contrasting sideblades. Phantom Black looks suitably sinister. Ice silver is kind of expected of an Audi. Daytona grey is okay but the same shade as the road. Pale Jet blue was a bit disappointing. I can't tell you how it looks in dark Mugello blue or dark Monterey green.