There are some cars that are, quite simply, beautiful. There I plenty more, I know, which are amazing at road performance and fuel economy. Or which have stunning interiors. Or which could drive backwards through an infested swampy hell-hole without breaking a sweat. For me, however, what makes a good car great can often come down to how it looks whilst driving down a road. I don't mean, of course, how it looks when zooming around a track at a million miles an hour - but more how it looks in the real everyday world!
In my opinion, the R8 is one of those rare cars. Sure, it wouldn't look at all out of place racing around a motor racing track - but at the same time it would look really beautiful parked in a rural field, or in the driveway of a beautiful town house or mansion. It is this effortless grace that sets it apart from a crowd of supercars that are starting to clutter up our streets. Rather than looking silly and over-the-top, this car instead only channels purse grace. The looks are kept simple, with delicate features - instead most of the emphasis is placed on the shape. In essence, there are no flashy unnecessary bits, but pure unadulterated design.
The first time I saw one of these powerful and intimidating cars, I was walking casually down the road near my house. It must have been just after the cars had been released, and although I had seen them on TV I hadn't ever seen one in the real world Autel MaxiSys MS906BT. Its dramatic rarity at that time meant that I wasn't the only person around to notice it - there were loads of us who gawked, and a good few on top of that who actually stopped and stared. I thought that maybe this sort of reaction was largely just because it was a new supercar (I mean autel, supercars get gawped at at the best of times!) - but as it happens the reaction hasn't really changed in the years now since it was released. People just pretend they don't care about seeing one as much!
Perhaps the R8 seems even more impressive because of the way it feels to drive it. If you thought I was already gushing about my favourite car, then that is nothing in comparison to how it actually felt to be the one being looked at, rather than the one doing the looking. The engine was their purring away, and I suddenly felt like I could drive at a thousand miles and hour! After a bit of time on the track they let me drive it on the motorway - under pain of death from the person who was doing me the favour of letting me try it out! Thankfully I didn't crash it - but I didn't fall in love with it even more than I already was!
Understated and beautiful, the Audi 58 truly is a stunner - and it is one of a rare and exclusive breed. One day I will own one!
Lauren Cooke is a writer and a car enthusiast. She currently writes for the automotive industry. Here she discusses Used Audi cars.Related Links
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