What does it cost?
For This V8-engined version is several thousand pounds cheaper than the V10 car, but hardly slow - it still hits 60mph in less than five seconds.
Against Inevitably, the running costs will be high, and you may have to wait a while to buy one. There's also less storage space than in the coupe.
What Car? says
A truly brilliant car with a V8 but, if you want the full supercar experience, you’ll love the V10 even more.
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Buyer's notes
Target Price team says:
After choosing which engine to buy, the biggest dilemma facing Audi R8 Spyder buyers is whether to get the R-tronic semi-automatic gearbox. It adds more than £5000 to the list price and - if you live in town - a fair bit of frustration to your daily commute. Your passenger certainly won’t be impressed as you pogo your way through rush-hour traffic trying to exact smooth changes.
Don’t get us wrong, though. The shifts are brutally quick when you're using the engine in anger, and the steering wheel-mounted paddles are far more effective than the rather languid manual gearbox on a race track, where you need both hands on the wheel at all times.
Back in the real world, however, we much prefer the manual. It’s not the quickest gearchange we’ve ever encountered, but the Ferrari-style slotted aluminium gate produces a metallic clack as you slot between ratios, and it's a sound we never tire of.
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Our pick of the range
Audi R8 Spyder 5.2 V10 2dr
With monumental performance and phenomenal dynamic abilitie, allied to first-class refinement and comfort, there's no more usable everyday drop-head supercar
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