Today, the exotic sports car is very much alive because there are still rich people on this planet that have nothing else to do but to spend money. New models are still coming along to please the wealthy, like the Audi R8, the Nissan GT-R, the Ferrari California and the Maserati GranTurismo. We're even witnessing supercars appearing in the most oddball shapes, like a 550-hp Porsche Cayenne Turbo S, for example.
This is the kind of car you dreamt about when you were a kid, right? I mean, not the R8, because it's new, but exotic sports machines from the likes of Porsche, Lamborghini and Ferrari that polarize fellow motorists and pedestrians, burn up empty back roads and give you goose bumps with every stab at the gas pedal.
The difference is that now they are much easier to drive than 20 years ago, and a little more reliable, too.
The journalist trap
Audi's marketing department got a bright idea; why not spend a little money by putting a plethora of R8s in the hands of auto journalists and let them tell the buying public that it's the best car in the world? Come on, we're dumb but not THAT dumb. Or so I thought.
As it turns out, journalists were hypnotized by the R8, claiming it to be a miracle on wheels. A $150,000 car ended up being proclaimed the Car of the Year by the AJAC, which only a handful of Canadians will be able to purchase, since only a few hundred copies of the car will be sold here. It seems that some of my colleagues at the AJAC need to get their head checked out.
Still, the R8 has done wonders for the company's image; as Audi cranks out new models, like the A4 and A5, they borrow styling cues from the flagship and bring its style down to more affordable levels. The R8 is a rolling advertisement.
Drop-dead styling
Saying that the R8 draws attention on the streets is an understatement. This car attracts more people around it than a dropped french fry gathers seagulls in a McDonald's parking lot. The car is large but very low, so it immediately grabs the eye in flowing traffic. The contrast-coloured side blade also looks unique.
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| The exotic sports car segment is very much alive. |
This is the kind of car you dreamt about when you were a kid, right? I mean, not the R8, because it's new, but exotic sports machines from the likes of Porsche, Lamborghini and Ferrari that polarize fellow motorists and pedestrians, burn up empty back roads and give you goose bumps with every stab at the gas pedal.
The difference is that now they are much easier to drive than 20 years ago, and a little more reliable, too.
The journalist trap
Audi's marketing department got a bright idea; why not spend a little money by putting a plethora of R8s in the hands of auto journalists and let them tell the buying public that it's the best car in the world? Come on, we're dumb but not THAT dumb. Or so I thought.
As it turns out, journalists were hypnotized by the R8, claiming it to be a miracle on wheels. A $150,000 car ended up being proclaimed the Car of the Year by the AJAC, which only a handful of Canadians will be able to purchase, since only a few hundred copies of the car will be sold here. It seems that some of my colleagues at the AJAC need to get their head checked out.
Still, the R8 has done wonders for the company's image; as Audi cranks out new models, like the A4 and A5, they borrow styling cues from the flagship and bring its style down to more affordable levels. The R8 is a rolling advertisement.
Drop-dead styling
Saying that the R8 draws attention on the streets is an understatement. This car attracts more people around it than a dropped french fry gathers seagulls in a McDonald's parking lot. The car is large but very low, so it immediately grabs the eye in flowing traffic. The contrast-coloured side blade also looks unique.
 |
| Saying that the R8 draws attention on the streets is an understatement. |