2017 Audi R8 Spyder: First Impressions
CARS.COM — There are few things on Earth that can’t be made better by going topless. Maybe that doesn’t sound quite right, but in this case we’re talking about Audi’s latest droptop sports car, the new 2017 R8 Spyder, making its global debut at the 2016 New York International Auto Show. Audi took the distinctive look of the R8 V-10 coupe and improved it by letting the sun and sounds in, making an already distinctive car even more appealing.
The newly refreshed R8 V-10 was already a looker: Angular headlights and a trapezoidal grille start the character lines that continue down the body’s side, interrupted by side blades that are vestigial remnants of their former bold selves. The R8 Spyder keeps the lower side blades, but the soft-top replaces the uppers.
Top-down, the R8 Spyder is striking, with fins behind driver and passenger that cover the engine instead of the clear covering that shows off the motor in the hardtop coupe. The look is well-integrated, with the top stowed under the integrated engine cover hood; it looks like the R8 was meant to be a roadster from the beginning.
The updated interior feels fantastic as well. Audi’s sports cars are all starting to feature some innovative controls, and the R8 Spyder’s latest interior includes neat surprise-and-delight features. Items that you’d find in racing cars, such as the starter button on the steering wheel, add a racy touch to the interior. The completely digital gauge cluster is a polarizing element: Some people love its high-tech look, but some decry the disappearance of the artistry of fixed gauges. I like the reconfigurability that the digital cluster provides, and Audi does it well.
Interior materials are top-notch, as is the norm for nearly every Audi on sale, and styling touches like the golden yellow stitching in the otherwise monotone gray cabin provide some needed flash and color. The seats are comfortable and highly adjustable, but just like in the coupe, the windshield is low. Your field of vision toward the front is very much on the ground, not in the air, unless you’ve dropped the top and can look over the windshield at high stoplights.
With its naturally aspirated V-10 behind you, the topless Audi R8 Spyder looks like a winner up there on the auto-show turntable. If it drives as well as the last model, it should be a winner down on the street as well.
