Which of course brings us to the R8, probably the biggest disappointment of the lot. But disappointing only in that I never had the opportunity to reach for the car's reported 187-mph top speed. Until I see it for myself, it's just a rumor--though entirely plausible.
After an overnight stay at the excellent Palomar Hotel, our group caravanned out to the broad expanse of parking lots surrounding Fed Ex Field. Though the cars were available for more excursions through the surrounding countryside, I left only briefly to sample the S5 on normal roads. In their infinite wisdom, the Audi staff had not one but two autocross courses set up for less constrained driving experiences.The short handling course was entertaining in a Euro-spec RS4 or S5 and, despite repeated attempts by a professional driver on a mission, the sequence of the yellow car is the most dramatic looking we could produce. The RS4's Dynamic Ride Control, which couples diagonal pairs of hydraulic shocks mechanically, does a remarkable job of keeping the car level, poised and planted. But the real attraction was the long, undulating course next door, perfect for the R8's long second gear (though a bit too long and fast for the S5's brakes) and where the R8's remarkable Magnetic Ride adaptive damping system could be put to the test thoroughly.The R8's shock absorbers are filled with a magneto-rheological fluid that changes viscosity almost instantly with the application of an electrical field. Add stability and traction control programs that react in milliseconds and the result is spectacular. Try as I might, no matter how ham-fistedly I drove, the R8 never lost its composure, though our professional driver chaperones paled when I suggested turning off the stability program. "Um, that would probably be more exciting for us than for you," was the only comment.
Once the stupid moves were out of my system, I spent the next couple of hours trying to improve. I never tired of the course Audi's hire guns had laid before us. And lest you think a parking lot cone course boring, this one had a full gamut of challenges, with the exception maybe of Eau Rouge.