Abandoned My Spot on the Waiting List

I plunked down my deposit on July 27th but was getting antsy about having to wait until next summer to receive my F458 so I started considering buying an '08 F430 Spider or a 2010 Gallardo Spyder. Each was being offered at around $209K and I figured I'd enjoy either one until next summer and would trade it in when my 458 finally arrives. But then I read about the new Audi R8 Spyder V10 5.2 and was especially pleased that it offers an old-school, gated, 6-speed manual so I decided to check it out. There was only 1 Spyder in Florida this past Thursday at a dealer not too far from Miami, which was where I was for a couple of days this week, so I went and took a look and test drive. And fell in love! For $174K, one can buy an understated version of the Gallardo for a lot less money and with no previous owner or miles. I liked the car so much that I bought it on the spot. I'm enjoying the third pedal and the shifter so much that I requested a refund of my deposit from my erstwhile Ferrari dealer, which was issued promptly. I don't care if the auto transmission is faster, I wanted more engagement and fun, and this new Spyder surely delivers in spades, so no Ferrari in my immediate future, but as you can see by my screen name, you might see me back once the Italia Spider becomes available. I'll lurk here from time to time, but now that I've got my R8 for fun and my GTC Speed as my DD, I'll be spending less time on the internet and more time enjoying the gorgeous weather we've been having by keeping the top down and going thru the gears just to hear the wonderful howl the V10 makes. And I haven't even taken it up to the 8700 red line yet, but boy oh boy does it sound good!

 

First of all, thank you all for being so gracious! I was half expecting some trolls to condemn me for being a traitor to the marque or be ignored entirely. After all, I saw that 65 people had viewed my post but none had responded so I figured they all thought something like, "Don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way out!" or some such.

I bought the only car within 814 miles of SW Florida. It turned out to be Phantom Black Pearl, which is really gorgeous, even though I never buy black cars or black interiors, and I mean NEVER, so you can guess what the "enhanced leather interior" color is: black. As is the ragtop. Triple black. And I love it! Once I drove the car I didn't care a bit about colors: I had to own it and 2 minutes into the test drive I told the salesman, "I'll take it."

The best part is the fun of rowing the old school, gated shift lever and dropping the hammer and blipping the throttle, all things I miss with a manu-matic. Granted, the double-clutch automatic in F-Cars is the best there is, but I'm not going racing and just want to have some fun, and shifting gears and popping the clutch is all grins. Apparently I'm not alone: of the 102 brand new 2011 R8 Spyders on Autotrader.com, 101 of them are listed as 6-spd manual and only one mentions automatic. Sounds like Audi found a niche and I fit in that niche. I think Ferrari should reconsider and offer the gated manual and third pedal again for those who are like me and want to be more engaged in the driving experience.

Here are a few pics but the best way to experience the car is to drive it and hear the exhaust. Both experiences are intoxicating!
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Here are a few pics of some carbon fiber pieces that came with the car. Not standard, of course, but not crazy expensive, either.
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Beautiful! I wish Audi offered pearl white but even with their extra-cost customization program's added color palette there isn't a white pearl. Even so, white is probably one of the two most popular R8 Spyder colors (pearlescent black being the other) and the car really looks gorgeous in white. What color is the interior? It's hard to tell from the pic if it's silver or beige.

I also never cared much for the R8 Coupe, especially the "blade". Plus, the V8's performance wasn't anything to write home about so in my mind it was nothing ore than a glorified Porsche competitor and not even close to being in the supercar category. With the V10 and the Spyder, however, I believe it's very much an entry-level supercar.

As for what to do about your upcoming Italia, my decision was to cxl and abandon my place on the waiting list because I was only interested in the Italia coupe as a springboard to facilitate me being one of the first to get to order the eventual Spider, which was my true goal. Now that I have my Spyder, I can't picture myself ever being dissatisfied with its looks and acceleration that I'd need to spend another $125K+ to get the F458 Spider. If all I cared about were 0-60, I'd buy a new Porsche Turbo S and be faster than just about every car sold today under a half-million dollars. I do see myself possibly ordering a 2012 or 2013 R8 Spyder in a year or so if the honeymoon hasn't worn off and if they start adding more customization options and perhaps order a Stasis Challenge Edition with 710-HP for an extra $49K.

 

Other than my own R8 Spyder, I have yet to see another car in person, only in pics. I'd love to see that Fort Myers Beach car in blue so will have to drive over there and see if I can get lucky and find it. I'd love to see it in brown, too, but they are as rare as the light blue car. When you're down again in March drop me a line and maybe we can meet and I can show you my new baby.

 

I wouldn't take that bet because I'd lose: it's the most fun behind the wheel I've had in 15 years since I sold my F355 Spider. More fun, actually! It's a blast! And the sounds it makes are awesome!

 

True: I paid $174 MSRP because of all the carbon fiber, back-up camera, and enhanced leather (which really works: in direct sunlight even my black leather dashboard stays cool! I haven't a clue how they do that but it's a welcome thing, especially in So. Florida). Add another $49K and you're still less than the base MSRP of a 458 Coupe but you'll have a well-equipped and optioned 710-HP Spyder that hits 100 KPH in 3.1 secs w/o disturbing your factory warranty for 4 years or 48K miles. Great value, indeed!

 

Good question: I don't think I've driven her at night yet! I'll let you know once I've actually seen them in action.