Luxury Insider

Before the R8 was launched and even now, there was much talk about the R8 and Gallardo being two family members locked in conflict. But the reality is that the two cars are worlds apart in price, looks and character.

The only real components they share are their transmission casing, whose internal ratios are different. In reality, it would be more correct to say that the Lamborghini carries many Audi components like its air-con, heating and sat-nav systems rather than the other way around.

The 30 percent pricier Gallardo is a typical Lamborghini, so showmanship is everything. Its chiseled looks shout its extrovert nature as clearly as its V10 shriek at high revs slashes apart the very molecules in the air around it.

Leaving the starting blocks with a 100bhp deficit while weighing 40kg more means that the smoother, less aggressive-looking R8 is never going to win a stopwatch contest against its relative from over the Alps. And with that price differential in mind, it should not. Unlike buyers at the other end of the market who buy a Ford, Renault or Opel on price or monthly repayments, supercar buyers tend to like one or the other marque.

Most die-hard Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche enthusiasts would not have a car from the rival marques, because the character of each suits their personalities. Audi cars have a distinctive personality as do their rivals from BMW and Mercedes, so buyers of those prestige marques are not always interchangeable.

While great things are expected of the Gallardo’s V10 motor because it is a Lamborghini, the Audi’s V8 is a landmark power unit that redefines the direction and character of sporting Audis.

As it stands, the R8 is one answer to the question of what the wealthy Audi customer drives when he parks up his A8 saloon for the weekend. But just as Audi is taking sales from BMW and Mercedes with their more normal cars, the R8 also provides a very sharp tool to make conquest sales from the likes of the Aston Martin V8 Vantage, BMW M6, Jaguar XKR, Mercedes SL55 AMG and Porsche Carrera.

As for the Ferrari F430 and Lamborghini Gallardo question, we will just have to wait until next year when the 500bhp V10-powered flagship version of the R8 range steps forward. A properly built, untemperamental mid-engined supercar that starts every time. Now that will be a defining moment for the genre.