Along came a Spyder

When the sky turned blue, after two months of seemingly endless rain, it was a long-awaited chance to slip behind the wheel of a cool convertible. In this case, an Audi R8 Spyder.

The R8 is testament to Audi's versatility. The carmaker produces a diverse range of models with a reputation for understated luxury and solid performance, spanning SUVs, premium executive sedans and small family cars. Made by Audi's high-performance division and utilising its quattro four-wheel-drive system, the R8 is the clan's upstart cousin. This two-seater, mid-engined supercar more than completes the line-up. There's even a version produced exclusively for racing - the R8 LMS - which is a star of the motorsports track.

The R8 Spyder is a great looking car, despite or maybe because of its bug-like shape. It lacks the elongated silhouette of most supercars. Instead, it has a big and bold front end comprising a slim light set-up seamlessly integrated with the large air vents, sandwiching the deep, wide grille. Deep furrows channel air into the side air intakes. At the rear, where the hardtop has a window to show off the powerful engine, the Spyder's is encased in metal, with a slatted row of cooling vents at each side.

For the test drive, Audi supplied a blue 5.2-litre, V10 R8 Spyder (it's also available as a 4.2-litre V8). The bigger Spyder has an output of 525 horsepower and 530Nm of torque, ranking it up there among the likes of the Lamborghini Gallardo, a Volkswagen Group stablemate with which it shares a platform.

The street-legal Spyder wastes no time springing into action. The keen response of the throttle came as a big surprise. With Audi's emblematic four interlocking rings at the base of the domed bonnet (rather than a raging bull or prancing horse), it's easy to overlook that fact that this is a car that can rocket from zero to 100km/h in just 3.8 seconds, and is capable of taking it all the way to 311km/h.