Audi Gets in the Fast Lane

The Audi R8 is the German luxury automaker's first attempt at producing that most rarefied of motoring beasts, a super-sports car--a high-priced combination of verve and vroom. As I drive down the main drag of this English coastal town, the road narrows and I stop to let an oncoming car through. It turns out to be a vintage Mercedes SL sports car. As the R8 idles, its 420-h.p. V8 engine purrs with a low growl, and I can't resist revving it. As the Merc passes, its driver slows to a pause, nods at the sinuous, sleek lines of the pearly dark...