Audi 2007 Annual Report Download - page 53

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ARTS &ARTISTS
Jay Leno on the Audi R8
/// “With the R8, Audi has chosen to go in a
new direction, which is exciting. I was in
Hollywood a few days ago with the car, and
people came up to me asking what it was. ‘Is
it a prototype? How long has it been out?’
They loved it.“ /// “The R8 is pure emotion.“
/// “Even in photos, the R8 looks great, but it
looks even better in person. When you see
an R8 coming down the road, you know
it is an R8. Unfortunately, there are too many
cars around today that have no real identity.“
/// “I love driving it with the windows down.
It sounds fantastic. The rich sound of the en-
gine, the sound of the air intake, the growl of
the exhaust, it’s a knockout.” /// “But you no-
tice the car’s real quality when you drive it.
Its handling is precise and sensitive. The all-
wheel drive keeps the power cleanly on the
road.“ /// “At the end of the day there’s noth-
ing I enjoy more than turning the mainspring
of a watch. I just like that distinctive click
that you get each time when you do that –
you don’t get that with an electronic watch.
That’s what I like about the Audi. The switch-
es have the feel of a mechanical watch.“ ///
“The competition will really have to watch
out.“ /// “Every day I discover something
new about the car. This love for detail is just
fantastic. Even though you’re almost sitting
on the asphalt, you don’t actually have to
be a racing driver yourself to fit under the
steering wheel and slide into the driver’s
seat. They thought of straightening out the
lower end of the wheel – another one of
those details.” /// “There’s an astonishing
amount of room inside the cabin – almost
like you were in a sedan.“ /// “My favorite
thing about it is the manual gear shift. It
shows Audi have really decided to make a
statement.” ///
Car guy: Jay Leno likes the gear shift of the Audi R8.