How Much Power Is Too Much For The Road?

It was absolutely tipping it down with rain. It had been for hours, too, so much so that I’d have probably been better off with a boat, rather than the latest version of the Audi TT coupe. And yet, when the national speed limit sign appeared, I was happy to plant my foot and keep it buried without worrying about slingshotting myself into the nearest hedge.

It was then, on that soaking spirited Sunday drive a few weeks ago, that I began to ponder just how much power is really necessary on the roads. The TT test car I had in was the 227bhp 2.0-litre TFSI version, and on that wet, bumpy road, with tight corners and a 60mph speed limit, it felt a perfect match. As much as I love fast cars, any more power than that is a waste of time, surely?

Not only was I unworried about skipping off the road and wrecking a car that wasn’t mine, I was also able to enjoy most of the car’s performance. I wasn’t backing off in fear of losing my license. I could stir through several gears on the TT’s sweet short-throw manual ‘box without doing antisocial speeds. Perhaps around 230-250bhp is the perfect sort of power output for the road, I was thinking.

However, just a day later, I found myself driving this TT down to an Audi range update driving event. And what would I be driving first? Something with a little more than 230-250bhp, that’s for sure. Specifically, the outgoing R8 in V10 flavour.

Sure, the new version is just around the corner, but the soon-to-be-replaced first-gen model is still flipping quick. Its mid-mounted 5.2-litre V10 is good for 518bhp and 390lb ft, will get you from 0-62mph in 3.9 seconds, and will threaten to head-butt the horizon as it goes on to a top speed of 196mph.

But those are just numbers. They don’t adequately communicate the way the R8 kicks you right up the backside and sends you hurtling down the road. It’s close to being frighteningly quick, with the four-wheel drive system spitting you off the line without the slightest bit of grip lost, while the V10 explodes away just behind your ears.

But, and this is a big but, you can only have your foot buried for the briefest of spans, before you enter the realms of thoroughly naughty speeds. Plus, cornering at any vaguely sensible speed all just seems a bit too easy. It’s all too far within its capabilities, as unlike the TT, with its paltry power figure that’s less than half that of the R8, it’s damn near possible to push it to the limits on a public highway.

Own one of these, and you’d simply have to take it to a track or Vmax-style event to get the most out of it. Or move to somewhere near a de-restricted piece of autobahn.

As much as we don’t want to admit it, if we sit down and have a think, something with 518bhp with a sub-4sec 0-62mph time is just a bit daft for the road. But you know what? I appreciate the silliness. And while the modestly powered TT makes a hell of a lot more sense on the road, the senselessness of the outrageously quick R8 is something I appreciate. It’s madly intoxicating, bloody exciting, and far more memorable than the TT could ever be.

After all, being a petrolhead isn’t about being sensible.