R8
If you’re a member of our car-obsessed Southern California culture, you know what that is. Or maybe you’re just a fan of auto exotica. Then again, maybe one has whizzed by you, and you’ve asked "What is that?"
That is Audi’s answer to Ferrari. And Lamborghini. It’s more than a Porsche. And at $125,000, it should be. And when Jamie Kitman asked me if I wanted to go for a drive, I said I’D LOVE TO!
Mr. Kitman is in town for the launch of the new Jaguar XJ. The recovering auto industry is like the music biz was in the last century. They fly the writers into town, to wine and dine them, to get them to experience their new metal. Then again, Dan Neil got a jump on the writers in attendance. He reviewed the new XJ in Saturday’s "Wall Street Journal". And he RAVED!
"Jaguar XJ: The Hottest Cat on the Road – The British marque’s revamped flagship serves notice: There’s a new leader in premium sedans"
But I was here to drive the R8. You see being a mover and shaker in the automotive world, manufacturers drop off exotica for Jamie to drive. Hell, have you read his column in "Automobile"? He writes with personality and experience, hell, he owns over twenty cars!
And when he’s not writing about automobiles, he’s a rock and roll manager. Of They Might Be Giants. Of OK Go. And that’s not why I said yes, I really wanted to drive the R8, but I learned a lot as we drove up Las Flores, high above Malibu.
Yup, OK Go’s done with Capitol. The details of their departure cannot be disclosed. But now that they’re on their own, they’re booking $200,000 in licensing fees a week, $750,000 so far. No deal is too small, there is no red tape. And Jamie stressed that to use the old metric, SoundScan, is a fallacy. You’ve got to look at total revenue, and OK Go is doing well, VERY well. As for the future?
I wonder. Do you need a major label anymore? It all comes down to timing. Terry McBride pulled the Barenaked Ladies from Warner too soon. But now, years later, do you need the major imprimatur? Does it add legitimacy…or the opposite?
But I was hearing all the details with my foot to the floor, fearing we were going to drive right off a cliff, after all, I knew this road, but Jamie did not.
Then, high above the ocean, he pulled over and asked…WANNA DRIVE?
I was stunned at the R8’s spartan interior. And I couldn’t contort the passenger seat into a comfortable position. But when I got behind the wheel, it was completely different. The seat fit like a glove, visibility was good, and I depressed the clutch, shifted into first and suddenly I was in charge of a machine that wouldn’t twitch, that was up for anything I was, that delivered the classic German luxury ride, but with a giant injection of SPORT!
There are six forward gears. You plow through a metal gate to get to them. And although I had to adjust to the clutch when starting from zero, thereafter it was so natural, so easy, but so great.
As were the brakes. Suddenly, I was driving like Jamie. Way too fast. Then again, I eluded the police. Which doesn’t always happen with Mr. Kitman. But they’ve let him off many times, because he’s a professional driver, because they’re fans of the automobiles he’s piloting.
And I pull into a McDonald’s to pee, and suddenly someone’s staring. Why?
Oh yeah, I’m behind the wheel of an exoticar!
We’re high in the canyon and a twentysomething in short shorts is checking us out. I now see the power of exotic steel.
And after piloting the machine, I realized you could own an R8. It might be spartan, but it delivered on the promise of the engine under glass behind the seats.
The XJ was completely different.
The Jaguar people at the Sunset Marquis insisted I take a look.
I wondered about the sheet metal, in this case aluminum, it was so modern in design, but would it wear well, like its classic predecessor? Then I got inside.
Whew!
Touch screen controls. And a virtual dashboard. And enough leather and wood to say luxury. This was the anti-Audi. I wonder what it’s like on the open road…
