Awsome Audi R8s highly; The new Audi R8 supercar has the same V10 engine as the Lamborghini Gallardo. However, you can enjoy the immense power of this truly hedonistic all-rounder for pounds 50,000 less.

WHO needs a Lamborghini Gallardo when you can save 50 grand by choosing an Audi R8 V10 with the same engine and similar performance?

They are both in the supercar category but the Lambo costs the best part of pounds 150,000 whilst the Audi can be yours for under pounds 100,000.

That is for the version with a six-speed manual transmission as opposed to the seven-speed R-Tronic with paddle shifts that costs pounds 104,665 without any extras.

The standard R8 has aV8 engine but this latest version gets the Lambo'sV10, which would make it the Audi R10 if that was not already the name of the Le Mans racing car. Nonetheless, the road-goingV10 has much in common with the racer, being blisteringly quick but perfectly suited to the daily commute, too.

The trick has been to endow the car with the sort of performance and handling expected of this most powerful of Audi supercars whilst enabling it to be just as usable in the real world as a Jaguar XKR or Mercedes SL.

The Lamborghini models - which like Audi are part of theVolkswagen Group - are regarded as potentially temperamental and a touch precious by comparison, so the new high-powered R8 places itself into an almost unique - if extremely small - category of everyday supercars.

Some minor cosmetic changes including larger air-intake side gills differentiate theV10 from the V8, in addition to the fact that the engine is on view beneath a Perspex screen immediately behind the driver and the sole passenger.

There is a small amount of storage space within the cockpit and a bit more under the front part of the bonnet but otherwise this is a car built primarily for performance and is a bruiser rather than a cruiser.

The 5.2- litre engine fires up in thunderous fashion with the sort of rasping exhaust note that scares birds from the trees half a mile away.

Floor the accelerator and the car hurtles forward at a truly proposperous pace, reaching 60mph in a mere 3.9 seconds and hugging the road in rock-solid fashion at the 170mph maximum speed that the prevailing conditions allowed me to achieve with a further 26mph in reserve.

Both the manual and R Tronic offer identical performance although for many the latter will be considered preferable in true Formula One tradition.

It can be driven as an automatic but once you get the hang of the steering wheel paddle shifts it is a delight.

When changing down there is an automatic blip of the accelerator a fraction of a second before the clutches engage with a corresponding rasp from the exhaust.

Feather the accelerator when paddlechanging up and the process is smooth and virtually seamless, save for the surge in forward motion that comes with the higher gear.

The steering is ultra-direct, brakes are immensely powerful with ceramics available too and the handling is absolutely neutral to take high-speed bends flat.

Despite this the ride and handling are perfectly suited to everyday use and the interior is no less comfortable, cramped or complicated that that of any lesser vehicle.

The all-aluminium space-frame construction endows the R8 with an awesome power-to-weight ratio with immense strength to protect occupants if necessary.

It also comes with a sophisticated sound system courtesy of Bang and Olufsen and becomes the first car in the world to have all-LED headlamps as standard. This gives it a somewhat demonic appearance when they are switched on, which together with the squat, broad body, low waistline, huge wheels and massive tyres endow it with an enviably distinctive supercar appearance.

Unashamedly hedonistic and designed mainly to create a halo-effect for the rest of the sporty models within the Audi range, it averages 19mpg and has a CO2 figure of up to 350g/km.

The order book is already full, with this year's allocation gone.

At pounds 99,575 the nearest rivals are the pounds 100,134 Porsche 911 Turbo, which is also four wheel drive and the Aston Martin DB9 at pounds 111,526.

The R Tronic version of the Audi adds pounds 5000 at pounds 104,665, which in the scheme of things is well worth it.

Whilst a couple of supercars may be fractionally quicker or faster, such as the V12 Lambo Murcielago, none is a better all-rounder than the Audi. In that respect it reminds you of the fine Honda NSX.