R8 spotted in NYC

[Erik]

"Driving down 56th in NYC today with my brother I see a crazy ass car turn the corner in front of me... As it got closer I realized it was a silver Audi R8 with european plates (front and back). The car in person looks GREAT! It looks like a supercar and demands the same attention that a Ferrari or Lambo would! I was really impressed with it! Took a picture with my cell phone but for some reason it didn't save (stupid Nextel Motorola shit).
Anyway just thought I would share! Anyone in NYC be on the lookout its there!!"

Photo and story by Evan

[RXBG]

bummer that i cannot go. at this point i will not see it until next year........

[chewym]

Same car better photos (but not moving). The "parade" will occur tomorrow.



http://forums.fourtitude.com/zerothread?id=2866673

[Subzero]

it looks fantastic

[Klint]

Bloody marvelous, it looks the muts nuts.

[India Whiskey Charlie]

From Car Connection.com:

Audi Gives "First Look" At R8 in Manhattan

Audi yesterday unveiled its first "look, don't buy" brand-experience showroom in the US, on New York's Park Avenue. The launch of the storefront gallery, called the Audi Forum, was paired with the U.S. debut of the R8 sports coupe, which doesn't go on sale until next fall.

The car, in which New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg rode shotgun, was part of a caravan of Audi vehicles, including the R10 TDI, the first diesel to win titles in the Le Mans series. The message was clear: Audi, which needs a marketing megaphone in the U.S., plans to make as much noise as possible in coming months, to tout what - by the end of next year - will have been 19 new models and derivatives introduced since 2005.

The Park Avenue fanfare follows big changes at the U.S. sales arm of the Volkswagen sibling, including a 48-percent staff turnover. Scott Keogh, who left Mercedes-Benz in May to be chief marketing officer, said the company will boost its ad budget to support the new vehicles, which include a redesigned TT coupe coming next spring, a new A5 niche coupe living between the A4 and A6 sedans, and a new Q5 SUV planned for 2008.

The company recently launched a creative review, including 13-year incumbent McKinney, Raleigh, N.C., Publicis Groupe's Fallon, Minneapolis (formerly BMW's AOR); Bartle Bogle Hegarty, New York (the agency's London office handles Audi's U.K. account); and Venables, Bell & Partners, San Francisco. Audi reportedly spends $70 million in measured media yearly.

"We are looking for big ideas to get people to talk about Audi," said Keogh, adding that Audi will boost dollars in both national and dealer advertising and that the review is an effort to boost the volume on what he called the quality of Audi's message. "We need to be a little more provocative, charismatic and passionate. We have been reserved. I think it's time to take the gloves off."

The notion of a dealer-free showroom is not new, at least in Europe and Asia. There are Audi Forums in cities like London, Paris, Berlin, and Beijing. Keogh said the showroom, which Audi will replicate in other cities, is meant to be a nexus for fashion events, art shows, and product launches by partners like Louis Vuitton and auto audio supplier Bang & Olufsen.

Still, while Audi has sold 890,000 vehicles in 40 global markets and has seen sales rise 5 percent this year in the U.S. to 62,579 units, it has not been able to keep pace in the U.S. with BMW, Lexus and Mercedes, the luxury benchmarks. Lexus has sold 234,474 units and BMW 230,084 vehicles through September.-Karl Greenberg