R8 V10...

[Leadfoot]

Not in my experience. The only time it oversteers is after momentary understeer. The front suddenly grips and the rear slingshots itself round.

Only in certain types of fwd cars. You have to remember that most cars including fwd ones are by design meant to push the nose (understeer) when you go to fast. But the kind that have a playful tail are the kind you see on trackdays, mostly Honda Type Rs of one sort or another but you could include the new Mini, the Focus ST and RS, the Golf GTI MkV and the TT 2.0TFSi among a few.

Not in my experience. Your theory is correct for FWD but in practice it just isn't that simple. Regaining control of either a 200SX, RWD skyline or AWD skyline is far easier than regaining control of say a Mondeo or a Vectra. The thing to note is the method by which the rear end is lost. RXBG hit the nail on the head, you have to go stupid to lose the rear with FWD but when it does happen the car's basically gone. I've done a lot of airfield experimentation with this. The problem isn't helped by the fact that most FWD cars have sod all torque or power to pull you out. You might have more luck with a touring car or something.

Sorry but it is that simple. I have driven the Fiesta Rallycar on quite a few occasions and the style of driving is almost identical to either the Subaru (AWD) or any RWD car you care to name. The tail is used in the exact same way to control the car and once it's sideways you use the throttle to bring the nose wide and regain control, it's that simple.

The same technique is used on the track when the tail steps out (by design), the only difference is that most fwd cars are not designed to throw the tail, only the nose and most people aren't knowledgeable to know what to do when the occasion arises, most hit the brake which is what not to do, when that is done the tail keeps going, but the same is true for rwd as well.

The simple truth is that with both awd and fwd you can control the car with a much greater slip angle than you can with a rwd car, regardless of make or model.

I'll take your word for that. I've only had a few laps in a 355 on a track day gift package and I wasn't about to start practicing with the rear end. Back in the '90s people would actually have given a shit if a 355 was written off.

Trust me, I know this from experience. The pendulum effect is extremely difficult to control and it's really only present in mid and rear engined cars. But in their defence you do have to drive them differently and their ability in the dry and wet are very similar, more so the mid-engined car.