Man Maths: Audi R8 RWS

But I saw it differently. I saw that car’s quilted leather seats, its excellent climate control and sound systems, its comfortable ride and good visibility, and reckoned it was just the sort of machine I would like to be my companion for the five-hour journey home. And therefore exactly the sort of car you might actually want to live with year round.

The R8 RWS must’ve seemed like a very big deal over at Audi Sport headquarters in Neckarsulm, Germany. Audi built its entire brand on the virtues of four-wheel drive, and every one of its high-performance cars until then had put its power down to the road that way. Wouldn’t a rear-wheel drive version of its halo model undermine all of that? I can hear the boardroom arguments from here.

Nevertheless, the car was given the green light, it was launched in 2017 and built in limited numbers – 999 cars worldwide, divided equally between coupés and Spyders. A small number of those came to the UK with only 40 or so currently registered for use on the road. The RWS is a rare car, which I’m sure will eventually play in its favour.

But it wasn’t exactly a spectacular car. It was lighter than the standard four-wheel drive model by around 50kg and it had better, less corrupted steering, plus a more playful demeanour, but anybody expecting a truly hair-raising driving experience in the Porsche GT mode was going to be left disappointed. But as your only car for all-season use? I’d take one over a four-wheel drive R8 every time, and you could make a strong case for it against something more demanding like a 911 GT3.

Its 5.2-litre V10 developed 533bhp, but wasn’t nearly vocal enough while doing so. If I owned one, or any second-generation R8 for that matter, I would want to liberate a bit more singsong from its strangling, emissions-compliant exhaust system.

Audi facelifted the R8 soon after the RWS arrived, making a rear-drive variant a permanent fixture in the range. That must have upset RWS buyers no end. Nowadays these RWD-badged models are more valuable, because they’re newer. You can buy an RWS (which stands for Rear Wheel Series) for less than £70,000, while the cheapest RWD I found was listed for £85,000.

I would avoid the Spyder because it’s heavier and for anyone above average height, cramped inside. And I would choose the earlier RWS over the later RWD, in part because I prefer its cleaner, simpler look, in part because it’s a more significant car in the story of Audi, and in large part because I reckon the limited-edition model will eventually prove to be the better financial bet. With just 40 on the road in the UK, and only around half of those being coupés, you could own one for a lifetime without seeing another like yours.