and today I'm here in Austin, Texas

at Circuit of the Americas for one reason:

I'm about to go faster than I've ever gone in my life.

Well, I mean, in a car, at least.

And I'm doing that thanks to Audi,

who not only were able to sponsor our video,

but also let me drive the R8 on the track.

The Audi Driving Experience starts

by putting you behind the wheel of the car

that I drive every single day, the Audi RS3.

The day begins with a simple slalom and lane change exercise

and ends with the braking zone.

You know, like the license test in Gran Turismo

that I always missed the braking zone in.

Next up, I got some seat time

with the autocross course in the TTRS.

Now I'll admit, even though it's the same 400-horsepower

turbo five cylinder with all-wheel drive,

as well as the seven-speed dual clutch,

it feels a lot more lively.

I got the car sideways almost every single lap,

especially in the wet area,

which is just a giant test of patience.

So after a little bit of time

in both the RS3 as well as the TTRS,

it is time for a full track session

on the main Circuit of the Americas track in the R8.

This is going to be the full R8 Plus.

We've got the 600-plus horsepower V10,

seven-speed dual clutch transmission,

huge tires, and a whole of track to use it on.

It is an incredibly hot day here in Austin.

Right now the temperature reading is 102 degrees Fahrenheit,

but the cars are actually holding up pretty well,

and that dual clutch, I mean, it just feels so responsive.

I grab a paddle and I am immediately there.

And with that V10 right behind us...

(engine accelerating)

Oh!

And we're short-shifting a little bit

because I don't want to overheat it.

I may have overheated a transmission earlier in the day.

Listen to that!

(engine accelerating)

100 miles an hour.

110.

120.

125.

130.

And hard on the brakes, hard on the brakes.

The speed is serious in such a car like this,

and there is definitely a lot more in it.

Circuit of the Americas is an F1 track,

so they do other types of racing here,

and the Audi Experience actually does take advantage

of this track for events like this,

but this is really designed first and foremost

as an F1 track, and you can tell.

It's wide, it's fast, it's very technical.

There's certain sections where

if you get it a little bit off,

you can totally mess up the next couple of corners.

But the R8 is forgiving.

I don't have a ton of track experience,

but I feel really comfortable pushing the limits

of at least what I can do.

Definitely not what the car's capable of.

All right.

(engine accelerating)

Full throttle, let's do it, let's do it!

(engine accelerating)

Dude, the shifts are instant!

You hit a paddle and you're immediately going.

And I love being able to really haul down

on these ceramic brakes.

I mean, we've been going, it's a hot day,

and they have not faded one bit, which makes sense, right?

I mean, that's why you buy

incredibly expensive ceramic brakes

on your very, very pricey Audi R8.

Pulling on the straight.

Full throttle, let's go.

(engine accelerating)

I'm legitimately convinced, mid-engine.

I've never really fully experienced

what a mid-engine car feels like,

especially on a track, but I get it now.

Like, that balance, just being able to place the car

exactly where you want it.

This car, this car is something else.

I mean, first of all, look at it.

It is absolutely beautiful.

The performance on the track?

Man, I'm in love, I'm in love.

V10, mid-engine, all-wheel drive?

Sign me up.

Today was absolutely awesome.

I can't think Audi enough for not only

of course sponsoring the video,

but for letting me have the opportunity

to drive the R8, the TTRS, and the RS3.

If you guys ever get the opportunity

to do a driving school like this,

absolutely go for it.