2011 Stasis Engineering Audi R8 5.2 Challenge Extreme Edition

It's hard to improve on greatness, so when Stasis Engineering offered us a short drive of its modified Audi R8 Spyder, we were excited and skittish. The last time we debarked from a stock R8 5.2 FSI, we concluded that Audi had improved upon near-perfection. Could Stasis improve the R8 even further, or would its upgrades actually set the car back? We intend to find out.

So now I'm sitting in Stasis' impeccable show car with Henry Hsu, the company's director of engineering. When traffic clears, Hsu unhesitatingly double-slaps the R Tronic's left paddle until a bright "2" appears on the dash. Revs erupt as the twin oval pipes' bark turns into a menacing roar. Eaton's biggest automotive supercharger whines and churns at a maximum 7.5 PSI. Everything blurs. My eyes water. WHOA.

"Your turn," the engineer says, grinning widely as he checks the car's digitized vitals.

With 710 supercharged horsepower on tap, this 5.2 FSI Spyder is Stasis' most powerful 50-state-legal creation, topping the brand's two factory dealer-installed upgrades. (A milder 552-horsepower Touring Edition is the other.) Tacking on the aptly titled Challenge Extreme Edition badge gives a roots-type TVS 2300 blower with bespoke cooling system, ECU tuning, and a less restrictive, hand-welded 3-inch T-305 stainless steel exhaust. Our tester also sports revised suspension, forged aluminum wheels, Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tires, and Alcon brakes with braided stainless steel lines and stickier pads.

At a crawl, the blown 5.2-liter V-10 corrals a herd of pent-up thrust -- 523 pound-feet of torque support the buffed-out equines, much of them available below 5500 rpm. The TIG-welded exhaust grumbles and pops, but doesn't have an ear-piercing drone. If a Dodge Viper SRT-10 and Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4 Super Veloce ever made mechanical love, the result would sound like this. With 185 horsepower and 132 pound-feet over Neckarsulm's base, this Spyder packs a very poisonous bite.

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