One measure of the success of a performance car is whether or not it makes you feel something. That can be lust when you look at it, excitement when you drive it, or regret and sadness when you part ways with it.
I haven’t driven the 2017 Audi R8 V10 plus, but, in a way, the company’s exotic offering has already succeeded. The following Super Bowl 50 commercial in which it stars gives you all sorts of feels. You start out depressed at the sight of a despondent man who seems so wrapped up in his astronaut past that he’s completely numb to his present. However, that gloom gives way to hope when his son presents him with the keys to the mid-engine rocketship. As the man fires the 10-cylinder thruster and jettisons its 610 horsepower through all four tires, you share the joy that comes across his face knowing that, if only for a few minutes, his life is still as exciting and glorious as it once was.
After you watch the spot, you’ll probably feel something else: curiosity. How much better will the new R8 V10 plus be than the outgoing model?
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
