Audi drives its R8 supercar on Romania’s Transfagarasan

German carmaker Audi brought its R8 supercar to Romania for a special Halloween shooting over the weekend. The R8 took a trip to the Bran Castle, also known as Dracula’s Castle, and then drove on Transfagarasan, the best-known road in Romania, having some spectacular photos taken on the way. Romania’s high altitude road Transfagarasan has become one of the preferred setting for drive tests, photo shootings, and auto commercials for sports cars and motorcycles in recent years. The road became famous worldwide after British TV show Top Gear shot an episode in Romania in 2009. Former Top Gear star Jeremy Clarkson then called it “the best road in the world”. Since then, several international car brands have chosen Transfagarasan as the setting for their commercials and drive tests, and sports car owners all over the world have come to feel the thrill of driving on Transfagarasan. Earlier this year, Ford included Transfagarasan in its Europe’s Greatest Driving Roads video series. An Italian rally pilot, Flavio Barrone, was the first to set a speed record on Transfagarasan in 2015, driving the 13-kilometer winding road section between the Balea waterfall and Balea lake in 9 minutes and 13 seconds. He drove a Ferrari 458 Italia. However, a Romanian rally driver, Andrei Mitrasca, apparently broke his record this year driving the same route in 8 minutes and 26 seconds in a Skoda Octavia RS. Audi’s photo shooting on Transfagarasan is likely the last this year as the road officially closed on November 1 and will reopen in June 2017 at the earliest. This is because the road’s top section, which reaches an elevation of 2,000 meters, is covered in snow more than six months during a year. The Audi crew took the opportunity and also visited the medieval city of Sighisoara in Transylvania, where it shot several photos of its RS 7 Performance. editor@romania-insider.com (Photo source: Audi USA on Facebook)