In late 2010, Cris Ostberg posted a video of his then 18-month-old daughter enjoying a ride in his Audi R8 Spyder. The clip became an instant hit, however, due to the fact that several people grilled him about the safety and legitimacy of placing a child seat up front, he removed the video – even though it is legal to do so if you switch off the airbags.
Some 18 months later, Ostberg has posted a new video of his daughter, who is now about three-and-a-half years old. This time she hops into an R8 V10 coupe and plays around with the gas pedal to hear the 10-cylinder engine roar.
Unfortunately, Ostberg chose not to film his child on the road for obvious reasons…
But just in case someone decides to pop into the comments section to grill him again, here’s what he wrote in a posting on the VW Vortex forums:
“Before the fun police gets here, YES, it’s legal for her to ride in the front seat. YES, the passenger airbags are switched off. NO, she doesn’t know how to nor have the strength to release the handbrake. NO, she’s not tall enough to firmly press the brake while simultaneously moving the shift lever which is what it would take to engage a gear.”
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