RE: Facelifted Audi R8 - details
Discussion
kambites said:
hought that might be the case. How many are there?
To be honest, my post may have been misleading. Only qualified dealers can service them and am unsure what politics are involved with acquiring the qualification. Could be just a training course, but may well include specialist tools too. By now maybe all dealers are qualified. Daniel1 said:
To be honest, my post may have been misleading. Only qualified dealers can service them and am unsure what politics are involved with acquiring the qualification. Could be just a training course, but may well include specialist tools too. By now maybe all dealers are qualified.
I may be wrong, but I think they all are. All the dealers around me are, I can count at least 4 in a 30 mile radius.toppstuff said:
I think this is the thing - you shouldn't put the R8 and the Lamborghini together IMO. They aren't the same type car.
This is why VAG own both. Because they don't really compete.
If you don't want to drive it every day so it feels " special" then VAG will sell you a Lamborghini. If you want to drive a V8/V10 car every day and get it serviced by your local dealer down the road , drive it in all weathers, eat fish and chips in it, generally treat it as an every day car, then VAG have the R8.
Simple.
Couldn't have put it better....! This is why VAG own both. Because they don't really compete.
If you don't want to drive it every day so it feels " special" then VAG will sell you a Lamborghini. If you want to drive a V8/V10 car every day and get it serviced by your local dealer down the road , drive it in all weathers, eat fish and chips in it, generally treat it as an every day car, then VAG have the R8.
Simple.
The R8 is 95% of what a Lambo is and useable 100% of the time. It's reliable, relatively cheap to run and yes, to my knowledge, all Audi dealers can service them and mine is 1 mile away...! It starts first time every time, doesn't need a battery conditioner, runs on all eight all the time and somehow manages to make the passers by seem happier for seeing it.
Eating humble pie a little; the biggest draw back to using an R8 as a daily car is the lack of storage. There is so little that at times I think of changing to the new Boxster just so I could tour in it with at least a couple of clean pairs of Y Fronts. In my opinion the drive is very similar (Old 3.2S memories - not new one yet) as there simply isn't an Italian equivalent that has any more usability unless it's a much larger car like the Mazzer Gran Cabrio. I don't need the seats. So I'll just get in mine again today and suffer.....
toppstuff said:
HighwayStar said:
a R8/Lambo type car
I think this is the thing - you shouldn't put the R8 and the Lamborghini together IMO. They aren't the same type car.This is why VAG own both. Because they don't really compete.
If you don't want to drive it every day so it feels " special" then VAG will sell you a Lamborghini. If you want to drive a V8/V10 car every day and get it serviced by your local dealer down the road , drive it in all weathers, eat fish and chips in it, generally treat it as an every day car, then VAG have the R8.
Simple.
HighwayStar said:
I wasn't putting them together, some will be in the market for either of the R8 or Lambo. I bet a lot of owners of either looked at both and for their own reason bought one or the other. I get that the R8 is cheaper to run, cheaper to service, easier to drive etc... A friend of mine has one... It's nice but for a lil more than twice the price (V8) of my TT... I was saw an aweful lot of TT before me. It just doesn't feel that special. The Gallado Spyder I drove last year... That did, and I don't even like convertibles. To some the R8's running costs will seal the deal, others it won't be a factor. The R8 is a good car but like any other car you either want one or don't no matter what you are told about or how much sense it makes.
I looked at both,, but chose the R8 because I couldnt justify the extra cost of the gallardo .....missus wanted me to get a yellow gallardo though...... Maybe next time- Pete
Dave Hedgehog said:
thewheelman said:
Nors said:
abbotsmike said:
Pistonheads must be the only place where a coupe with 500+bhp and 4WD can be called dull. I've been a passenger in an RS4, and if the R8 is apparently like that, but 'more' then I can't see the problem with it!
Then again, I don't see how going round a corner wondering if the car is going to spit you off the road for fun is 'exciting' I find going fast in a controlled, predictable way fun, not clenching wondering what's coming next!
Agree with every word, this about sums up the Thread!Then again, I don't see how going round a corner wondering if the car is going to spit you off the road for fun is 'exciting' I find going fast in a controlled, predictable way fun, not clenching wondering what's coming next!
Some of the terms used like, Dull, Boring & Ugly escape me. If it's not your cup of tea, fair enough, but these statements just sound crazy, coming from so called petrolheads.
R-Tronic box.... I am unsure if the Dan Trent has driven an R-Tronic R8 as his comments are nonsense! Having owned the very best of dual clutch boxes in an RS5 it was certainly impressive with its blimps and booms and swift shifting. It knew better than you. When I moved to an R8 V10 with R-tronic I too thought it was different but that is because it is not really an auto box it is an automated clutch so you have to lift off between changes (slightly) to smooth them out. Or if you like it banging the gears home then bobs your uncle. The box is almost as fast as the s-tronic in the RS5 but the reason you have R-tronic specifically designed for the R8 is because s-tronic can not handle the torque, is bigger and heavier. Yes also it is older tech now so better boxes are available but it is still very very good. I had a pleasure of a fast few laps at Dunsfold the other week at the supercar event in a lexus LFA. Guess what... it has a single clutch box!!! Why because the engineers felt it more appropriate in the way it shoves the gears, lighter blah blah blah. That car is awsome so no more nonsense about automated clutches please or first off try one properly.
Also having driven manual and auto R8 V8s and V10s the V8 is a dream with the manual but the V10 is a rocket ship and unless your name is Hamilton then it is a bit much to shift them stick yourself and turn. It can do 78 in 2nd and you get there within 5 or so seconds so puhlease dont tell me I am talking nonsense. I dont claim to be a racing driver just a lucky chap with a nice motor that I dont like to hear dissed by folk who perhaps have little to no clue on what they are on about.
Apologies in advance and rant over now ready for my dose of abuse. Go easy on me people.
Also having driven manual and auto R8 V8s and V10s the V8 is a dream with the manual but the V10 is a rocket ship and unless your name is Hamilton then it is a bit much to shift them stick yourself and turn. It can do 78 in 2nd and you get there within 5 or so seconds so puhlease dont tell me I am talking nonsense. I dont claim to be a racing driver just a lucky chap with a nice motor that I dont like to hear dissed by folk who perhaps have little to no clue on what they are on about.
Apologies in advance and rant over now ready for my dose of abuse. Go easy on me people.
thewheelman said:
Nors said:
abbotsmike said:
Pistonheads must be the only place where a coupe with 500+bhp and 4WD can be called dull. I've been a passenger in an RS4, and if the R8 is apparently like that, but 'more' then I can't see the problem with it!
Then again, I don't see how going round a corner wondering if the car is going to spit you off the road for fun is 'exciting' I find going fast in a controlled, predictable way fun, not clenching wondering what's coming next!
Agree with every word, this about sums up the Thread!Then again, I don't see how going round a corner wondering if the car is going to spit you off the road for fun is 'exciting' I find going fast in a controlled, predictable way fun, not clenching wondering what's coming next!
Some of the terms used like, Dull, Boring & Ugly escape me. If it's not your cup of tea, fair enough, but these statements just sound crazy, coming from so called petrolheads.
I wouldn't track any of those cars for the following reasons:
a) Running out of talent and parking it in the kitty litter would stone-chip the entire car leading to a £5k+ respray
b) Running out of talent and parking it in the armco would require some scarily expensive bodywork
c) Somebody else runs out of talent in front of you and causes a) or b)
d) Drive hard and wreck £1000 worth of tyres in a few hours
e) Drive hard and wreck £1000 worth of brake pads/discs in a few hours
These are all lovely road cars but none can take real track abuse for very long without a serious financial consequence.
If trackdays are your thing buy a Caterham/Radical/dedicated race car and be done with it. With the money you'd save on running costs for an Gallardo/F30 it would pay for itself after a couple of years.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff