Orange Audi R8 V10 Plus Spyder

[theicemario]

Cracking pictures. That is just stunning

[christurbo]

JAMSXR said:

Agreed, definitely seems to be a case of right tool for the job. I bet it’s almost worth it for the V10 soundtrack alone. Throw in impeccable road manners and stunning looks and you’ve got a winner.

It’s a B9.5 Vorsprung, definitely not the raucous V8, but a fabulous thing nonetheless. I’ve owned a Bi-turbo C63 estate, which did have a few sessions on track, but from my perspective, it’s not a patch on the Audi as a road car.

Have you found a sweet spot setting for the dynamic steering? I’ve got it on the RS4 and haven’t pushed on enough to come to a conclusion.

Nothing beats a fast German whip.....
I only drive it spiritedly so is not a daily, I live to use 'Performance Mode - Dry' - limited traction control and everything turned up to max!

[Edmundo2]

Hi Chris. Car looks great..

Please could you give me a few comparisons vs the GT4. I was looking at getting into a 981 GT4 in the coming months but R8 V10 really appeals too.. Both seem to have pros and cons...The GT4 gearing being one and the R8 lack of steering feel another...I appreciate both may be a bit over hyped or not too big a deal depending on an owners expectation..

The car would be used for weekend blasts only.. The other option I was contemplating was Boxster Spyder as I half way house.., ( its main problem for me being the excessive poppy/farty mapping ).

Any info appreciated,

Cheers,

Ed

[christurbo]

Edmundo2 said:

Hi Chris. Car looks great..

Please could you give me a few comparisons vs the GT4. I was looking at getting into a 981 GT4 in the coming months but R8 V10 really appeals too.. Both seem to have pros and cons...The GT4 gearing being one and the R8 lack of steering feel another...I appreciate both may be a bit over hyped or not too big a deal depending on an owners expectation..

The car would be used for weekend blasts only.. The other option I was contemplating was Boxster Spyder as I half way house.., ( its main problem for me being the excessive poppy/farty mapping ).

Any info appreciated,

Cheers,

Ed

Hi Ed. They are very different packages which can both do similar jobs. Coming from the GT3 the GT4s engine was not special enough for me to keep it. It ticked all the boxes for the looks (it was viper green) chassis and feel, but I soon came to realise the engine is the heart of what makes you get up at 5am on a Sunday morning to enjoy a blast.

I could have gone back to a GT3, but I was intrigued by the Huracan / R8 package.

I test drove a V10+ with the top down and sports exhaust on full chat and god….. I had to have one! The sound (and feeling) is immense. Power is incredible and with aids off in performance - Dry it can be a handful, you just need to drive it different from the Porsches. It turns in quickly but it isn’t as sharp as a GT car as you can imagine. I’d say the GT cars are geared to track work where the R8 can do nearly everything else better.

I’ve had it over a year now (still writing up my experience as you can see) and I still grin like I just collected it from the dealership. That’s strange for me as I change cars more times than pairs of socks.

My advice would be to test drive both then make your mind up. PS. My friend had the 718 Spyder and it’s a lovely car.

I think I have a readers cars thread on here for the Viper Green GT4.

[Edmundo2]

Thanks Chris… I’m hoping that on the basis I’ve never owned a GT3 a GT4 engine might still feel special enough. My other concern is the size of the Audi..I’ve driven a gen1 v10 and it didn’t feel huge however my favourite local weekend runs are generally bigger b-roads so the smaller the car the better hence a cayman/boxster is poss a better option. However as you suggest I’m sure the V10 motor is just such an event that it could potentially outweigh nearly all other factors… I guess I’ll have to try both.

Thanks

[christurbo]

Edmundo2 said:

Thanks Chris… I’m hoping that on the basis I’ve never owned a GT3 a GT4 engine might still feel special enough. My other concern is the size of the Audi..I’ve driven a gen1 v10 and it didn’t feel huge however my favourite local weekend runs are generally bigger b-roads so the smaller the car the better hence a cayman/boxster is poss a better option. However as you suggest I’m sure the V10 motor is just such an event that it could potentially outweigh nearly all other factors… I guess I’ll have to try both.

Thanks

You do that! Just so you know I live on the best roads in North Wales and a lot of them are quite narrow (if you’ve been then you know), the R8 is just fine. Let me know how you get on but make sure you drive the R8 without most of the nannies on as it does feel a lot different when they are not.

You can’t go wrong with any of your choices.

[christurbo]

Update

So the weather gods in Wales decided that it was going to be a dry day, so I decided to get the R8 out of its hibernation for a proper day of touring the Welsh roads. As some of you may have followed on the other thread I’ve been getting my b road kicks from my Mini GP. So it was interesting for the senses to compare against the R8 as I haven’t driven it for so long.

Cut a long story short, it’s like everything had been turned up to 11! It’s faster, louder (massively so), faster turn in (probably due to the adaptive steering), grippier, and with the top down just sheer driving pleasure! I even loved the smell of the freshly muc-spread fields …. Sign that summer was on its way.

I couldn’t resist some photos