Is an R8 a Supercar?

Is an R8 a Supercar?

Author
Discussion

Dblue

3,252 posts

199 months

Friday 12th September 2014
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Pioneer said:
Dblue said:
The cheapest R8s on the market are around £40k and have stopped depreciating. Assuming you are only really counting the V10 as a "Supercar" then the starting price is a solid £60k. Thats more than a 360 Modena or about the same as a Gallardo.

The GTR is harder to quantify as IMO it perhaps lacks some key ingredients that would define Supercar for me, 4 seats, only 6 cylinders and a prosaic image.
Different versions of the R8, the entry level available 2nd hand at £40k is one of the reasons why a lot of people don't see it as a supercar. A V10 at £60k will be far newer than the equivalent G or 360. It's not just the purchase price, running costs on the R8 are cheaper also which attract a different market.
I get your point but you're missing mine a bit. The fact is that R8s have stopped depreciating at their current levels. Thats exactly the same pattern that Ferrari V8s have followed for example and ahead of similar age 911s.

crostonian

2,427 posts

171 months

Friday 12th September 2014
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The Nissan GTR isn't a supercar, it's a GT, a fast one yes, along with Maser Gran Turismo, Bentley GT, DB9 etc due to it having back seats, the reason why no 911 is a supercar.

Supercars have 2 seats, or 3 at the most. The R8 is a Supercar.

coolchris

925 posts

201 months

Friday 12th September 2014
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People will always look for different angles too pick holes in why it is not a supercar.So what if the servicing costs are not 4 figure plus that is no reason to dismiss it as not being a supercar it does not have to be a Ferrari or Lambo to qualify either give me a v10 spider over a 360 any day of the week.

Dblue

3,252 posts

199 months

Friday 12th September 2014
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crostonian said:
The Nissan GTR isn't a supercar, it's a GT, a fast one yes, along with Maser Gran Turismo, Bentley GT, DB9 etc due to it having back seats, the reason why no 911 is a supercar.

Supercars have 2 seats, or 3 at the most. The R8 is a Supercar.
Agree in general but 911 GT cars are 2 seaters of course

KFC

3,687 posts

129 months

Friday 12th September 2014
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swerni said:
mrdemon said:
R8 spider in our village today

frenzy of people around it and people sending pics to every one they know.

def puts the R8 Spider in the super car club

talk of the village :-)
Do they point at street lights in wonderment in your village as well? wink

Nice car but not a super car, nor is the 550, that's just a gentlemen's GT tourer
Yup, you could take a lotus elise to a high street in some random stty Scottish mining village and it'll have all the locals drooling. Doesn't make it a super car smile

sealtt

3,091 posts

157 months

Friday 12th September 2014
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Over and above performance requirements, Supercar status is all about rarity. Whilst the R8 design is quite unique & it isn't diluted much by other Audi models, Audi shifts a fair number of these cars and they are not quite rare enough to be a true supercar.

If they deleted all other variants and did only the V10 Spyder at current sales volumes I think it'd pass as a Supercar.

As it is, a thumbs down from me though. Too many of 'em.

giggsy

128 posts

206 months

Saturday 13th September 2014
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I had a V10 R8 Spyder and it was a fantastic car... But there was something missing.. Maybe in the interior design, common shared parts with other Audi???..TBH I don't feel that the Audi badge affects the public perception of the R8 at all. It is more the other Ferrari/ Lambo drivers looking down on it.. People know about the R8.. Or as some kids would say, it's Ironman's car!! The car was always popular with good feedback from the public..

But in my experience, I did/do prefer 430/ 12C more.. These cars just feels a little bit more special.. I would say the R8 are in the sector just below these two types of cars.. Similar to say Aston DBS.. Super car? I would say still special to be one!!
Just my 2cents..

KFC

3,687 posts

129 months

Saturday 13th September 2014
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giggsy said:
I had a V10 R8 Spyder and it was a fantastic car... But there was something missing.. Maybe in the interior design, common shared parts with other Audi???..
You could at least in part say that about the Gallardo though. I own one, and went to take a look at an Audi A8. To be honest it was a little disappointing to see just how many interior bits that were identical laugh

mwstewart

7,554 posts

187 months

Saturday 13th September 2014
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My F430 has bits of Fiat and 1989 Ford Fiesta inside it!

rb5er

11,657 posts

171 months

Saturday 13th September 2014
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No

nigelonich

1,017 posts

219 months

Saturday 13th September 2014
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nigelonich

1,017 posts

219 months

Saturday 13th September 2014
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HA!

divetheworld

2,565 posts

134 months

Sunday 14th September 2014
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crostonian said:
The Nissan GTR isn't a supercar, it's a GT, a fast one yes, along with Maser Gran Turismo, Bentley GT, DB9 etc due to it having back seats, the reason why no 911 is a supercar.

Supercars have 2 seats, or 3 at the most. The R8 is a Supercar.
Surely you don't consider those things behind the front seats in a DBS should be called "seats".....? wink

anonymous-user

53 months

Monday 15th September 2014
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nigelonich said:
The R8 GT is a great car but why would you have one without the manual box!

Dblue

3,252 posts

199 months

Monday 15th September 2014
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garyhun said:
nigelonich said:
The R8 GT is a great car but why would you have one without the manual box!
Because the GT never had a manual as an option in either coupe or Spyder versions. R Tronic only. In back to back drives of several GTs and V10 plus there is no doubt in my mind that the Plus is a better R8 by some margin. S Tronic is sooo much better than R Tronic it more than makes up for the slightly higher weight and 10hp less. You can have a Plus as a manual too though only 5 have been registered. You can't have a Spyder though.

anonymous-user

53 months

Monday 15th September 2014
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Dblue said:
garyhun said:
nigelonich said:
The R8 GT is a great car but why would you have one without the manual box!
Because the GT never had a manual as an option in either coupe or Spyder versions. R Tronic only. In back to back drives of several GTs and V10 plus there is no doubt in my mind that the Plus is a better R8 by some margin. S Tronic is sooo much better than R Tronic it more than makes up for the slightly higher weight and 10hp less. You can have a Plus as a manual too though only 5 have been registered. You can't have a Spyder though.
Being an ex R8 owner, and member of R8Talk, I really should have known that smile Agree about S Tronic - used one on a V10 at Silverstone and it was so much better than the R-Tronic V10 I test drove locally.

twoblacklines

Original Poster:

1,575 posts

160 months

Thursday 18th September 2014
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OK so riddle me this.

R8 built in its own factory, with same underpinnings, engine, gearbox as a Gallardo is not a supercar.

Gallardo built in shared factory, with same underpinning, engine, gearbox as an R8 V10 is a Supercar.

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.

KFC

3,687 posts

129 months

Friday 19th September 2014
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twoblacklines said:
OK so riddle me this.

R8 built in its own factory, with same underpinnings, engine, gearbox as a Gallardo is not a supercar.

Gallardo built in shared factory, with same underpinning, engine, gearbox as an R8 V10 is a Supercar.

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.
It doesn't surprise me that someone driving an Audi a3 completely fails to get it wink

selym

9,539 posts

170 months

Friday 19th September 2014
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Does it really matter? The term 'supercar' has been proven, just on this thread, to mean different things to everyone. Therefore it's a pointless yardstick.

jdw1234

6,021 posts

214 months

Friday 19th September 2014
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The fact the question needs to be asked gives you the answer.