RE: Audi R8 RWS - Frankfurt 2017

[Ballistic]

bigmowley said:

115_sf said:

Popped in to see mine the other day. Ready for the ceramic coating and registration on the 01/03.

Snap! Same as mine except I went for silver 20" wheels as I don't like black. Mine is sitting at the dealer as well but I've not seen it yet. I am away Skiing for the first couple of weeks in March so I might delay collection until 1st April if I can wait that long

Same spec as mine too; we should start an ara blue owners group.
It will shortly have a BRE iconel exhaust fitted and ceramic coating, ready for 1 Mar
Also got a gloss black decal kit.

[bigmowley]

Finally got down to see mine.

I bought mine on a bit of a whim after getting the knock back from Porsche on a new GT3. I was not sure what it was going to be like in the flesh but quite happy now.

First impressions are that it looks sooo small, low and dainty. I love the lack of spoilers and bling. The solid colour without contrasting sideblades make it look unobtrusive somehow. The interior is great as well, very simple and uncluttered. Seats are really low as well so lots of helmet room which is nice.

OMG the noise, so far I have only started it up and warmed it up, not actually driven anywhere. The throttle response is tremendous on a blip, instantaneous with seemingly no flywheel effect at all. But the noise is unreal the exhaust crack is painful to the ears.

I will get it registered on the 1st March and knuckle down to getting it run in. Thinking of a bit of film on the front bumper and bonnet, any recommendations?

Next job is to order the Cup 2's. Once I get the hang of it there seems to be a simple upgrade to 600BHP a la R8+ on offer from various sources, it would be rude not to!

Looking forward to spring now. Happy days.

[115_sf]

It’s amazing how different it looks with the silver wheels and body colour lower blades. Haven’t seen a bad colour combination yet.
I agree with the noise from the sports exhaust,sounds bloody fantastic. I had a previous generation R8 back in 2010 and it needed an aftermarket system to give it some voice but the new system sounds great to me from the factory.

[robkeogh]

115_sf said:

Tarka said:

gr8jon said:

robkeogh said:

Any owners got recommended insurers? Picking mine up this week.

Admiral was reasonable for ours...

I tried Adrian Flux but they were more than twice the quote I had from Admiral.

Cheers all! Ended up with Classicline. Very good to deal with and half costs of Admiral/AdrianFlux. £50 per trackday as well.

[robkeogh]

[Tarka]

bigmowley said:

Finally got down to see mine.

I bought mine on a bit of a whim after getting the knock back from Porsche on a new GT3. I was not sure what it was going to be like in the flesh but quite happy now.

First impressions are that it looks sooo small, low and dainty. I love the lack of spoilers and bling. The solid colour without contrasting sideblades make it look unobtrusive somehow. The interior is great as well, very simple and uncluttered. Seats are really low as well so lots of helmet room which is nice.

OMG the noise, so far I have only started it up and warmed it up, not actually driven anywhere. The throttle response is tremendous on a blip, instantaneous with seemingly no flywheel effect at all. But the noise is unreal the exhaust crack is painful to the ears.

I will get it registered on the 1st March and knuckle down to getting it run in. Thinking of a bit of film on the front bumper and bonnet, any recommendations?

Next job is to order the Cup 2's. Once I get the hang of it there seems to be a simple upgrade to 600BHP a la R8+ on offer from various sources, it would be rude not to!

Looking forward to spring now. Happy days.

I have to say thet for all you lucky people about to take delivery of your cars you are in for a real treat... I absolutely adore mine... I bust my budget considerably to buy it ( I was heading for a Exige 380 Cup or a 911 GTS) But it was absolutely worth it. THe engine is phenomenal Surely the last and one of the greatest of a dying NA breed. Something to treasure. Such Drama and Charisma that the Turbo's can't yet match IMHO.
The car is also just so driveable. Easy peasy to go anywhere in it. Its a wide car but it soesn't feel it. Speed bumps are no problem. Its easy enough to get in and out of. The whole body structure feels so stiff like it is milled from a solid block of Aluminium. I could go on...

If you want more power Colin then Lichfield do an extra 100BHP for about a grand! They are based near my business so I will pop in to see them soon. There is very little difference between our cars and the + in terms of engine structure. However it was strongly hinted to me in Frankfurt at the launch that the tune of the RWS is the same as the Huracan LP580. Anyway it feeels plenty bloody quick enough to me....

T

[115_sf]

robkeogh said:

Looks really mean in all black. The 2 RWS cars that are for sale on Autotrader are both black with black wheels. I’m surprised at a dealer having a car in the showroom,maybe it wasn’t as hard to get an allocation as my salesman would have had me believe.

[robkeogh]

I don’t think there was as rapid a takeup as some people (me included) might have thought. Don’t think the R8 is selling that well generally as people seem to have Porsche fever, or possibly Mclaren’s Sports Series seems temptingly close further up in price. Combine that with the fact that since the RWS “launch” in Frankfurt it’s gone well and truly under the radar.
I think that might change soon though as believe Audi are holding the press launch event in Spain next week. Would imagine that shortly after Audi UK will have a press car on loan. So...will be interesting to see what they think. Not sure I care as I absolutely love mine!
However I do think they must be nearly sold out by now and that the value will become much more obvious after the journos thrash them around. £10-25k cheaper than “unlimited production” R8s for a start! Personally, im very, very happy that I bought well and feel very lucky that I could afford and was able to get one. More feel, much faster and more rewarding than my old v8 Quattro. Very compliant/civilised, but goes mental after 5500rpm. The more you “press on” the more special it feels. Gets up on its toes and really starts communicating.
For me, it’s much more special than a “vanilla” 911 or GTS, more like GT3 territory and my arse-ometer says -quite possibly- quicker round the track. We shall soon see 👍😬

[JohnnyUK]

robkeogh said:

I don’t think there was as rapid a takeup as some people (me included) might have thought. Don’t think the R8 is selling that well generally as people seem to have Porsche fever, or possibly Mclaren’s Sports Series seems temptingly close further up in price. Combine that with the fact that since the RWS “launch” in Frankfurt it’s gone well and truly under the radar.
I think that might change soon though as believe Audi are holding the press launch event in Spain next week. Would imagine that shortly after Audi UK will have a press car on loan. So...will be interesting to see what they think. Not sure I care as I absolutely love mine!
However I do think they must be nearly sold out by now and that the value will become much more obvious after the journos thrash them around. £10-25k cheaper than “unlimited production” R8s for a start! Personally, im very, very happy that I bought well and feel very lucky that I could afford and was able to get one. More feel, much faster and more rewarding than my old v8 Quattro. Very compliant/civilised, but goes mental after 5500rpm. The more you “press on” the more special it feels. Gets up on its toes and really starts communicating.
For me, it’s much more special than a “vanilla” 911 or GTS, more like GT3 territory and my arse-ometer says -quite possibly- quicker round the track. We shall soon see ????

Great comments. I ordered way last year, and i believe i have number 732, so assume they are close to all sold, given global sales?

[R8RWS]

JohnnyUK said:

Great comments. I ordered way last year, and i believe i have number 732, so assume they are close to all sold, given global sales?

How did you find out what number you had?

[JohnnyUK]

R8RWS said:

How did you find out what number you had?

The salesman and I assumed it was, as the VIN ends in those three numbers after a series of zeros.

However, we might both be completely wrong!

[JohnnyUK]

Has anyone found any press reviews yet?

[bigmowley]

I am very happy that it's nicely under the radar for now. It's a sleeper in my view and give it a few years quite collectible. I will gaurentee that the journos will prefer the unattainable Porsche GT series but then they aren't in the real world like the rest of us. It may need a few minor tweaks to get the best out of it on the track but at £20K cheaper than a similar spec GT3 (or £50K with the speculators premium added) that leaves a bit in the kitty for the upgrades. Roll on spring.

Supposed to be collecting mine on Friday. Weather forecast is for snow all weekend, ideal time to pick up your RWD junior supercar. Humph might wait a bit

PS number 792 here apparently

[115_sf]

1st review I've seen. Looks like Audi UK have a press car.


https://www.carthrottle.com/post/audi-r8-rws-revie...

[gianlu]

bigmowley said:

PS number 792 here apparently

When did you order? I`ve ordered mine mid December, I know it arrived in the UK, but still no word from the dealer. Mind, I`m traveling for the next 8 weeks so collection is only end of April. It seems soooo far away

Another "all black", but on 19s and with sport exhaust.

Happy to see that there will actually bew reviews now, the cynic me do wonder if Audi had been waiting to sell out the 999 before releasing to journos, so to have a bit of GT3 effect on the rest of the range...

[R8RWS]

JohnnyUK said:

R8RWS said:

How did you find out what number you had?

The salesman and I assumed it was, as the VIN ends in those three numbers after a series of zeros.

However, we might both be completely wrong!

Going by that I would have number 606. I took delivery of mine on 1st December, it arrived towards the end of November. My order went in the day the order book opened in the UK. Not sure how accurate the vin theory would be as that would mean they built 600 cars in two months and I'm pretty sure they don't churn R8s out at that pace.

[bigmowley]

I Ordered mine early October 17 and it was delivered mid Dec. I just did not register it until now. I think it was in the first batch or fairly early on anyway. The VIN will be specific to the model but I am not sure there will be any logic to the sequence. Given that mine is 000792 perhaps they count down not up! I would imagine that they will build the RHD cars together in batches. Who cares anyway its going to be great

[bigmowley]

Just finished reading that review. https://www.carthrottle.com/post/audi-r8-rws-revie...

All I can say is bloody great:

[R8RWS]

bigmowley said:

Just finished reading that review. https://www.carthrottle.com/post/audi-r8-rws-revie...

All I can say is bloody great:

You'll also enjoy this one too then:
https://www.topgear.com/car-reviews/audi/r8/52-fsi...

[Alpinestars]

https://youtu.be/HAwUb1KbunE