RE: Audi R8 Performance: Driven

[Gameface]

I'm a big fan of these. This refresh looks a little fussy but it's still a terrific car. I'd have one over a 911 Turbo or McLaren 540/570.

And as said, the engine is a masterpiece. Totally immersive. Those who knock it, haven't experienced 10 cylinders screaming at near 9000rpm. It's beautiful and visceral in equal measure.

[Abc321]

SidewaysSi said:

Nors said:

Cold said:

SidewaysSi said:

Why not just get a TT?

What, the 620 bhp V10 mid-engined TT? Sure, get one of those.

Indeed.

Pretty much the same thing isn't it? Chip a TTRS and it won't be much slower.

They all drive the same anyway. You will get 90% of the experience in an A1 TFSI.

Troll is trolling.

[alexrogers92]

Always been a fan of the R8. Fantastic supercar with every day usability.

[JD2329]

To me there seems something of an overgrown TT about the exterior.
The first gen R8 was a much more interesting, and exotic design IMO.
I’m sure I’d still like one, but for £140000 - or less- there’s a lot of choice in the marketplace.

[Kevin-sz0nv]

I've just bought a 2010 manual spider V10 with only 14k miles woman owner for just over 50k. I love it and I actually think it will hold its price pretty well the main depreciation has happened, in fact I've bought it as a keeper i think in time it will actually go up in value! Naturally aspirated low mileage/owner V10 manual cars are a decent investment 2nd hand. Time will tell..... I also think the original R8 is the best looking, it's without doubt the best engine I've ever had and its easy to live with.

[anonymous-user]

I think these are great. Cut above an equivalent 911 (997 or 991) in looks and interior styling.

[Ex Boy Racer]

Abc321 said:

SidewaysSi said:

Nors said:

Cold said:

SidewaysSi said:

Why not just get a TT?

What, the 620 bhp V10 mid-engined TT? Sure, get one of those.

Indeed.

Pretty much the same thing isn't it? Chip a TTRS and it won't be much slower.

They all drive the same anyway. You will get 90% of the experience in an A1 TFSI.

Troll is trolling.

Yes, amazing comment isn't it? If someone does not have the ability to see the difference between the way this car drives and the way TTRS does, then they really should not be allowed to own nice cars or talk about them. I have actually owned both and they are VERY different. Both great ownership experiences too.
The world is much more enjoyable if you ignore the lazy Journo prejudices about boring Audis et al. Neither the R8 or the TTRS are boring - and that's a fcat!

[wab172uk]

406dogvan said:

It was only when I watched Sir Harry of Metcalfe's take on it that the penny dropped - it's a mid-engined car and the cool thing about those is that the beltline/windscreen base is low so you can see-out ahead and around and - erm - not in an R8 you can't...

It feels like an A3 from the driver's seat (abeit that you're nearer the road) - there's just not enough 'low slung supercar' about the thing.

So apart from shuffling one around a workshop, that "it's like an A3 from the drivers seat" tells me you've never driven one on the road then.

Having owned an R8 for over 3 years, it's nothing like driving an A3. It's something Clarkson said years ago, and people just regurgitate what he said to sound like they know what they're talking about.

For me, the current R8 looks a heavy car now, probably due to it's boxyness. And apart from the V10, there is nothing special about the R8 now that it's rivals don't do better. Still, with AWD it's still the best all year round supercar you could buy. And for those who only have one toy, it's a great buy. But for those who can afford many toys, it's probably not for them.

Plus the price is just silly now. I remember speccing my V8 R8. With options it came to £86,000. Still a lot of money today. But think due to Audi making most of there RS car stupidly fast, there is no room for a slower (V6 or V8) R8, as the much cheaper TT-RS would be faster. And who would pay a premium for an R8 when a TT is quicker?

Edited by wab172uk on Monday 19th November 11:42

[sidesauce]

wab172uk said:

And who would pay a premium for an R8 when a TT is quicker?

People who live in countries where tax is based on engine capacity would - hence V8 versions of the GTC4 Lusso and DB11. The rest of the world, particularly the Far East, doesn't 'see' a TT and an R8 as similar cars and even anecdotally I'm surprised that so many non-petrolhead people know what an R8 is (even my late mother did!) so image is evidently more important for many than outright performance.

As the poster above who mentioned owning a TT and R8 said, they're VERY different propositions, particularly day-to-day - I can't really imagine that in the metal, side by side, anyone would get them confused.

[Midgster]

Abc321 said:

SidewaysSi said:

Nors said:

Cold said:

SidewaysSi said:

Why not just get a TT?

What, the 620 bhp V10 mid-engined TT? Sure, get one of those.

Indeed.

Pretty much the same thing isn't it? Chip a TTRS and it won't be much slower.

They all drive the same anyway. You will get 90% of the experience in an A1 TFSI.

Troll is trolling.

Sorry, but I agree with the "troll". I've always loved the look of the R8, so much so that now at £35k for an early model, I would seriously be looking to buying one if it weren't for those pesky kids needing seats in the back, but after driving an V10 R8 and and Mclaren MP4-12C back to back on a trackday experience, other than the noise that the V10 made, it really did feel (and look) like I was driving nothing more special than a TT RS (we have a 2016 Audi S3 so now roughly what that would feel like as not too dissimilar)

The Mclaren however, looked, felt and drove like a supercar in every aspect, something special, every turn of the steering wheel, every blip of the throttle, everytime your braked hard into a corner, it just put a cheeky childish grin on my face. Pretty sure I could drive to Tesco's in it too. All the R8 did was make me pull that "ooooh" face at the noise of the V10. While taking corners at speed and flooring it down the straights just felt like any other fast Audi. Sorry, but it did.

I get the whole "usable" supercar thing, but other than the noise, I just don't see this gives you much more for the extra £100,000 over a TT RS. It is 3 times the price of a TT RS after all. I'll never be in a position to buy a new one of these, but if I were, I wouldn't. I'd buy a new TT RS and a used Mclaren all day long.

[sidesauce]

Midgster said:

I've always loved the look of the R8, so much so that now at £35k for an early model, I would seriously be looking to buying one if it weren't for those pesky kids needing seats in the back, but after driving an V10 R8 and and Mclaren MP4-12C back to back on a trackday experience, other than the noise that the V10 made, it really did feel (and look) like I was driving nothing more special than a TT RS (we have a 2016 Audi S3 so now roughly what that would feel like as not too dissimilar)

The Mclaren however, looked, felt and drove like a supercar in every aspect, something special, every turn of the steering wheel, every blip of the throttle, everytime your braked hard into a corner, it just put a cheeky childish grin on my face. Pretty sure I could drive to Tesco's in it too. All the R8 did was make me pull that "ooooh" face at the noise of the V10. While taking corners at speed and flooring it down the straights just felt like any other fast Audi. Sorry, but it did.

I get the whole "usable" supercar thing, but other than the noise, I just don't see this gives you much more for the extra £100,000 over a TT RS. It is 3 times the price of a TT RS after all. I'll never be in a position to buy a new one of these, but if I were, I wouldn't. I'd buy a new TT RS and a used Mclaren all day long.

Isn't choice great?

[Midgster]

sidesauce said:

Midgster said:

I've always loved the look of the R8, so much so that now at £35k for an early model, I would seriously be looking to buying one if it weren't for those pesky kids needing seats in the back, but after driving an V10 R8 and and Mclaren MP4-12C back to back on a trackday experience, other than the noise that the V10 made, it really did feel (and look) like I was driving nothing more special than a TT RS (we have a 2016 Audi S3 so now roughly what that would feel like as not too dissimilar)

The Mclaren however, looked, felt and drove like a supercar in every aspect, something special, every turn of the steering wheel, every blip of the throttle, everytime your braked hard into a corner, it just put a cheeky childish grin on my face. Pretty sure I could drive to Tesco's in it too. All the R8 did was make me pull that "ooooh" face at the noise of the V10. While taking corners at speed and flooring it down the straights just felt like any other fast Audi. Sorry, but it did.

I get the whole "usable" supercar thing, but other than the noise, I just don't see this gives you much more for the extra £100,000 over a TT RS. It is 3 times the price of a TT RS after all. I'll never be in a position to buy a new one of these, but if I were, I wouldn't. I'd buy a new TT RS and a used Mclaren all day long.

Isn't choice great?

It is, that was my point too, like Cold said also, but you accused him of trolling.

[Housey]

I've borrowed the current generation V10 a couple of times for a day or two as I have a Mk1 V10 Plus and Audi keep trying to push me into the new one. I just can't warm to it and the active steering is horrible and it lacks the rawness and feedback I get from my Mk1 and though a different throttle map makes it feels massively quicker, it actually isn't that much quicker. I have driven most of the Audi RS ranges too as I keep getting invites to their track events. To those suggesting it's just like a TT (I have driven a few of them including the RS) stop talking out of your ass and/or trolling, it makes you seem ill informed, childish or as thick as fk. It is nothing like a TT to drive, massively more special.

However putting the dickwad comments to one side, it isn't special enough for the price, engine aside and has sadly inherited many of the Audi traits we all love (I mean loathe) such as numb steering, over assisted brakes and a general competence without event. Sure all the tech is nice have have, the systems are clever and it is a nice place to be. But as has been said you sit on it not in it (mine is the same) and though you get used to that take a 570S out or GT3, a car a really miss and you realise how Audi still doesn't get immersion.

The engine is a masterpiece however, it pulls like a train and sounds better than pretty much anything else and makes you realise that no matter how competent and involving the 570S is, the engine is a feeble effort (a relative term) when compared to the V10. At 90K the Audi R8 V10 Plus is an epic buy and roughly what I spent on mine 2.5 years back and 30,000 miles ago (use it, don't polish it!). But at 150K with a spec it is massively overpriced and will shat cash like few cars outside of a McLaren 570S

[sidesauce]

Midgster said:

sidesauce said:

Midgster said:

I've always loved the look of the R8, so much so that now at £35k for an early model, I would seriously be looking to buying one if it weren't for those pesky kids needing seats in the back, but after driving an V10 R8 and and Mclaren MP4-12C back to back on a trackday experience, other than the noise that the V10 made, it really did feel (and look) like I was driving nothing more special than a TT RS (we have a 2016 Audi S3 so now roughly what that would feel like as not too dissimilar)

The Mclaren however, looked, felt and drove like a supercar in every aspect, something special, every turn of the steering wheel, every blip of the throttle, everytime your braked hard into a corner, it just put a cheeky childish grin on my face. Pretty sure I could drive to Tesco's in it too. All the R8 did was make me pull that "ooooh" face at the noise of the V10. While taking corners at speed and flooring it down the straights just felt like any other fast Audi. Sorry, but it did.

I get the whole "usable" supercar thing, but other than the noise, I just don't see this gives you much more for the extra £100,000 over a TT RS. It is 3 times the price of a TT RS after all. I'll never be in a position to buy a new one of these, but if I were, I wouldn't. I'd buy a new TT RS and a used Mclaren all day long.

Isn't choice great?

It is, that was my point too, like Cold said also, but you accused him of trolling.

The only other poster I've responded to on this thread was wab127uk - I think you've got me confused with ABc321!

Edited by sidesauce on Monday 19th November 11:27

[redroadster]

All year round performance ,great build quality ,great looking ,awsome engine and plenty of room compared to a mcclaren to sit in ,used one makes sense I'd have this over most of its competitors.

[Midgster]

sidesauce said:

Midgster said:

sidesauce said:

Midgster said:

I've always loved the look of the R8, so much so that now at £35k for an early model, I would seriously be looking to buying one if it weren't for those pesky kids needing seats in the back, but after driving an V10 R8 and and Mclaren MP4-12C back to back on a trackday experience, other than the noise that the V10 made, it really did feel (and look) like I was driving nothing more special than a TT RS (we have a 2016 Audi S3 so now roughly what that would feel like as not too dissimilar)

The Mclaren however, looked, felt and drove like a supercar in every aspect, something special, every turn of the steering wheel, every blip of the throttle, everytime your braked hard into a corner, it just put a cheeky childish grin on my face. Pretty sure I could drive to Tesco's in it too. All the R8 did was make me pull that "ooooh" face at the noise of the V10. While taking corners at speed and flooring it down the straights just felt like any other fast Audi. Sorry, but it did.

I get the whole "usable" supercar thing, but other than the noise, I just don't see this gives you much more for the extra £100,000 over a TT RS. It is 3 times the price of a TT RS after all. I'll never be in a position to buy a new one of these, but if I were, I wouldn't. I'd buy a new TT RS and a used Mclaren all day long.

Isn't choice great?

It is, that was my point too, like Cold said also, but you accused him of trolling.

The only other poster I've responded to on this thread was wab127uk - I think you've got me confused with ABc321!

Edited by sidesauce on Monday 19th November 11:27

Sorry, mistaken identity, everybody looks the same on the internet

[Terminator X]

SidewaysSi said:

Nors said:

Cold said:

SidewaysSi said:

Why not just get a TT?

What, the 620 bhp V10 mid-engined TT? Sure, get one of those.

Indeed.

Pretty much the same thing isn't it? Chip a TTRS and it won't be much slower.

They all drive the same anyway. You will get 90% of the experience in an A1 TFSI.

The rumour is that Audi had to detune the current TTRS as it was on a par with the R8 speed wise when testing! Imho it looks like a junior R8 too. Your point about the A1 did have me though.

TX.

[GroundEffect]

SidewaysSi said:

Nors said:

Cold said:

SidewaysSi said:

Why not just get a TT?

What, the 620 bhp V10 mid-engined TT? Sure, get one of those.

Indeed.

Pretty much the same thing isn't it? Chip a TTRS and it won't be much slower.

They all drive the same anyway. You will get 90% of the experience in an A1 TFSI.

What nonsense.

[Helicopter123]

Never really understood the hate towards the R8.

Mainstream manufacturer builds a mid-engined supercar complete with manual gearbox and epic engine and a decent warranty.

What's not to applaud.

They are even (almost) affordable second hand in the way the few mid-engined cars ever will be.

[E65Ross]

GroundEffect said:

SidewaysSi said:

Nors said:

Cold said:

SidewaysSi said:

Why not just get a TT?

What, the 620 bhp V10 mid-engined TT? Sure, get one of those.

Indeed.

Pretty much the same thing isn't it? Chip a TTRS and it won't be much slower.

They all drive the same anyway. You will get 90% of the experience in an A1 TFSI.

What nonsense.

I think it's a troll posting. Nobody could be that naive who was remotely into cars. I like how "they all drive the same" because he must have had a VERY early test drive in this car which has only just been released (hence we've only just got a review).