When first introduced the R8 they took the world by surprise
Until that moment, Audi only made high-powered estates which weren't the most dynamic.
But all of a sudden there was a supercar, which really boosted Audi's image
especially in foreign markets like the USA where Audi was still coming up and China as well
So it wasn't really a matter of "if" there'd be coming a new R8, but "when"
And here it is. No room for an introductory V8. The new R8 comes with the new V10 from it's sister, the Lamborghini Huracan.
There isn't any difference in power. Just like the Lamborghini, the Audi comes with 610 horsepower
It looks more grown up to me. So, the obvious question will be
how grown up it actually is when compared to the established order of supercars
And that brings us to this, the Porsche
150 kp/h!
The 911 has been facelifted and so the 911 Turbo S has been facelifted
And that means this 911 delivers 580 horsepower from it's 3.8 biturbo engine
The perfect car to see how far Audi has gotten
The moment you get in and drive off, you get this amazing feeling
There are quite a few Audi's where we didn't get such a feel when we first drove it
Well, because Marco already tested the R8 you'll probably know the specs already, so I'll leave them for what they are
What I did notice, however, is that they actually started with the V10
Whereas the previous one originally came with a V8
They also might supply a biturbo V6 like we're going to see in the upcoming RS4
They've immediately reached for the skies in this 610 horsepower R8 V10 Plus
It is MUCH faster than the previous R8, you really notice the difference
It brings the mid-range RPM's beautifully and if you shift back...
So incredibly quick and listen to that sound you hear when it goes beyond 7000 RPM, so pure
It really makes the car, and you haven't even cornered yet
It really is an amazing machine
It's quite something actually, because it's a naturally aspirated engine
and in these turbo-times, it's amazing how much power Audi can get out of this V10
That really is worth something, you don't miss the turbo's at all.
610 horsepower, naturally aspirated, fantastic!
But then, the drive. Not really Audi's strong spot, especially the steering
The R8 always had good cards, because of the Lamborghini-technology
And again, this is much better any other Audi for sale, but it's more Audi than it used to be.
In a way that the R8 doesn't feel like an ordinary supercar. It feels much lighter.
But then again, that lightness also appears in the ride. The car is really responsive.
The R8 perfectly melts around you and feels lighter than a TT, it's everything I want in a mid-engined supercar
When you try to drive it on the limit, I start to notice the wintertyres now, unfortunately
But you also notice that it's perfectly balanced. You could fool the previous V8 with
accelerating in a corner to lose the rear and continue in a four-wheel drift
But now? No way. You really have to try your best to get it to break out.
The R8 is so full of grip, a little bit of understeer on the limit
not in a bad way, because you still feel everything and when you're driving on the limit
you're already going so fast, that it isn't even a disadvantage.
Do you know what the fun part is? It's all so incredibly easy.
We'll just stop here for a moment, turn the knob from the 918 Spyder to Sport Plus
Full throttle...
50... 60... 70... 110... 120... 150... 160... WT-
I couldn't even keep up reading it out loud, it's so fast!
That's just the power of the Turbo S, power, instant power. What an acceleration...
Let's try to be a professional journalist now, officially the 911 does 0-100 in 2,9 seconds
and 0-200 in 9,3. That means the Audi is quicker to get to 200 with 9,1 seconds.
However, Porsche is always cautious with their acceleration-times.
Let's find out which one is the fastest. A dragrace with cars carrying 600+ horsepower-engines
on the public road isn't the brightest idea, so we've found a safe place to conduct our little experiment.
As you can see there is a minimal difference. It's so incredibly simple to go like hell in these cars.
You don't have to push millions of buttons. You just have to push the Sport Plus or Performance Mode-buttons and that's it.
Right. The Porsche, it's all boost really. The Audi feels faster in the beginning, because it sounds faster.
The 911 has turbo-boost, which is like the Tesla Model S, you instantly get maximum torque which pushes you forward.
The speed isn't really different, the ride is though. A 911 Turbo comes with a little bit of understeer like all Porsches do,
even though it has become less throughout the generations, but you have to brake into the corner through the understeer
and then go full-throttle. When it's dry you'll get launched out of the corner but when it's damp or wet
you'll feel the tail wagging but no real oversteer. You'll get the feeling you're getting pushed out of the corner whilst gripping.
So when you're driving the Turbo S, it offers a- how should I say this.
Attention isn't the right word. It's a better driving experience than the Audi. The Audi seems easier to drive.
The 911 Turbo still has that 911-feeling, and that makes it a little bit more pure. But that doesn't mean game over for the Audi.
It's difficult to describe, because the Audi feels lighter to drive, but in the 911 there's more stuff going on. The drive is like, more experiencing.
But then again, the engine and gearbox together in the Audi, it's as fast as the Porsche and it also sounds better thanks to the V10.
To be honest I want to combine these two. I want the sounds and the experience from the drivetrain from the Audi combined with
the driving experience from the 911. That steering seems a bit vague at first but eventually it's better than the R8.
So I want to combine the two, and then I'd be thinking about the GT3, not even the RS-model. Then you'd have the best of both worlds.
The beauty of it is, these two cars are so different that it's impossible to choose one of them as the better car. You can not do that.
They differ too much. But, when it comes to the price, power and performance, they're equals. What a fantastic combination.
Within this segment, there's much more fun stuff to find as well, like the McLaren 575S.
Unfortunately we couldn't get one at the same time with these two, so we'll get back to you for that one.
But there's something else you should think about, something the Audi can 'relate' to, if you know what I mean...
You can read all about those three in GTO Magazine