This is the new Audi R8 RWS V10. RWS stands for ‘Rear Wheel Series’ which means you
can now order your R8 in rear-wheel-drive. It’s available as both a coupe - you see
here - and a convertible and Audi say they’ll only make 999 of them. Prices start at about
£110,000 which makes this the cheapest Audi R8 you can buy. Now think about that for a
second, can you imagine Porsche releasing a limited series car that’s lighter and
more driver focused and then charging less money for it? Mauro, that’s all well and
good but come on, is that car as good as a 911 GT3? Let’s go for a drive and find out,
try and keep up. Why am I so happy to be sitting in a rear-wheel-drive Audi R8 on this damp,
cold day? Well, to start with it’s 50 kg lighter than the four-wheel-drive car because
it doesn’t have the front drive shafts, it doesn’t have the prop shafts and it doesn’t
have the centre diff. Performance is pretty much unaffected, 0-60: 3.7 seconds, top speed
still 198 mph and all of a sudden, some magic’s been injected back into this car. Now, while
the Italian stallion tells you all about that R8 RWS, it’s my job to tell you about this
911 GT3, except you’ve probably heard about this car a thousand times already. You know
all about performance, you know all about how brilliant the steering is, how good the
handling is, you know all about the engine and all about the amazing soundtrack although
let’s just have a quick refresher. 9000rpm, yeah it’s a spectacular engine but I want
to tell you something about this car that you haven’t heard before, I want to tell
you about dampi ng. Okay, you’ve probably heard that the damping is spectacular in this
car but I want to describe it in a bit more detail because for me, more than the engines
in these GT Porsche’s, more than performance, more than the steering or anything else, it’s
the quality of the damping that really makes these cars stand out. Basically, when Audi
launched the first R8 back in 2007, they sent absolute shock waves through the supercar
elite. Out of nowhere there was a four-wheel-drive, mid-engined car from the might of Audi and
it was absolutely fantastic. Couple of years later they face lifted the car and somehow
they toned it down a bit, it lost some of that original cars magic. Now, I’m happy
to report, that magic is mostly back. The really important question is, can you now
tell this car is rear-wheel-drive? Well, yes you absolutely can. Unless you’re sort of
pootling in traffic when you probably couldn’t tell the other one was four-wheel-drive, you
can immediately tell that this is rear-wheel-drive. There’s now a balance to the car didn’t
have in the four-wheel-drive and that 50 kg is immediately felt. The car changes direction
much more cleanly, there’s a lightness to the steering that wasn’t there before. You
might not have driven a 911 GT3 before but if you’ve ever slammed shut a soft close
kitchen cupboard door, you know what the damping feels like. You know what that’s like when
you slam that cupboard door and you expect it to crash shut, but it doesn’t, it shuts
quickly and sharply but softly! We’ve got lots of spring rate, there’s not much wheel
travel so you expect it to crash like that cupboard door, but it never does, it absorbs
all of the impact, it absorbs the shape of the road but it does so brilliantly, so it
never runs out of travel and skips, it never scrapes its belly into the tarmac and it feels
beautifully controlled, it really is an amazing sensation, you just don’t really feel it
in many other cars, it’s so rare, it really is an incredible achievement. There’s a
delicacy back into the chassis of this car, pick up the power too quickly and the back
will step out, it moves around a lot as well, it’s really, really exciting. It’s damp
here and that was full throttle there, ESP completely dealing with the situation, dynamically
it’s absolutely fantastic, weight fantastic, love the sound of that V10, 5.2 litres. I
love the noise this thing makes. The only thing that’s slightly lacking is because
it now hasn’t got front drive shafts putting some sort of momentum into the front wheels
some of the steering feel has gone from the mark 2 car. And then as you know, the rest
of the car is just as good. It’s EPAS, it’s beautifully weighted, so precise, really sharp,
it’s even got feedback, the gearbox is sensationally quick. The engine, yeah we know that this
engine is out of this world, he thinks it’s maybe a bit too noisy, I think he’s being
a bit soft! How can you have any issues with that? You can just sense the front understeering
on the limit in these damp conditions. Gearbox works absolutely fantastically, not convinced
by the actual paddles themselves, I think they could do with something just a bit more
substantial, they just have these poor excuses, they’re plastic, whereas in Dan’s GT3
he’s got some nice aluminium oversized paddles and I think this car could do with some of
those. Everything else in this cabin is absolutely spot on, it feels absolutely beautiful. Dan’s
in the GT3 but this is a nicer place to spend time, the ride is absolutely fantastic, it
rides nicer than Dan’s GT3, it might not be as aggressive but come on, this is definitely
the better compromise. Grip, body control, agility, precision, just everything about
this car is next level. All of which means I do not envy any other manufacturer which
tries to get involved in this sector of the market, this £110,000, 500 horsepower sports
car market because how do you compete with one of these cars and you know what? To be
fair to it, to be fair to Audi it’s not really trying to be a 911 GT3 is it? It’s
not as hard core, it’s not as single minded, it’s not as fast as a 911 GT3, you can tell
that by looking at the tyres it’s on and look at the tyres that this GT3 is on, these
are Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2’s. I’m running P-Zeros so it’s not on the silly
sports tyres that Dan’s got, I think Dan’s probably got some Cup 2’s on his car and
he’ll be understeering everywhere. All of a sudden I’ve got an adjustability back
into this car that I didn’t have in the four-wheel-drive car. The lack of front drive
shafts, the lack of prop shafts and the lack of centre diffs means that this car does everything
I want it to do. I no longer have to second guess what the four-wheel-drive system is
going to do if the car starts to sense a lack of grip, all of my inputs go to the steering
through my hands and to the rear wheels through my feet. There is still something about that
R8 isn’t it? Its engine, even in comparison to this 911 GT3’s engine its motor is spectacular,
the gearbox is incredible, it looks great, its got a great engine and then you’ve got
all the theatre and all the drama of a mid-engined car with a V10. Probably the most likeable
R8 they’ve ever done, all things considered and yet it’s still no 911 GT3. Dan you have
brought a track day special to a road test. Fair enough and you know we’re about 3 or
4 miles from where we are now from goodwood circuit. Yeah. And I think if we were out
on track today in these two cars, I think there’d be an ocean between them, I think
this GT3 would walk it. Dan if I had longer legs I’d be taller, we are not on track
we are on a road and that is why this today is the winner of this test, it’s not on
silly tyres, it’s on P-Zero’s bespoke to this car so it hasn’t been affected by
the cold weather and the damp, I think this is the better car today on these roads. I
think that R8 is a wonderful car actually, it’s my favourite R8. The best R8 they’ve
ever made, correct. To be fair to Audi, they’re not trying to build a car as focused as this
GT3. Yeah, good point. The payoff is that it’s just not quite the raw, involving,
exiting driving experience as this car. What you taking? I’m going to stick with the
hard core one, I’m staying in the GT3. Okay, do you not feel slightly short changed by
your six-cylinder engine compared to my massive V10? Okay, I’m looking at something just
here, it says 9! What’s your redline? Err, 8.5. And 9,000 is more, therefore it’s a
better engine. Do you know what, I’ve said it before, I actually think that engine sounds
a bit harsh over the last 1000 rpm, I almost think it’s there just for the sake of it
being there. I kind of get what you’re saying but I think overall it’s a mighty engine,
it’s got a rawness and an edge to it that, I love that V10 but it doesn’t feel as serated,
as sharp as this one. Yeah, no you’re right that is a sharper car all over, engines sharper,
I think you’re right, I think that it the sharper car but I’m going to stick to my
guns, I’m going to say that on this damp day today I think this is the better car because
we’re not at goodwood, we’re close, but we’re not there and I actually think today
on this road, this is a nicer car. Can I just say, blue doesn’t suit you. Okay! My mum
always said my blue eyes!