This V8, Manual Audi R8 Is A Future Classic For The Price Of A TT
If Audi really is going to allow the R8 to fade into a quiet retirement, to be replaced by electrified future-coupes, now’s the time to buy one – before values go through the roof.
Arguably the definitive, classic R8 was the very first. Built with a gated manual gearbox and a 414bhp V8 that sounded like God’s own adult movie, it had an incredible balance of speed, handling, driver involvement and style. Eventually canned because the likes of the RS6 and even the TT RS Plus had become faster than it, the V8 manual is still the one that really steams our clams.
In a rare twist of good fortune it’s also the cheapest kind of R8 you’ll find in the classifieds. About three nanoseconds of searching turned-up one for less than £32,000, but since the dealer selling it has only provided one picture and they couldn’t even get the whole car into the frame, we think we’ll give that one a miss. Matt’ll go mad.
Instead, this is the next-cheapest manual V8 on Auto Trader. Dressed all in Phantom Black over silver five-twin-spoke wheels, it’s a classic shape and all the better for its understated colours. It’s black on the inside, too; leather seats sitting among a long list of handy kit.
Parking sensors at both ends, a CD changer, Audi Navigation Plus, Bluetooth, the all-important Magnetic Ride, automatic headlights and just 64,000 miles grace its timeless body. It also has a ‘dim view mirror,’ which we can only assume is a mirror into which you’re meant to frown at stuff.
For the privilege of putting it on your drive you’ll be asked for £35,000, or the same as a brand new 226bhp Audi TT Coupe in S line spec. A difficult decision? The latest TT is really good, but we’d always pick the R8.
Comments
Or instead of a brand new TT you can get a scale model of a TT called the daihatsu copen
Quiet retirement for the R8?! Future electric coupes?! No! The Tesla’s are coming! THE TESLA’S ARE COMING! RUN!
“the all-important Magnetic Ride,” which is reason number one to avoid that car like the plague. Replacement of that will set you back in 5 digits with labour.
The V8 has proven to be a more reliable power plant than the V10. In The Supercharged configuration, it has more horsepower and more torque than the V10 and weighs 90 pounds less. The magneride was okay, but the coilovers are set up specifically for racing. I can adjust the height of the car, and I can adjust the stiffness of each front shock independently. The back shocks are linked together with the same nitrogen reservoir. I thought about adding a 4th Reservoir (stage 4 versus stage 3 that I am running), and everyone seemed to agree that it made a difference in the track setup on the front, but didn’t make any significant difference on the rear, and was not worth the added expense, although it would have only been another $2,500.
The automatic is absolutely horrible. There’s a lag when it shifts, and you have to let it the gas for an instant as it starts to shift to try to get rid of it. It’s like the automatic on the BMW M5 with the V10. It just sucks. my old RS6 had the previous version, which was a delight. You actually had some manual control over the shift not only with the paddles, but with accelerator. If you gave the gas pedal to quick pumps, it would automatically downshift. And when you press the pedal to the floor, you came up against the soft stop that you could feel and push just a little bit past. When you push past the soft stop, it would hold the gear until the RPMs redlined before it shifted. Frankly, I wish I could get that drive train again. I had that motor blown to 850 horsepower. It’s the same configuration that they used to use on the Gumpert Apollo, although the Apollo runs larger turbines on the turbochargers, and cranks out over a thousand horsepower
The V8 has proven to be a more reliable power plant. In The Supercharged configuration, it has more horsepower and torque than the 10, but weighs 90 pounds less
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