Drove an R8 today...

[gthal]

A friend of mine purchased an Audi R8 and I had a chance to take it out for a really good run today. It is the 8 cylinder car. Here are my impressions...

1. WAY smaller than I thought it would be. It is a wide but very small car. Very low to the ground.

2. Looks AMAZING!!! Talk about a head turner. This is one of the most beautiful cars I have seen.

3. Steering wheel is VERY thin. I was kind of disappointed in this. After having the meaty M3 steering wheel, the R8's could have come off a Camry. Having said that, it looked nice with a flat bottom but too thin.

4. Interior fit and finish was top notch but, IMO, not any better than the M3. Different for sure... more purpose built so to speak... pure sports car and less comfort oriented.

5. Shifter was a 6MT with the Lambo style metal gates. Cool for sure. Longer throw than I would have thought but very easy to use.

6. CRAZY throttle response. Much more sensitive that the M3 in normal or sport mode. Also, needed less input to get the car moving.

7. Power... in reality, about the same. Maybe a little extra torque down low but overall my butt dyno says the two cars would be neck and neck. Maybe a very slight advantage to the R8. But the BIG difference was how the power can be put down. The traction in the R8 is simply crazy good. Burnouts would be difficult to accomplish. In the M3, they are common. On the same highway onramp, I can get the traction control nanny to kick in on my M3 in MDM but the Audi just pulls the whole way without any trouble. It's really impressive actually but, IMO, less exciting and fun.

8. Handling I would say the Audi is slightly better. A tad less body roll and a slight bit more grip. Could be the rubber to some extent but I think the Audi suspension is just a little more hardcore.

Overall, I loved the R8 and was not at all disappointed. On a track with two non-professional drivers, the Audi would win purely based on how well it puts the power down. However, I was surprised how close the M3 was in performance. I would say 95% of the Audi in acceleration and 95% in handling. Not too bad for 50% of the cost (in Canada). The Audi is slightly better at everything but only slightly. The M3 is more comfortable, easier to drive, sounds just as good (surprising to me), and if you like a little tail out action then it is probably more fun. Having said that, the Audi is incomparably beautiful and much more rare.

So two things came from my drive... first, I discovered how great the R8 is and, second, it reafirmed how amazing the M3 is even compared to a car like the R8. I realized something else too, next set of tires I am getting will be extreme performance like the RE-11s. The Hankook Ventus EVOs are very good but the tires on the Audi (Pirellis) were just better and made me wish I had something just a tad grippier!

I then took my friend in the M3 (he had a couple of beers so didn't want to drive it) and he was VERY impressed. He thought it felt faster subjectively than the R8 (IMO only because I was drivign and passengers always feel like you are driving faster than you are) and loved how I could push the tail out a bit. Clearly the R8 is a better performance car but it is DAMN close... much closer than I had thought it would be. Man do I LOVE cars!!

[OMID INC]

pretty sweet. wonder that the new V10 would feel like

[rwchrist]

Thanks for the info...I wondered what they were like. They sure look good!

[gthal]

Originally Posted by OMID INC

pretty sweet. wonder that the new V10 would feel like

The V10 would be insane. With the R8s ability to put power to the ground and the 500+ hp of the V10, it would be an absolutely amazing car to drive fast.

I have to say, though, that driving the R8 really made me feel great about the M3 and its abilities.

[EJ_92606]

Originally Posted by gthal

A friend of mine purchased an Audi R8 and I had a chance to take it out for a really good run today. It is the 8 cylinder car. Here are my impressions...

1. WAY smaller than I thought it would be. It is a wide but very small car. Very low to the ground.

2. Looks AMAZING!!! Talk about a head turner. This is one of the most beautiful cars I have seen.

3. Steering wheel is VERY thin. I was kind of disappointed in this. After having the meaty M3 steering wheel, the R8's could have come off a Camry. Having said that, it looked nice with a flat bottom but too thin.

4. Interior fit and finish was top notch but, IMO, not any better than the M3. Different for sure... more purpose built so to speak... pure sports car and less comfort oriented.

5. Shifter was a 6MT with the Lambo style metal gates. Cool for sure. Longer throw than I would have thought but very easy to use.

6. CRAZY throttle response. Much more sensitive that the M3 in normal or sport mode. Also, needed less input to get the car moving.

7. Power... in reality, about the same. Maybe a little extra torque down low but overall my butt dyno says the two cars would be neck and neck. Maybe a very slight advantage to the R8. But the BIG difference was how the power can be put down. The traction in the R8 is simply crazy good. Burnouts would be difficult to accomplish. In the M3, they are common. On the same highway onramp, I can get the traction control nanny to kick in on my M3 in MDM but the Audi just pulls the whole way without any trouble. It's really impressive actually but, IMO, less exciting and fun.

8. Handling I would say the Audi is slightly better. A tad less body roll and a slight bit more grip. Could be the rubber to some extent but I think the Audi suspension is just a little more hardcore.

Overall, I loved the R8 and was not at all disappointed. On a track with two non-professional drivers, the Audi would win purely based on how well it puts the power down. However, I was surprised how close the M3 was in performance. I would say 95% of the Audi in acceleration and 95% in handling. Not too bad for 50% of the cost (in Canada). The Audi is slightly better at everything but only slightly. The M3 is more comfortable, easier to drive, sounds just as good (surprising to me), and if you like a little tail out action then it is probably more fun. Having said that, the Audi is incomparably beautiful and much more rare.

So two things came from my drive... first, I discovered how great the R8 is and, second, it reafirmed how amazing the M3 is even compared to a car like the R8. I realized something else too, next set of tires I am getting will be extreme performance like the RE-11s. The Hankook Ventus EVOs are very good but the tires on the Audi (Pirellis) were just better and made me wish I had something just a tad grippier!

I then took my friend in the M3 (he had a couple of beers so didn't want to drive it) and he was VERY impressed. He thought it felt faster subjectively than the R8 (IMO only because I was drivign and passengers always feel like you are driving faster than you are) and loved how I could push the tail out a bit. Clearly the R8 is a better performance car but it is DAMN close... much closer than I had thought it would be. Man do I LOVE cars!!

Nice review...thanks for the writeup. Regarding the tires...not sure that you can really compare tires on two different cars...lots more comes into play in traction than just tires. Although you can probably find stickier than Hankook. Interesting though that one magazine said they actually preferred the contis on the M3 because they felt the car was better with slightly less traction...sounds counterintuitive, but that's what it said.

[jeff@autocouture]

Isn't the r8 awd...?

[BMW269]

N-Ring:
R8: 8:05 min
M3: 8:06 mn
R8 is slightly faster when dry, much faster when wet, but not a drift car.

[bmwrjs]

Levi, I Believe the M3 does an 8:05 aswell.

[gixxer_kidd]

Thanks for taking the time to post your review. I always wondered what it would be like to drive one of those cars.

[gthal]

Originally Posted by Levi

N-Ring:
R8: 8:05 min
M3: 8:06 mn
R8 is slightly faster when dry, much faster when wet, but not a drift car.

That's consistent with how they subjectively felt when driving. The R8 felt slightly faster... mainly due to AWD traction... and would also be clearly faster in poor weather. In the dry, they are close... very close.

[bavarian beauty]

I seen one up close for the first time last saturday and it was in light blue. its not the sexiest color, however, this car looked HOT!!!!!!
So its not the best performing car at its price range, if I owned one, I wouldnt care!!!
the car is pure SEX!!

[Roby84m]

For the price of a fully loaded R8 you can get two almost fully loaded e92 m3s however R8 is a more exclusive car for sure. I can't wait for my '11 m3 zcp anyway. I just called them today and it will be at the port by the end of this weekend awaiting for the ship.

[amgthis]

I thought the interior of the R8 was sex, go sit inside a red R8 interior man. M3 is a little plasticky isn't it

[mfeltiii]

Originally Posted by Roby84m

For the price of a fully loaded R8 you can get two almost fully loaded e92 m3s howevercar for sure R8 is a more exclusive . I can't wait for my '11 m3 zcp anyway. I just called them today and it will be at the port by the end of this weekend awaiting for the ship.

Exclusivity is a flawed concept. It is directly proportional to price but also to price to performance ratio.

If an m3 cost $1m it would be very exclusive, if a tercel cost $1m it would be EXTREMELY exclusive (If you bought one you would be the only person with the car).

M3 and R8 performance are about equal. That doesn't make the R8 exclusive, that makes it overpriced.

[ss134]

Great car the R8 but with those looks the V10 does it the most justice. One of the best supercars period. As for straight line performance you may be surprised (and this was 6mt v R-tronic ):

http://www.youtube.com/user/m5boardd.../3/cap_EcnnZT0

[gthal]

Originally Posted by ss134

Great car the R8 but with those looks the V10 does it the most justice. One of the best supercars period. As for straight line performance you may be surprised (and this was 6mt v R-tronic ):

http://www.youtube.com/user/m5boardd.../3/cap_EcnnZT0

Impressive for the M3. The only thing I would comment on is that this race was from a roll... from a dig, the AWD in the R8 would build a quick lead on an M3, IMO, and the m3 would have a much harder time to recover. From a roll, traction is less of an issue. But, nonetheless, I'm happy to see the M3 perform as strongly.

[shchow]

Originally Posted by mfeltiii

Exclusivity is a flawed concept. It is directly proportional to price but also to price to performance ratio.

If an m3 cost $1m it would be very exclusive, if a tercel cost $1m it would be EXTREMELY exclusive (If you bought one you would be the only person with the car).

M3 and R8 performance are about equal. That doesn't make the R8 exclusive, that makes it overpriced.

Your hypothesis is also flawed.
What a car commands in price is also what the market is willing to pay.
No one would chalk up $1m for an M3 or Tercel.
Depending on the cost of development and how many units the manufacturer intends to sell/year/production run, the car may actually be a money loser at high price points, Lexus LFA for example.
The manufacturer still has to justify the cost of the car if extreme. And the buyer market at that price point is rather picky and well informed.

[ss134]

Originally Posted by gthal

Impressive for the M3. The only thing I would comment on is that this race was from a roll... from a dig, the AWD in the R8 would build a quick lead on an M3, IMO, and the m3 would have a much harder time to recover. From a roll, traction is less of an issue. But, nonetheless, I'm happy to see the M3 perform as strongly.

Agreed - however when my E90 m3 arrives in July and i'm on the autobahn that M3 top end will be more beneficial

[mfeltiii]

[QUOTE=shchow;7286351]Your hypothesis is also flawed.
What a car commands in price is also what the market is willing to pay.
"The market" is represented by a downward sloping demand curve. The price set determines the size of the market williang/able to purchace the car.


No one would chalk up $1m for an M3 or Tercel.
I believe that was my point. I used a ridiculously large number to make it. People do pay >200k for M3's in some parts of the world. Does that make it more exclusive there? Yes. Does that make it any better of a car? No.

Depending on the cost of development and how many units the manufacturer intends to sell/year/production run, the car may actually be a money loser at high price points, Lexus LFA for example.
Sure can. But that has nothing to do with my point about exclusivity being directly proportional to price/performance. If the price is higher, less will buy. If the performance is lower, less will buy. Less people buy/have = exclusivity. If the m3 and veyron cost the same and had the same practicality the m3 would be "more exclusive" because everyone else would be driving a veyron.

[GnokGnik]

911 C2s > R8 V8

(amazed the RWD 997 had better traction)

[graider]

i for one never really hook on the look of hte r8. if i'm in a market for a 2 seater, i would think the gt3 is a better looking car than the r8. i think the s5 in black is the best looking audi right now.

[ching]

Nice write-up. How many R8s are there in Halifax? He must cause a spectacle everywhere he goes.