Awesome. Awesome. Awesome.
After writing my review of the 2008 Audi R8 -- and adding loads more photos and commentary to my 2008 Audi R8 photo gallery -- I'm simply running out of things to say about the car. After a while, it all just boils down to that one word.
So I asked Basem Wasef, About.com's Guide to Motorcycles (and an experienced automotive journalist) to take the R8 for a spin. His verdict? "Awesome."
Hmmm.
So I had Jason Fogelson, our Guide to SUVs, take a drive in the R8. And what did he say? I'm sure you can guess. (Hint: It starts with "a", ends in "e", and has "wesom" in the middle.)
So, yeah -- the R8 is awesome -- but, as with many cars, for more reasons than you might think. Get the full story in my 2008 Audi R8 test drive.
And, of course, I want to hear what you think. If you were in the market, ready to spend $175,000 or more on a Ferrari or a Lamborghini, would you consider spending that cash (quite a bit less, actually) on this German upstart? Click the "comments" link below and tell us what you think. -- Aaron Gold
Photo © Aaron Gold
Georgeous. The ideal supermodel of cars – beautiful, fast, well built and smart. But I like my girls beautiful, fast, well built, smart and feisty. Can you spell GT-R.
Thank God for you, Aaron! I was just about to go to the bank for the cashiers check for the $145,000 (incl. tax) towards the purchase of a new Audi R8 at Braman Audi in Palm Beach and then I read that in your review that its visors don’t swing to the side…well that’s a deal killer if I ever saw one!
You’re mocking me, aren’t you, Don?
– Aaron
Just saw the GT-R at the New England International Auto Show in Boston. It’s no beauty on the rear fascia IMHO.
And, Aaron, let me humbly add to the other journo’s opinions but in Audi’s native tongue: Die R8 ist ehrfürchtig.
Keith
PS And, of course, I looked that up on an online German dictionary. I hope it means awesome….
Heck no, I’m not mocking you! That’s just the angst in my heart pouring forth into cyberspace in the guise of sarcasm, indicating my disappointment in knowing that at this point, nor any in the future shall I ever be able to own such an utterly beautiful exquisite piece of automotive brilliance! Sorry Aaron, but you never entered my humbled mind.
“Ehrfürchtig.” What a great word! I’m going to start using that in my every day conversation!
Don — I saw Jason (SUVs guide) today. He told me he’s still smarting after driving the R8 for an hour and then having to let it go. I asked him how he thought I felt — I lived with it for over a week and 1,100 miles. Man, how I miss that car. It was replaced by an R32, but it’s just not the same… not even close.
This Audi is really nice, but I don’t think it will be able to compete with the lower priced Nissan GT-R.
It is often said, “Tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all”.
Console yourself Aaron, that unlike the rest of us, you have driven and immersred yourself in near automotive pefection in our mutual relentless pursuit of the same…all while the rest of us trudge on with our mundane(comparatively speaking) daily drivers, hoping simply to catch a glipse, pehaps a hear the roar of such a magnificent machine as it whisks by in the hands of another, more fortunate than ourselves. Alas, you are one of the few that has climbed to that summit and now extolls to us teeming, breathless minions of your recollections of such wondrous moments, all while we revel vicariously in your wondrous tales. This Aaron is your mission in life!
Maybe I’m missing some stuff.
Styling – ehh. Bland (bordering on ugly) nose. Decent rear end. Terrible side profile, thanks to that ghastly two-tone piece behind the doors. Completely pointless. (Hey VW styling department! Give up on the two-tone! It didn’t work on the Veyron and it doesn’t work here!)
But the real elephant in the living room has its engine behind the rear axle. You keep bringing up the Ferrari and the Lambo – and the R8 is no Italian supercar, no matter what it shares with the Gallardo. There’s none of their exclusivity or cachet. (I’m reminded of VW’s Phaeton here, in terms of playing out of your brand’s league.) What it SHOULD be compared to is the Porsche 911 Turbo, which really isn’t that much more expensive and has more power, better performance, better mileage, will probably be more reliable and cheaper to maintain when it does need repair, and is already an aspirational car to many.
If I had to actually buy one, I’d definitely have to go for the 911, even though I prefer a mid-engine layout to a rear-engine one. And it goes without saying that the Gallardo is way, way, WAY higher on the lust-o-meter than either of those! That’s perhaps my favorite current exotic.
Er… the R8’s engine is mounted ahead of the rear axle.
Aaron,
Actually, it was more like AAAAWWWESSSSOOOOME, wasn’t it?!
I wanted to drive that thing more… like, say, to Vegas.
-Basem
Hey Tiga — If you re-read the review, I’m sure you’ll find the bits you’re looking for: Audi-claimed 0-60 of 4.4, it hits the torque band as low as 15 MPH, more grip than you’ll ever use on public roads (which made it hard to determine handling balance; the thing just keeps holding on — and goodness knows I tried) and power-on oversteer if you get on the gas hard enough in the turns. Most reviews cover just the hard technical stuff — few seem to be talking about what it’s really like to live with one of these cars, so that’s what I tried to do. And that’s really what’s most amazing about the R8 — not how it performs, but how easy it is to drive and what a great daily driver it makes. Most cars in this class are weekend cars. The R8 is not at all what I expected from a six-figure supercar, which is why I wrote about it that way.
Tiga,
For the data you want, go to any magazine rack, flip through Motor Trend,Automobile, Road & Track, etc. and the insert will fall out and you can buy all the hard (boring)stats for $10 @12 issues that’ll certainly please your statistical instincts. Aaron’s site is more about real world driving, rather than cutting edge stuff. Not everyone is that driven to take it to the limits. Some of us just like to push it a little and enjoy some of the less rigorous attitudes of even the most sophisticated supercars.
Aaron, I realize that. The elephant in the living room (which went unmentioned in the review) is the 911 Turbo (which is also considered pretty livable day-to-day for such a powerful car.) Note that I also said that I’d take the 911 Turbo over the R8 any day, DESPITE the fact that I prefer the R8’s mid-engine layout over the 911’s rear-engine layout.
Once your car is in the six-figure club, “awesome” should be a standard accessory, right next to the list of airbags. I’m not impressed that a $100k+ car is awesome. I am depressed by the confused styling. (Not that the 911 Turbo is any beauty IMHO, but it’s got way more guts than the R8, which is really more comparable to the regular 911. If your goal is performance, well, an R8 driver will have to be on the ball to beat a good driver in an Evo or STI and doesn’t have a chance against the far-cheaper Viper or Z06. (And yes, they all handle, too.) If you want everyday livability and luxury, an AMG Mercedes is a good option. Ultimately, the R8 appears to offer $50k performance in a psuedo-exotic body. The success of this car purely rests upon how many people can stomach those awful side pieces.
Aaron, I saw one in Boca Raton (of course)yesterday. All I have to say is WOW!!!
I saw the one in Boca Raton, Too.