r8 – Pulpaddict

R8 Comparison: 2023 R8 GT vs the Cheapest Audi R8 You Can Buy

2023 R8 GT vs 2009 R8 V8 2023 R8 GT that is limited to just 333 examples worldwide and costs a little more than $250K. It has a V10 that fires 602 horsepower to the rear wheels via a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. It is a desirable model that collectors will seek out for years to come. But collectability aside, is it a better sports car than say a 2009 V8 R8 with a manual transmission? What if you consider that the older R8 can be had for roughly a quarter of the price of the new R8 GT? Does the R8 GT justify its high price compared to even a brand new R8 V10 Performance RWD that is about 100 grand cheaper?

That is what the folks at Throttle House are attempting to determine in their latest video. In one corner they have a 2009 R8 V8 that can be had for $63,995. In the other corner is the 2023 R8 GT wearing a $253,290 MSRP. Neither car is what you would call cheap. But for the price of the R8 GT you could buy the older R8 plus a new S8 performance sedan, AND a new SQ5 for running to the shops. The R8 GT would have to be pretty darn special to justify the price. Well, it is special, but is it special enough?

2023 R8 GT

R8 GT

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Twin Turbo Audi R8 Is Wicked Quick With 1,400 HP on Tap

A pair of turbos are essentially all this Audi R8 needs to run 8s in the quarter-mile and go over 200 mph in the half-mile.

As most are aware by now, slapping a pair of turbos on an Audi R8 is one seriously quick and easy way to make huge power – not to mention transform the already capable supercar into a straight line dominator. That’s precisely why we see so many of them at TX2K, where the Officially Gassed YouTube channel spotted this twin turbo Audi R8 – owned by a fellow named Jared – and needless to say, it perfectly sums up why so many people build these cars the way they do.

What makes this particular combination a bit more interesting than most is that this is an Audi R8 Spyder, which one might think is a bit of a disadvantage, given its extra weight. That’s precisely the case here too, as the addition of the big turbos, a water tank, and the driver all push the car’s track weight up to around 4,300 pounds. Regardless, it also has 1,400 wheel horsepower pushing it around, so it’s still awfully quick.

To be more specific, this R8 has done over 200 mph in the half-mile, and runs the quarter-mile in the high eight-second range – numbers that certainly aren’t anything to sneeze at. Breathing through a gorgeous titanium exhaust, it’s a real looker as well – not the type of car that hides its intentions, given the exposed hardware out back. The owner lives in a warm climate – which means cooling is a bit of a concern – though an Interchiller connects the intercoolers directly to the air conditioning system to solve that little problem.

Of course, throwing this kind of power at a bone stock transmission is a recipe for disaster as well, so Jared has beefed it up with a billet 9×9 Dodson Pro Max clutch with a cover, which he notes is critical when you’re making over 1,100 horsepower. Otherwise, the engine and the rest of the mechanicals have been pretty much left alone. The result of this particular combination is a car that reportedly drives quite nice and even returns decent fuel economy, but as our host quickly finds out, laying into the pedal unleashes an entirely different kind of animal.

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Watch This Twin-Turbo Audi R8 Take Down the Mighty Tesla Model S Plaid

The Tesla Model S Plaid is certainly difficult to beat, but this 1,300 WHP Twin-Turbo Audi R8 is just the car to make that happen.

By now, pretty much everyone in the automotive enthusiast realm is well aware of the fact that the Tesla Model S Plaid is a dominant drag racer right out of the box. In fact, it’s the quickest-accelerating production car out there, one that can rocket to 60 mph in less than two seconds and run 9-second quarter-miles without breaking a sweat, but in all fairness, it does so in complete silence, which is one major qualm enthusiasts have with EVs in general. Regardless, there aren’t many road-going cars out there that can beat it at the drag strip, save for, say, a twin-turbo Audi R8.

In this new video from Drag Times, we get to see Brooks Weisblat – the owner of a Model S Plaid and all sorts of cool exotic cars – line up against a twin-turbo Audi R8 churning out around 1,300 horsepower at the wheels, or as much as 1,800 horsepower, depending on the fuel it’s running and the tune the driver chooses. On this particular day, the Plaid is running a set of lightweight wheels wrapped with pretty worn tires, but those are merely semantics for something that runs low 9s with the mere press of the pedal.

As one might expect, the Plaid rockets out to an early lead thanks to its instant torque and superior traction, but midway down the track, the R8 uses its copious amounts of power to simply blow right past it. The race actually looks closer than it was, however, once both get to peek at the time slips.

When the twin-turbo Audi R8 crossed the line, it did so in a mere 8.944 seconds at 161.61 mph, which handily beat the Plaid and its 9.357-second pass at 147.47 mph. It’s a pretty eyebrow-raising result no matter how you slice it, though we have seen this same Tesla run a 9.0 before. Perhaps on a fresh set of tires, this race might be much closer, but for now, we’ll just go ahead and enjoy this little victory – not only for Audi, but also for ICE vehicles in general.

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Audi R8 With Gated Manual Hits the Autobahn for Top Speed Run

Listen to the sweet sounds of this N/A V8-powered Audi R8 and the satisfying clicks of its gated manual before they’re gone.

The Audi R8 is a special and arguably underrated machine, a more reasonable Lamborghini for those that don’t care for audacious styling or simply being stared at everywhere they go. At the same time, the R8 serves up the same exciting driving experience as its more exotic brethren, making it the perfect everyman’s supercar. To us, there’s nothing better than listening to a car like this sing its siren song, and that’s precisely what we’re treated to in this new video from AutoTopNL.

As is typically the case with videos from this YouTube channel, the Audi R8 featured here heads out to Germany’s famous Autobahn for a bit of a top speed rip, or at least as fast as its driver can go in a safe manner. Unfortunately, this example isn’t a V10 model, but it is a V8 with a gated manual, which is a combination that has essentially gone extinct in the last few years, so we’ll certainly allow it.

Driving all four wheels, the car’s naturally-aspirated V8 churns out 424 horsepower and 317 pound-feet of torque in this guise, and it sounds simply amazing revving to 8,000 rpm, even if it isn’t exactly the quickest thing on the roads today. It winds up hitting 263 kilometers per hour – or around 163 mph – without breaking a sweat, but perhaps more importantly, it sounds awesome doing so.

Sadly, these types of experiences won’t be around much longer, as the Audi R8 is destined to leave this world – at least temporarily – with the GT RWD limited-edition serving as its last gasp. If the R8 does return one day, it will do so as an EV – like all Audi models – which is something of a shame for those of us that adore N/A V8 and V10 engines, not to mention gated manual transmissions, or row-your-own gearboxes of any kind. However, there are still some fine machines out there such as this one that can still provide us with simple driving pleasure, at least for now.

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A Five-Cylinder, RWD, Manual Audi R8 Almost Happened

A Five-Cylinder, RWD, Manual Audi R8 Almost Happened activesphere concept.

But that doesn’t mean it’s not fun to consider some alternate history. One example? Well, according to a new piece by our friends over at Motor1, the folks at the Four Rings were apparently close to pulling the trigger on a five-cylinder, exclusively rear-wheel drive version of the firebreathing R8 supercar. To be clear, the revelation comes courtesy of esteemed journalist Steve Sutcliffe, who learned about the project from Audi insider Marcos Marques, currently serving as Porsche’s Project Manager eFuels. Here’s the meat of what Marques said about the entry-level R8 project:

It was a shame because the five-cylinder turbo engine was a good strong engine, it sounded different, and I think it worked well in the R8. The car was lighter and more agile, too, but maybe some people at Audi Sport didn’t think it felt like a real R8, so quite late on they decided the car wouldn’t happen.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’ve driven the R8 with the mighty V10, and while I’ve never been shot out of a cannon, using launch control in that beast made me realize what it’s like. Few things truly compare to driving a 600-horsepower supercar. From an enthusiast perspective, however, I love the idea of a lighter, less-powerful R8 with more approachable limits.

The engine in question would have been plucked from the RS3, but tuned to somewhere north of 400 horsepower and 400 lb-ft of twist. Of course, there’s also the fact that it would have been available with a manual transmission. While Marques didn’t elaborate on whether it would get a gated shift available on the early R8s, as long as we’re dreaming, there’s no harm in thinking it would have.

That said, I think it’s worth mentioning that it’s perfectly plausible the Audi brass didn’t feel an I5 R8 would have been “R8 enough.” It’s also worth mentioning that a mid-engine coupe with that kind of poke and a stick could have started eating the Porsche Cayman’s lunch, which might also have led to its demise.

The question now, of course, is what exactly does Audi’s “go big or go home” approach to sports coupes mean for future product. As the company moves toward electric vehicles, are we going to see anything which will fill the hole left by the Audi TT? And given the general disinterest in coupes at the moment, how long will it be before the axe falls on the two-door S5?

Personally, I don’t think it’s too hard to see a future where Audi leaves entry-level sports cars territory to corporate cousins Porsche, and leans into the off-road side with vehicles like the activesphere. Or maybe I’m in a good mood, and being optimistic that Ingolstadt and Stuttgart can play nice? Regardless, hit me up and let me know what you think!

Image Source: Audi

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