@Nickolai Siegfried the "new edge" Mustang (99-04 model years) came from the factory covered in fake vents or whatever you want to call them. Thankfully the current factory Mustangs don't, I would know because I drive a 2015 GT.
Nickolai Siegfried you mean fake exhaust tips, probably. Nowadays, almost every sports car has that (e.g. LaFerrari, Aventador SVJ, R8, P1, GT2 RS) and there are construction wise good reasons for that. Not so for fake air intakes.
I am happy Harry calls out designers for fake grills and exhaust tips fake noises etc. It is just unacceptable and cheapens any sporting pretentions of a car. I will not consider a car with any of that fake garbage. Ruins the car.
ChaosphereIX - I also don't like the fake grilles, fortunately there's no danger of my ever being able to afford one, so its not something I'm going to have to wrangle over when I consider my next car!
Funny, just as I was thinking that the first-released R8 had the most stunning looks, you went ahead and said the very same thing... VW also regressed aesthetically with the Touareg / Golf... Why do companies have to endless fiddle until nothing is left but soul-less straight-lines a faux-aggression... Knowing when to stop is the secret to great art.
The original R8 managed to be curvy and edgy at the same time. It was a fantastic design. This seems a step back in all areas. The white paint and black wheels really dont do it any favours either. Give me the Alpine in the latest review instead.
Completely agree with your design remarks. Always liked the original one, the first and only truly sympathetic Audi ever, IMHO. Especially since it had such a petite face. They've ruined that now.
I would not be surprised if values of previous models of the R8 (and the Porsche Boxster/Cayman) hold their values as many owners prefer driving them more than current cars.
+Underbird [former X8X8]. Couldn’t agree more about the 996. I think that sometime in the future they will indeed be worth more. The currently loathed headlights may continue to grow on people until they become the desirable ones to have.
That is a weird quirky feature hearing the audi advert end sound as you open the door. Annoying after a while I imagine. Good in depth review as always Harry.
Coco, I love the way, as SOON as you give the Audi some beans, the camera view goes from Speedo to your face shot, we know you NEVER exceed 60, apart from motorways/autobahns ect , I know I take the piss out of your cycling pedal position, but you know your stuff on cars AND bikes, and NEVER fail to deliver......
The first-gen R8 is a dream car of mine, either v8 or v10 but especially as a manual and/or convertible. This one, not so much. Thanks for putting the truth out there Harry!
Looks like a prime example of botched electrically assisted steering.. Sad times. Like the automatic gearboxes of the naughts, we can only hope they get better - and there are already companies which are able to do it well!
some simple facts for you harry. audi needs to put its design language into every model of their cars. hence the necessity of a large hexagonal grill. r8 is a mid-rear engine car, so they don't need much air coming through the front. that's why they blocked most of it for aerodynamic reasons.
Great to see you back, Harry! Missed your video over summer. Agree 100% on looks: original R8 topped this one. The blade made it. German 2nd thoughts are sometimes a mistake e.g. the first generation Mercedes CLS still the best of the 3! Love your grounded reviews. Shrewd analysis not just marque hagiography!
Totally agree, original manual R8 is a much more desirable car. New one's focus has shifted to interior tech which is great in city traffic but something you ignore when lost in a drive. Totally with you on the fake grills too. Audi have turned a distinctive, interesting sports car into a big TT.
Overall an honest review; but that fact that you even mention a McLaren and the 488 in the same sentence speaks volumes for the RWS value for money. You would pretty much need to double you budget for a 488 taking into account typical Audi discounts (10% plus now on a new R8) . Meanwhile the Mclarens are great if you don't mind problems with the instrumentation or windows not working etc. You can have the RWS for about the same money as 911S. The heart beat doesn't bother me at all. A couple of corrections :- 1) the loud exhaust on cold start-up is nothing to do with vacuum build-up - it's emissions related and will hold the revs at about 1500-2000, with exhaust valves open and secondary air blowers on - this is to heat up the cats. 2) The RWS is not available with magnetic ride even as a option - you will need to "upgrade" to the V10 or V10+ if you want that option
The heartbeat sound played when you open the door would get old after about a day. Can that be turned off? Great review...the R8 seems to be slightly underwhelmng (esp. with the loss of the contrasting side blades and phony intakes). The R8 is probably a fine car, but it needs to stand out more, not less as the number of super/hypercars grows. Doesn't seem that special....
I believe that designers make oversized grilles and such for the same reason they make the glass so much bigger than it needs to be - then paint a 2-inch-wide black edge so you don't notice how small the opening actually is. It's a simple case of function following form: who cares if there's excess heavy glass up high on the car that isn't actually needed and can't be used - they like the _idea_ of bigger windows, even if we don't actually get them in any functional, meaningful manner.
Thank you for the review .. I think at this price point a 911 gt3 would make much more sense. The 911 gt3 seems more driver focused than the R8 RWS. Thoughts?
Great review Harry & very fair criticisms. Most of the issues would annoy me too, plus i can't help thinking the current R8 just looks like a large TT. On the plus side there's a nice Merc W124 at 9:02. Looking forward to the next review.
It’s no usual to hear so clear conclusions about the odds of a car in any RU-vidr. Everyone talks about the hype and how extraordinary cars are, but no one speaks so clear as Harry does
Great vid Harry! So conclusion might be something like “a V10 with the steering of a Golf , the paddles of an A3 and the ride of a kid plastic toy car “ I don’t understand why they make fake “things” like those air vents , it looks like it’s something across the vw family , like golf fake escapes and that sort of thing . In a “supposed” super car . A lot of work to do Audi !
Hi Harry, see my comment of 2 weeks ago. I checked with other car reviews and did a test drive myself. Nobody mentioned your complaints. The "fake" radiator and other "fake"design errors don't disturb me. The test car did not have " the heart beat" and the steering was perfect in" Dynamic" mode. You feel very clearly what the frontwheels are doing , this is the big difference with the AWD and you did NOT recognize it!!! In " Comfort " mode I agree with you the steering is as you demonstrated. But this car you can set up also to your "Individual" preferences which every owner will do. I traded my 6 month old RS 5 on the spot for this perfect R 8 AWS drivers car according to plan . Your test however almost made me forget about the car. Although I am a great fan of your videos I think you made a mistake this time.
Compared to the first generation, it is clearly a less exciting car with less attention to detail. And I always wondered why it is only available with the V10. It is a fantastic engine, but it would be suited better as a top version above a more daily-driveable option. My answer: The VW management blocks the full potential of the R8. An R8 without those ridiculous compromises Harry pointed out and with a reasonably economical yet powerful drivetrain would be a true 911-killer!
Brilliantly entertaining vid as always. Audi are going in a very weird direction with their false grilles on their smaller cars too, especially trying to make a 'shopping' A1 look like an 80s quattro. Bizarre and a long way from their original Bauhaus philosophy. Saw an older A4/Audi 80 the other day and it really looked a great timeless design. Not any more, Audi. Too many creases and distractions.
Ok, i'm not buying any car anymore before Harry tested it...The R8 v10 with its manual box seems like a playstation. The only thing I like about it is the engine noise, would be so much better with manual box and without stupid "Vorsprung durch Technik" noises and plastics to make any environmentalist swear about. In summary, the R8 v8 with manual box was and is still the R8 to have
The amount of gadgets & gizmos delivered with this car really makes it look/feel like an expensive toy... Interesting marketing strategy from Audi, guess they know their audience.
I'm always surprised to see harry dry steering in so many of his videos. Perhaps he is just demonstrating for the sake of the video but i doubt he would dry steer any of his own cars like that.
I like the old R8 more; this one reminds me too much of an a4 sedan-it gives me a whiff of boredom. *Edit:* Actually it reminds me of the whole audi range.
Audi use to make bold design decisions (ie the first TT, the side blade on the original R8 etc.). Now they have fake vents! Some Audi models have fake exhaust tips and even a inboard speaker to modify the sound of the engine. What ever happened to the beauty of 'form follows function'?
I too think the original R8 is a far better looking car than this one. its lost something I think that made the first model stand out so much. Maybe Audi made the over the top larger front grill for Audi drivers who -as we all know- will typically sit 4 feet from the car in front. The bigger grill would intimidate even more..perhaps!
Harry doesn't like this car LOL I like his long rationales and eloquent words to describe that he doesn't like it LOL Quite frankly these supercars are starting to get boring. If you can't put Road feel in a steering wheel don't bother building a car. Run some vibrating cables from the axles to the steering column so you can feel what the wheels are doing it wouldn't take much
I’ve never cared for R8. I do think it’s because they’re an engineering company that they block off the grills. The designers probably did them that way and then the engineers decided it wasn’t effective.
Let's face it, if you can afford this car, then you can also afford a Lambo Huracan, which has the same, slightly more powerful engine but comes with all the crazy features you'd expect a Lambo to have (besides guillotine doors). The R8 feels more like a sanitized version of the Italo-racer.
"too loud on start up"?!? Uh, its a supercar. Speaking of which, the first gen looks more TT as it looks more narrow, shorter, taller, more rounded than the new gen - hence more TTish. Seeing them side by side at cars and coffee, the new gen definitely looks more supercar while the older one looks cuter. to each his own tho.
Agree wholeheartedly - I really don’t like the V10 badging either, as it seems overwrought. The less said about the electric steering, the better. Pretty though.
the first r8 looked so much nicer, especially the headlights. all these fake grills, odd noises, fake exhasts and wierd things manufacturers do these days is really a shame. form seems to be preeceeding function and both seem to loose
Current Audi styling is the fallout of Dieselgate. Bland flat surfaces with lots of fake plastic pieces. Audi design has always been about round bold lines. Original Audi 90, Audi TT, Audi R8. Now current fleet of Audis have flat surfaces to save money - flat panels less costly to produce than rounded body panels. More plastic and less metal means reduced cost. Poor Audi! I suspect Audi sales globally will fall, all there cars are looking too generic! This is the beginning of the end for the R8. No one is buying.
I love his taste in cars... so often I'm thinking something and he says exactly what I'm thinking, the grille and the side blade on this car are perfect examples. He also owns most of the cars I drooled over as a kid... The F1, XJ220 and NSX are pretty much the only ones missing... maybe the Alfa SZ too...
I was thinking the same thing. I think it amounts to - if spending over £100K on a car, this may not be your best bet. Having said that, a fantastic screaming V10 - what an engine that is.
Hah, I always notice this too. Imagine how much video there is on the cutting room floor of Harry doing "go to prison/lose licence forever" speeds. Actually... I'm sure there's none because Harry is a law abiding citizen. Like me.
@@RustyPetterson Mate i picked up a bloody FPN in my 3.5ton motorhome for the heinous offence of achieving a mind blowing 36mph in a 30 area.....so with a "weapon" like that V10 i'd end up with a ban in a matter of months! That said i'd recommend anyone getting an FPN now to use the same dodge as Beckham.
And now, they've neutered the engine with a particulate filter and soft rev limiter. Just put it out of its misery already. It's like they're deliberately making sports cars shite to make us accept electric stuff
Fair comment, i'm only making an observation on the concept of it being touted as a limited run. Well given that Harry stated that Audi sells 2000 R8s per year, i'm not certain that we can define 999 models as limited. The social media marketing around this car appears to have been that people longed for a rear while drive version of the R8 to make it 'wilder', or what have you. So the expectation from Audi was that this would pull in some new buyers from other brands. We'll see if the secret spice pitch works or not.
Great review, really speaks to marketing decisions that on paper sound good but in the real world don’t deliver. I was surprised to hear the v8 is related to the v10. I thought the v10 was a pure Lamborghini carry over and not the other way around. Either way the early manual V8’s are the ones to have, more dramatic, dynamic and slower in a good way.
My dad owns an 2007 R8 V8 manual, bought about 8 years ago. Great car to drive, reliable, nice feedback (yes a gt3 is better) and comfortable enough to drive long distances. Drove the Stelvio last year, did Munich and Austria this year.
The steering is terrible, he is right but the car can be specced without the trick variable rack and should be. Audi also needs to get the driving position lower, you do feel as if you sit on top of them a bit and even though you get used to it and it therefore isn't a problem, getting back into a GT3 or 570S you really see what it should be like. The biggest issue however is the dealers, most of who have no idea how to look after your typical R8 customer who bare in mind will be comparing them with Porsche service levels not Vauxhall. Then you add in the dealer residuals and that is why they don't sell many new ones....
Great review... I think when he says it’s “sanitised” that about sums it up... design and driving experience both dumbed down for the masses and the R8 has now become an audi “sub brand” rather than a pure sports car. No manual option annoys me too, even though the dsg is an undisputedly amazing box. Those fake grilles kill it for me too!
The only "gripe" i have with Audis... you can drive a top of the range R8 and it'll have the same virtual cockpit as the bottom of the range Audi A1... There's just something not right about that... great for Audi A1 and A3 drivers! Despite VC being a great technological advancement, audi was the first to introduce that to mass manufacturing, it sort of looks "cheap" on the more expensive cars in my opinion... top of the range cars should have unique features NONE of the lower end cars have.
For all the criticism you have for the RWS you forget one big gigantic positive It’s half the price of a Hurrican I think that’s Negates all the negative of the R8
But leaves you without emotions you get from Lambo, and deep down you know you couldn't afford the angry bull and settled for cold blooded German gismo
The grills! you are sooo correct! you see these false grills everywhere on normal cars, dare i say cheap cars. KIA's etc you get these false grills trying to look like a more premium sporty car but indeed trying to look like an Audi TT etc... But ... you expect it on normal cars cos' it's quite a common design choice these days... you don't expect fake plastic, hell, bloody halfords grills on a god damn super car... it's ridiculous. It cheapens the look enormously. What a terrible design choice. It's frankly ugly AF as far as im concerned. And the steering/limp hand shake analogy was so viscerally pleasing but damn... so disappointing at the same time.
OMG the heartbeat is so f’ing stupid! WTF are they thinking !? Never buying an Audi as long as they do this sh!t. And I Hate the blank switches on the HVAC. And the “1 of 999” is so cheap. VW cost cutting. It should have been unique to the car, like “556 of 999”. Even a Honda Civic R has unique plaques. Cheap cheap cheap.
Not a fan of the aesthetic styling at all. They replaced all those stylish subtle curves with offensive straight lines. The first r8 was a real head turner with that creepy alien beast face and different coloured side panels. It was special, it was unique and It was interesting to stare at or see whizzing by. Sorry but this looks like a glorified TT.
