Audi R8 - TopCarNews

Audi R8 (2015 – present) | Expert Rating [hide]

Summary

Audi surprised the world with the first R8 in 2006. The mid-engined two-seater coupe, created to rival the Porsche 911, was unlike anything Audi had ever made, and instantly topped desirability lists – and it gained more fans two years later when the Audi R8 Spyder (convertible) joined the line-up.

The second-generation Audi R8 was introduced in 2015 and facelifted in 2019. The biggest change was the dropping of the ‘entry-level’ V8 version, the car now only powered by a V10 petrol engine with either 562 or 612hp. As a result the car moved up a class, according to Autocar going from “sports car” to “super sports car.”

Testers like the R8 and generally agree that it is a hassle-free supercar, usable every day, which splits opinions. Carbuyer says it’s “reliable and as easy to drive around town as a Volkswagen Golf,” which causes the Sunday Times’s Jeremy Clarkson to claim he’d rather pay a rather pay a lot more for a Lamborghini Huracan, which shares its platform and V10 engine with the Audi. And Carwow says; “It’s well built and easy to drive but can’t match others for exclusivity.”

Opinions of the interior follow a similar theme; “the R8’s sensible cabin lacks the pizzazz of the Hurracan’s bonkers interior,” adds Carwow. And the modest luggage space is also marked down.

However, these are mere gripes – testers as a whole like the potent but refined engine, love its sound, and enjoy the car’s predictable handling and road holding, typified by Evo; “Huge grip nuanced with a delicacy and adjustability make the R8 as sweet to drive as ever.”

As of December 2021, the Audi R8 holds an Expert Rating of 84% based on 29 UK reviews. That’s the highest ranking of any model in the current Audi range, and five points better than its Italian cousin, the Lamborghini Huracan.

Audi R8 highlights

Visually arresting
V10 engine makes lovely noise
Easy to live with for a supercar
Choice of coupé or roadster models

Audi R8 lowlights

Expensive to buy, not cheap to run
Steering a bit soft
Limited luggage space
Should a supercar be usable every day?

Key specifications

Body style: Mid-engined coupé and roadsterEngines: petrol
Price: From £129,785 on-road

Launched: Summer 2015Last updated: Spring 2019
Replacement due: TBA

Image gallery

Audi R8 coupé (2019 onwards)

Audi R8 (2019 onwards)

Audi R8 coupé (2015 – 2018)

Audi R8 Spyder (2016 – 2018)

Media reviews

Reviews, road test and comparisons from across the UK automotive media. Click any of the boxes to view.

The Car Expert

“The new Audi R8 has very big shoes to fill, but does so admirably.”
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Auto Express

Model reviewed: Range overviewScore: 9 / 10“The Audi R8 is a true supercar that’s devastatingly fast, yet it’s as easy to drive as a TT.”
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Model reviewed: Spyder rangeScore: 10 / 10“The Audi A8 Spyder is pure theatre, with a trick folding roof and a screaming V10 soundtrack.”
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Auto Trader

Model reviewed: Coupé rangeScore: 9 / 10“This updated version of the Audi R8 merely tweaks the features and engineering that made it so special when it was first launched in 2015. It’s a proper supercar in a smart suit, capable of mind-bending performance while also being perfectly functional as an everyday cruiser.”
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Model reviewed: Spyder rangeScore: 8.2 / 10“The very nature of a convertible means the Audi R8 Spyder isn’t quite as dynamically capable as the coupe version, but it’s still a potent weapon when it wants to be.”
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Autocar

Model reviewed: Range overviewScore: 8 / 10“Audi sends its mid-engined flagship in search of supercar scalps, and largely succeeds – even if rivals like the Porsche 911 Turbo S provide greater driving thrills.”
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Model reviewed: Spyder V10 PerformanceScore: 8 / 10“You could happily trundle around town in the R8 all day: the seven-speed dual-clutch ’box is impressively smooth when pulling away from a standstill given how quickly it’ll swap cogs out when you’re on maximum attack; visibility out of the cabin is good; and the control weights are light.”
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Model reviewed: R8 V10 coupé 5.2-litre petrol automaticScore: 7 / 10“Overhauled engine makes the greatest thing about the R8 even greater, even if the restrained looks and handling poise of the original are becoming an ever-more-distant memory.”
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Car

Model reviewed: Range overviewScore: 10 / 10“The Audi R8 remains the ultimate daily supercar, one blessed with a unique mix of attributes too: a howling old-school V10, the security of all-wheel drive, a cabin that’s high on refinement and technology, and pricing that undercuts mid-engined rivals.”
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Model reviewed: RWS coupéScore: 8 / 10“Audi will build just 999 examples of the R8 Rear Wheel Series in total. It’s great value, and it has a unique appeal in the R8 range, which we think elevates the RWS well beyond its entry-level positioning to become the R8 to have right now. It’s a lovely thing.”
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Model reviewed: Spyder PlusScore: 10 / 10“The occasional shimmy from the scuttle aside, the Audi R8 V10 Plus Spyder is one of the few truly quick machines out there that seems to genuinely benefit from the removal of its roof. It just becomes a whole bathful of otters more engaging.”
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Model reviewed: SpyderScore: 8 / 10“The new Audi R8 Spyder is not without its foibles. It’s predictably less stiff than the Coupe; mount a kerb to provoke a little twist and you’ll hear myriad trims shudder and scuffle. Can you feel this in the corners? Fractionally, but you’ll be too busy revelling in the experience to care.”
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Carbuyer

Model reviewed: Coupé rangeScore: 8.4 / 10“The popular Audi R8 offers a pure supercar experience with few of the usual drawbacks”
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Model reviewed: Spyder rangeScore: 7.8 / 10“The Audi R8 Spyder has the performance to match its looks and is the pick of the R8 range.”
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Carwow

Model reviewed: Spyder rangeScore: 9 / 10“The Audi R8 Spyder takes the already excellent R8 and gives you unbridled access to the sound of its superb V10 engine. Just don’t expect it to match alternatives’ exclusivity.”
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Model reviewed: Coupé rangeScore: 9 / 10“The Audi R8 V10 has stonking performance and a soundtrack straight from petrolhead heaven. It’s well built and easy to drive, but can’t match alternatives’ exclusivity.”
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Daily Mail

Model reviewed: V10 Performance Carbon Black coupé“The new Audi R8 is the German firm’s fastest and most powerful road-going car ever. It’s not a radical overhaul but a series of incremental improvements.”
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Evo

Model reviewed: Range overviewScore: 9 / 10“Standard or Performance, coupe or Spyder – the Audi R8 is a quality, exciting and thoroughly involving supercar”
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Heycar

Model reviewed: R8 coupé rangeScore: 9 / 10“The Audi R8 remains one of the most accomplished supercars on sale. Easy to use, comfortable and wonderfully refined, the R8 surpasses its rivals for everyday useability, while its vocal V10 and sophisticated four-wheel-drive system make it surprisingly easy to master.”
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Model reviewed: R8 Spyder rangeScore: 9 / 10“The Audi R8 Spyder convertible is extremely fast, extremely capable and, thanks to the folding fabric roof, it’s even easier to appreciate the glorious, howling, crackling V10 engine. In short, it’s sublime.”
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Motoring Research

Model reviewed: Range overviewScore: 9 / 10“The Audi R8 is a fabulous thing, with a beautifully finished (if slightly sombre) cabin and a strong image. It’s not cheap, though…”
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Motors.co.uk

Model reviewed: Range overviewScore: 9 / 10“The second-generation Audi R8 is a sharper and more angular vehicle than the first but, like its predecessor, will often be mistaken for the smaller and cheaper Audi TT, at least until the characteristic side-blades – vertical pieces of contrasting bodywork behind the doors – come into view.”
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Parkers

Model reviewed: Spyder rangeScore: 9.2 / 10“Convertible supercar that anyone can drive – and have serious fun in.”
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Model reviewed: Coupé rangeScore: 9.6 / 10“Supercar performance yet so simple to drive”
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The Sun

Model reviewed: R8 V10 Performance“If cars were judged on the engine alone, the new Audi R8 would be a contender for the best that money can buy.”
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The Sunday Times

Model reviewed: V10 Performance“The Audi R8 is exactly what a supercar should be… and I still wouldn’t have one. The whole point of a supercar is that you don’t use it every day.” (Jeremy Clarkson)
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Model reviewed: Performance CoupéScore: 9 / 10“The Audi R8 has gone full circle. In a time when even Ferrari’s mid-engined supercar is turbocharged, the Audi represents a pocket of resistance for the naturally aspirated engine. The R8’s gone from the anodyne choice to one of the most satisfying experiences the supercar world has to offer.”
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Model reviewed: Spyder PlusScore: 10 / 10“The Audi R8 Spyder V10 Plus is tremendous. Except for one key detail that potentially spoils the entire show; if you’re tall, or something close to it, you will not fit in this car. I mean, you’ll be able to get in, but I swear you will never be comfortable.”
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The Telegraph

Score: 10 / 10“The Audi R8 has lost none of its user-friendliness with this facelift, but gained even more character and pace. At its heart sits one of the best engines on sale today, matched to a beautifully-judged chassis that’s at once accessible and exciting. If you can live with its thirst, it’s a deeply satisfying car to own and to drive.”
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Top Gear

Model reviewed: 7spd DSG AWDScore: 8 / 10“You can have a faster supercar than this, but you don’t need one.”
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Model reviewed: Score: 9 / 10“Its engine and huge breadth of ability make it feel increasingly special. A supercar that fully deserves its spot at the top table.”
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What Car?

Model reviewed: Spyder rangeScore: 8 / 10“The Audi R8 Spyder is ferociously quick, and it has one of the best engines of any car on sale. However, if you’re looking for the ultimate driving experience its rivals from McLaren and Porsche are more involving.”
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Model reviewed: Coupé rangeScore: 8 / 10“The Audi R8 does everything a proper supercar should and then some. It’s rampantly quick in a straight line, especially the Performance model, and features one of the best engines of any supercar on sale.”
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Safety rating

The Audi R8 has not been crash tested by Euro NCAP, and neither was the previous model. Being a low-volume, £100K+ sports car, it’s unlikely to happen.

Eco rating

No eco rating

The Audi R8 has not been lab tested by Green NCAP. This is a new initiative, launched in 2018 as a sister organisation to Euro NCAP. As yet, very few new cars have been tested for environmental impact by Green NCAP, and the testing programme was halted in early 2020 by the coronavirus pandemic.

The R8 is powered by a large V10 petrol engine producing 600hp, plus or minus, so it’s not going to win over any polar bears.

Awards

Trophies, prizes and awards that the Audi R8 has received

2016

World Car Awards – World Performance Car

Similar cars

If you’re looking at the Audi R8, you might also be interested in these alternatives

The Audi R8 is the kind of car you buy because you want an R8, especially since its more powerful engine became the only option and it moved upmarket. But rivals remain – not least the Lamborghini Hurracan, which shares its platform with the Audi but is substantially more expensive. And McLaren’s Sport Series cars offer arguably more desirability.

Among the more mainstream names the Mercedes-AMG GT is a rival, while the Porsche 911, the car the Audi was conceived to beat, also remains a contender, at least in potent Turbo S form.

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