The Germans are known for their engineering prowess. In 2000, I watched in amazement as the Joest racing team changed the entire rear, including the motor and transaxle, on two of its R8 LMP cars at Le Mans in under 5 minutes — like it was playing with Legos and a cherry picker. The team would score a hat-trick the following afternoon with an Audi R8 1-2-3. Needless to say, the notorious Le Mans scrutineers would change the rules for a fixed transaxle perpetually.
Engineering know how like that example is the kind of thought and ingenuity that has gone into road-going cars from Germany from the get-go. While not quite as modular, but certainly advanced and named for those famed Le Mans winners, the R8 is one awesome Audi.
The pick of the day is a 2009 Audi R8 (Type-42) offered by a dealer in Biloxi, Mississippi. It is Ibis White with a black leather interior and carbon fiber trim inside and out. The seller says the car originally appeared at the 2010 SEMA show with lots of aftermarket goodies that make this car a fun weekend road-tripper and an absolute show-stopper at your local cars and coffee.
Back in 2006, after a drive in the newly introduced Type-42 model, famed F1 and endurance driver Jacky Ickx called the R8, “the best handling road car today.” That truly is the appeal of the R8. It’s an easy car to drive. It’s well balanced, quick, stops well and is mostly forgiving of the layman’s lack of talent.
The R8’s 4.2 Liter V8 produces 420 horsepower at 7800 rpm from the factory and 317 pound-feet of torque with all-wheel-drive. This car may have a bit more horsepower, thanks to some of the aftermarket mods including an ECM tune. Putting the rubber to the road is an R-tronic automated sequential manual transmission, effectively an automatic. From the factory the R8 will launch from 0 to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds then travel to a top speed of 187 miles per hour.
For a collector, this particular car may not be the one. But for the driver, the stated 39,478 miles is still low for an 11-year-old car. Only 699 examples of the R8 were sold in the US and 1,500 were sold in the rest of the world in 2009. However, an estimated 30,000 have been produced over 2 incarnations of the R8 world-wide in its production run.
This one does have the SEMA goodies though. According to the seller, “It comes loaded with extras that include: Facelift headlights and taillights, 2017-style RS grille, Capritio exhaust with remote control, V10 side skirts, Wheel Boutique Carbon Steering Wheel, GR Rush Splitter, Rear Diffuser, Rear Wing, Mirrors and Carbon vent slots, GR Rush Carbon Sills and all interior OEM Parts are Carbon, Carbon Side Blades and Full Engine Compartment, H & R Coilovers, APR ECU Tune, GR TCU Tune, 2014 Audi RS Sport Seats. ADV1 Wheels with Michelin Pilot Super Sport Tires – 19″ in the Front and 20″ in the Rear.”
For the asking price of $61,900, it’s a lot of car.
To view this listing on ClassicCars.com, see Pick of the day.
Acclaimed as the best road holding production car of its time why would you feel some of these add ons can enhance the cars attributes in the belief that they can do better than the factory can? Besides, with all this non standard gear the originality has gone out the window together with the possibility of increased value down the track. Yes, pun intended!
I just think it criminal somehow to ‘tart’ up what would’/could otherwise be more of a wolf in sheeps clothing. What we call Downunder a ‘sleeper
R8. Awesome car and by comparison my C4 Corvette has over 400hp and certainly needs some add ons to make it anywhere the R8. And yet will never be so. In the case of the C4 it will always be a sheep and never a wolf!
You can only drive so fast on the highway so having a ‘better’ supercar than the next guy is only bragging rights.
I once paid a premium price for a Bentley Arnage T (the twin turbo that could outdrag almost anything on the road). When it came time to find a new owner l couldn’t get much more than half what it cost me – which was not as bad as the first owner (when you consider what he paid new less what l paid him, he kissed goodbye to NZ$1000 each week for EIGHT years).
My point is, in the real world, my ownership and driving experiences would’ve been just as good and much cheaper in an Arnage with a single turbo.
Enjoy your C4. If someone faster happens along, just let him go – straight into the hands of the traffic police.