2016 R8 Configurator now live

[S4WON]

R8 = The best Roast beef on the market
Mclaren = Heston Blumenhoweveryouspellit

I prefer roast beef

But would love to visit heston every now and then, who wouldnt?

One last edit.
Is a Mclaren a genuine daily driver?

[iR8V10]

Yes... i actually found it more comfortable on long drive than the R8!

Would rate a McLaren over the R8 anyday.

[S4WON]

Very interesting.. And also very jealous! Got any pics?

[iR8V10]

Very interesting.. And also very jealous! Got any pics?

Not mine I'm afraid... just had the pleasure of driving for a good friend for 1/2 day in the Alps!

[Miami42]

Will be interesting to see how the new R8 and 540c compare against each other when their both out, I see they've got a 540c in Knightsbridge Mclaren at the moment.

Its obviously a consideration when buying a car like this but I don't think you can discount certain cars purely based on what the dealer is like, some are good, some bad, really depends who you get and also if you care about having that level of service or not?

Agree on the 911, in central London they're two a penny, so a GT3 RS would be an option but I imagine prices will be north of £170k when it comes out and super car dealers are looking to cash in, but it might appreciate in value? If you look at 996 GT3 RS they are going for £200k+ now, but do you want to be driving one of those every day? A GT3 as you say Graeme would be a good bet if the prices came down towards the end of the year.

[doodlebug]

It's not about the dealer, it's the brand. Audi dealers are ten a penny and they all want to flog cars. Go visit Porsche and McLaren, different game.

If the car is fubar I want it sorted. Sorry, Audi will not give you that.

[Miami42]

I've dealt with Porsche before they're ok, you get what you pay for in servicing costs.
I can only go on my Audi experience and i've not had any issues.

I don't think its fair to discount an R8 because it doesn't get picked up on a flat bed truck when its gets serviced?
Here's hoping they do something different with this new model if that's the case.

[HYFR]

The point is the expectations of a customer at £140k stretch the ethos of a volume premium brand. The car is the same as the Huracan so the product is sound, if not slightly ugly

[S4WON]

I didnt realise they shared so much of the platform tbh. Found this for anyone else interested...

http://www.pistonheads.com/regulars/blo ... blog/29640

[Graeme4130]

I didnt realise they shared so much of the platform tbh. Found this for anyone else interested...

http://www.pistonheads.com/regulars/blo ... blog/29640

It'll be interesting to see how the two compare when the tests start coming out
R8 is a few mm longer, and apparently designed for 'greater oversteer', whereas the Huracan is widely reported as being very safe and understeery (for a lambo anyway)
The Huracan is Lambo's cash cow, so it's in their interest to make it safe to keep their potential customer base alive (I think PH summed it up nicely once as saying they needed to keep lots of rich Chinese kids from going backwards through brick walls and killing themselves).
The new R8 V10+, on the other hand, is supposedly given a lot more freedom by Audi to make a car that 'showcases what can be done'
Only time will tell...

[doodlebug]

I don't believe for one moment that R8 will be bad car, but the ownership proposition is a concern as above.

Put up against its competition flat out it looked and sounded disappointing. I'd always be thinking hmm should've bought a fezza/McLaren/Porsche.

GT3 prices are already heading south, there's loads of stock around. GT3RS will be mega money for a while.

There are some good people at some good dealers, but the brand has to back that up. From the frank exchanges I've had they no longer do back up the premium product, it's not their focus now. Unless you shout and scream you get nada. At that price point I do not want the hassle. It's bad enough at RS4 money.

You'll be having arguments over longer test drives. Porsche fell over themselves to offer me a car for a day. I'd imagine McLaren the same.

[Graeme4130]

I don't believe for one moment that R8 will be bad car, but the ownership proposition is a concern as above.

Put up against its competition flat out it looked and sounded disappointing. I'd always be thinking hmm should've bought a fezza/McLaren/Porsche.

GT3 prices are already heading south, there's loads of stock around. GT3RS will be mega money for a while.

There are some good people at some good dealers, but the brand has to back that up. From the frank exchanges I've had they no longer do back up the premium product, it's not their focus now. Unless you shout and scream you get nada. At that price point I do not want the hassle. It's bad enough at RS4 money.

You'll be having arguments over longer test drives. Porsche fell over themselves to offer me a car for a day. I'd imagine McLaren the same.

Maybe, I'm trying to convince myself about the R8, but I'd disagree on some of the above - And it's still the most appealing in that Marketplace for me.

The Ferrari's, Mclaren's etc are a totally different price point, even the 540/570 when you add in a few of the 'must have' options come in at late 100's, whereas the R8 to my spec is around 120k. I did ask Audi about the sound of the V10+ car they ran up the hill at Goodwood as I too, thought it sounded a little lacklustre, and they said it didn't have the sports exhaust option - How much difference this will make, I don't know, but it could account for the sound deficiency of that car compared to it's peers.
The disguised car on the early journalist demonstrations that appeared on the internet a couple of months ago sounded good, and journalists seemed to think it sounded good too, but I'll have to wait to hear one myself before passing any judgement - I don't for one minute think it'll sound Huracan good though.
With regards to test drives, then I've never had a problem getting loan cars for extended periods from Audi, but I'll agree that they don't throw cars at you like Porsche do. Before I put my GT4 deposit in, a quick visit to the dealership had them offering me a 911 Turbo for the weekend, and we'd barely passed the stage of exchanging names ! Audi have taken quite a long process of relationship building before they started loaning me cars for a few days at a time to try, but now that relationship's established, they're offered pretty regular without always having to ask ( I recently had a V10+ R8 for a week, and same with an RS6)

I'd agree that their customer focus is very variable dealer to dealer, and some seem to realise their bread is buttered on the side of large volume, low spec A3's, so seem to miss the mark with RS brand cars, although, in saying that, I've reverted back to using Bath Audi, and there attention to RS customers is very good and they couldn't be more helpful (certainly, compared to the poor experiences I've had with my local dealer in Swindon)

With McLaren, they have a very strong push on 'Customer experience', which of course, is what you expect when you're average punter is buying into the brand for well over £200k - I'm not sure you'd get them to loan you a 650s or 570 for a week to try though, but I'm prepared to be corrected
They're a brand that are still trying to establish themselves in the marketplace, so it's expected that they'll be very attentive to new customers - Whether that experience remains a couple of years down the line once they're established and they start to form a loyal customer base is yet to be seen

I've heard of Gt3 RS orders exchanging hands for over £280k already, for a car that retails at what, around £140 ?
Although it's largely academic as well out my price range, it' not my cup of tea to be honest, as I expect it's way too raw for what i'd like, and perhaps aimed at the real track day enthusiast - Although I'm sure we'll see plenty being driven recklessly around Knightsbridge by young, rich, summer tourists, who's closest experience to a track is the left turn into Kensington
It's always bemused me as to why people spend so much money on such a car for the track, when it's still ultimately comprised as a basic road car. £60k would get you in a really well spec'd Radical SR8, which on any given track, would absolutely muller it, and you could do lap after lap, day after day, without worrying about killing brakes etc.

[Miami42]

Agree, I think the RS is probably too raw for every day and 280k seems ludicrous for that car when you look at what else you could buy at the money.
The world has finally gone crazy.

I have to say my local Audi dealer in west London has always let me borrow what i want, the same can also be said for Porsche in Chiswick as well.
So i'm yet to experience any problems on that front, maybe time will tell.

It will come down to the driving experience, the R8 is an everyday useable car. More so than a Ferrari/Mclaren, its also less in your face, which for me is a preference. I fully appreciate other people will want a shouty look at me car, but that's not for me. So for 125k what else is there?

[doodlebug]

Aston. Maserati. Bentley. Plenty really.

[Miami42]

Maybe an Aston, but its a different sort of car.

It will be interesting to see how many R8's Audi actually sell, the last one sold well and has great residual against a 911, but the competition at that price point is now greater than ever with Mclaren, Mercedes now in the mix.