Car and driver declares the audi r8 DOA...a wallflower ?

[JB]

once the enthusiasts darling the audi R8 is on deaths doorstep..

why do uou think so?

is the segment dead?

was it the cracking chassis on older street driven R8s?

or simply the elevated cost of the R8?

maybe the weird turn styling took that had to be readdressed rather quickly this past year...?


https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews...-r8-euro-drive

the wallflower among supercars?

or is the upcoming c8 a nail in the coffin and audi is realizing it cant compete with the corvette team? (Relax audi r8 fans...im jist teasing)

[JB]

Once seriously considered a porsche 911 competitor in true fashion the latest buzz on the R8 isnt good news..

is it because rear mid engine sports cars like the R8 and the acura nsx are in the wrong segment or has the 2 seat rear mid engine sports car lost its appeal as the ultimate halo vehicle....

there was a time cadillac hired JDN to replicate the audi brand success and the R8 icon was to be copied by cadillac..

the gm enthusiast question is will cadillac even bring out the copy of the faltering 2 seat sports car built out of bowling green or did gm put the brakes on the cadillac version at the last minute..

i think the corvette will succeed based off its iconic brand image and following....but has the cadillac been given the ax before wall street clobbers gm for being out of touch with the marketplace...(should it bring its audi R8 comoetitor to dealer showrooms)

[Fireeagle]

Funny that I just saw one of these on the street yesterday and it certainly wasn't as noticeable as a Corvette driving down the road . Started looking at the performance specs and many are very close to the C7 Z51. Cost on the other hand is more than twice what it would be for the Corvette as they are going from $180k to $200k in my area. I'll take the vette.... oh wait, I already have one .

[Mobius]

was it the cracking chassis on older street driven R8s?

I was surprised when I learned of this issue... Apparently, normal driving over time would cause a frame joint to fracture, and the repair was so difficult that the insurance company would just total the vehicle... Poor design, but corrected in later models with the addition of a $10 brace welded into the frame.

I liked the R8 when it first came out, but the C8 design makes the R8 look old in comparison.

The crack is shown starting at 1:30 in the video:

FYI - Apparently, after repairing the R8 shown in the video and then driving it for some time, the crack reappeared...

[Bikerjulio]

Audi generally have never been great in the styling dept IMO. Words like bland and boring come to mind. Except in the case of the R8 which has gone from "really weird and ugly" to "slightly less weird and ugly".

The interior controls and dash looks not as nice as my Golf R.

The price is ridiculously high at around CAN$200,000 for a base with a few options, or about $230,000 with taxes etc.

The brand just does not have the cachet to support the price.

[Bikerjulio]

I was surprised when I learned of this issue... Apparently, normal driving over time would cause a frame joint to fracture, and the repair was so difficult that the insurance company would just total the vehicle... Poor design, but corrected in later models with the addition of a $10 brace welded into the frame.

I liked the R8 when it first came out, but the C8 design makes the R8 look old in comparison.

The crack is shown starting at 1:30 in the video:

FYI - Apparently, after repairing the R8 shown in the video and then driving it for some time, the crack reappeared...

I subscribe to his channel. The last video on the car was Dec 21st and I didn't see where the frame broke again. Although he got all kinds of abuse in the comments.

[C8-wannabe]

How are the emissions?

[Mobius]

The last video on the car was Dec 21st and I didn't see where the frame broke again.

I was referring to his follow-on video entitled "I Finished the Salvage Audi R8 Rebuild Project! (and then BROKE it)".

Admittedly, I didn't watch that follow-on video, I just assumed it was the crack that re-appeared. It could have been a different issue (other than the frame) that he was referring to.

[Bikerjulio]

I was referring to his follow-on video entitled "I Finished the Salvage Audi R8 Rebuild Project! (and then BROKE it)".

Admittedly, I didn't watch that follow-on video, I just assumed it was the crack that re-appeared. It could have been a different issue (other than the frame) that he was referring to.

No, that was a clickbait title.

The only problem he had in that video was he had supposedly bought a set of stock used wheels and the fronts fouled the brake calipers. The numskull had torqued down the wheels with the rim bearing against the caliper, then tried to drive.

I don't think the frame cracked in normal driving. The car had been driven into a kerb hard enough to damage the wheel and suspension as I recall.

[JB]

Thats samcrac.?

i got a kick out of his audi video. I had not kniwn about the audi aluminum frame cracking until his interesting video surfaced.

glad to see he didnt have a re crack occur ...as its really a nice car.

i didnt care for the styling audi put on the recent audi...which they have since fixed it...

the first gen r8 styling was impressive..i think there was a styling update and that was sharp......then their was a restyle that literally changed the sheet metal design flow that in my opinion was awkward even if unique. Gutsy styling move that didnt pan out...

the very recent restyle addressed the issue but I think the damage was done...sales have plummeted amd not recovered...

the price is too high with the v10...and v10plus and buyers are moving to other brands...

audis misstep was not including a turbo v6 ...could have easily dropped the price to an alluring level...and we hate that stupid fixed rear wing...(really just my opinion)

active aero...underbody aero please....not all of us want fixed rear wings...as it ruins the clean sexy flowing sheetmetal )

make those aero wings which I m Sure serve an aero purpose as an option ....or make the spoiler delete an option...

really cheapens the design for many of us...especially as we are not talking pep boys pricing..

give us sophistication and simplicity....as it is....these two seat sports cars are screaming at the public....rear wings make it even harder for some of older long time auto enthusiasts to hide our desire for race car like performance for the street with any degree of anonominity...(a little subtlety would be helpful) to some..