Vs MotorTrend: Audi R8 vs Porsche 911 Carrera 4.

[Yperion]

Audi R8 vs Porsche 911 Carrera 4.

Porsche's 911 has had the 24/7 supercar thing pretty much to itself for decades. Ferraris? Until recently, they've been way too fragile. Lamborghinis? Too highly strung. And both cost a fortune to maintain. No, if you wanted a high performance sports car you could use for the daily commute during the week, and a Sunday morning blast on your favorite back-road, it had to be the 911.

Audi's R8 changes all that. With its combination of performance, practicality, stunning looks, and Audi build quality, the R8 is the first serious rival for 911 in decades. So, should Porsche be worried by Audi's new supercar? We had to find out.

We rounded up a manual Carrera 4, figuring the entry-level all-wheel drive 911 would provide a pretty good baseline to work with. Our $82,865 tester (options included metallic paint, bi-xenon headlights, heated front seats and the Bose High End sound package and added $5765 to the base price) might have given away 95hp to the R8 but we wanted a car without PASM or other high-priced options so we could focus on the fundamentals...

More details

 

[Yperion]

1st Place - Audi R8
This car's a real game changer. Almost as fast and exotic looking as a Lamborghini, and as easy to live with as, well, an Audi.

2nd Place - Porsche 911 Carrera 4
No longer the obvious choice. Functional and durable, raw and tactile, but a little dowdy, and you have to be a hero to drive it really fast.

 

[PanterroR]

1st Place - Audi R8
This car's a real game changer. Almost as fast and exotic looking as a Lamborghini, and as easy to live with as, well, an Audi.

2nd Place - Porsche 911 Carrera 4
No longer the obvious choice. Functional and durable, raw and tactile, but a little dowdy, and you have to be a hero to drive it really fast.

In their opinion...

While i admire the R8 and think only positive about that car, i still think that it takes much more time to beat C4 than to present a car some months ago and to claim it's better than C4... Nope, i'm not buying it.

 

[Bruce]

I believe this is the first performance test for the R8. 0-60 in 4.1 seconds is certainly nothing to complain about. 0-100 takes 10.3 seconds, for reference, the best 0-100 mph time I've seen for the B7 RS4 is roughly 10.2 seconds (0-160 km/h in 10.0 seconds)

Look forward to Sport Auto testing the R8.

 

[Tumbo]

1st Place - Audi R8
This car's a real game changer. Almost as fast and exotic looking as a Lamborghini, and as easy to live with as, well, an Audi.

Not much more to add then that
I'm impressed by the acceleration times!
And still I can't wait for the V12 TDI.

Great work Audi

 

[lambornima]

woot for Audi! I love the R8 now we have to see it go up against the C4S and then the 911TT. either way id take the Audi.

 

[audi_rudy]

Well if the Audi didnt win against the base 911 then there would be something wrong so no surprises here. That may have sounded harsh but i love the Audi more than almost anycar, just look at those amazing looks.

 

[Centurion]

Unfair comparison. Put the R8 up against the 997TT, GT3 or wait a few month and compare it with the facelifted C4S which will be more powerful and better than the current one.

 

[Lemantech]

Unfair comparison. Put the R8 up against the 997TT, GT3 or wait a few month and compare it with the facelifted C4S which will be more powerful and better than the current one.

But the 997 991 Turbo is in comparison with F430 and Gallardo which is 1 or 2 steps above the R8! This is perfectly fair.

 

[Centurion]

But the 997 991 Turbo is in comparison with F430 and Gallardo which is 1 or 2 steps above the R8! This is perfectly fair.

Well the R8 is above the C4. it is only fair to compare the R8 with the GT3 or C4S

 

[lambornima]

as I said R8 should go well with the c4S or the new facelifted C4.

 

[Merc1]

Well if the Audi didnt win against the base 911 then there would be something wrong so no surprises here. That may have sounded harsh but i love the Audi more than almost anycar, just look at those amazing looks.

I agree. The Aston V8 won over the 911 in a few American mags too, but in all cases it was the base 911, to be expected. The 911 might have lost this battle, but it will surely win the war with far more often updates and more powerful models in the lineup.

M

 

[Mr. Chigga_Chan]

This goes to show that the R8 is indeed a compelling car that many people will want. Fresh styling, great handling performance and luxury in a nice package. That said, a test with a Carrera 4S might be a bit more logical.

 

[Tumbo]

Whatever the case is, we all know that Audi means business. I never thought that the V8 would actually do that good in this car! Now seen the first test results, I can't wait for the bigger engines!