2008 Audi R8: Piquing the Locals' Curiosity

What a ba__hole!

You made an old guy happy!

The Merc. looks like a turd.
It's not faster, they're almost on the same level.
Dynamics clearly go to the R8.

so does this guy just hang out in dive bars looking for drivers with slower cars to harass?

"Driving the Civic?"
"Yup."
"How much power?"
"About 120."
"Oh yeah? I have the Mercedes outside. It has 480 hp. When I race cars on the freeway, it pulls hard. I take it up to 90."
"Hmm."
"What fuel economy are you getting?"
"About 35."
"Oh yeah? Well, that's super. So long then."

First off, does fuel economy really matter in a $100k car?

Second off, I love the way the CLS looks, but really the R8 would wipe the floor with it in the twisties.

That guy had no clue about what kind of power the R8 has under the hood. Next time someone asks you that, just say

"One million horsepower. Its powered by the same reactor that runs Iron Man's suit....What's that? Gas mileage? Well what's the half-life of uranium, because this sucker is nuke-u-lar."

I know what really bugs me about this car, that stupid front fender, couldn't it have been made from one piece. why does it need that 'huge' panel gab?

Suby, yeah the old man is probably an a** and sure the R8 is not only about speed, it's about the presence, handling, blah blah blah... But you know what, he does have a point though.

That's pretty amazing fuel economy given that the EPA numbers for the CLS55 is 13/19. The EPA also notes "it pulls hard" just below its carbon footprint.

What are the curb weights for these two vehicles? And ask him what he thinks of the Mercedes manual transmissions. :D

The moron is making up for the fact that he hasn't gotten any in years. Some people - Cro Magnon, I believe - still believe that driving like an idiot makes you macho.

And some people still actually USE the word macho.

opfreak, the top section is the hood. The panel gap is the shutline.

It is sad that cars have become like computers were a few years back for most people. All that matters is numbers to them. Mine has a 2.5G processor, well mine has a 2.7...
Much like digital cameras nowadays, mine is a 8 mega pixel so it beats your 5 mega pixel.
That is all I know about the product so 480 hp is in all ways better than 420. Maybe with gas prices going up driving dynamics will start meaning something to people.
What kind of looser drives a car like that and still feels insecure? And what is up with old guys racing people on the freeways? It isn't enough that we have kids trying to kill people on the roads, the old dudes have to join in? Someone tell him to take a Viagra and park the car :)

The R8 deserved to get make fun at, with that exotic looks and exotic price, 420 hp is pretty low in today's standard. Cars that cost 1/4~1/3 of the price of the R8 comes stock with that much power now a days.

In a drag race from a roll in low speed, the supercharged CLS55 would smoke the R8, it got wayyy more torque. It would be a close race, but my money would be on the AMG.

felonious.....this particular R8 is also automatic. The R8 weight 3500 lbs, CLS55 is 4000 lbs. Weight difference is only 500 lbs. Also keep in mind the claimed power of the AMG is very conservative, common in most boosted cars. The CLS55 dyno in real life at 420 whp, 420 wheel torque. Which is 100hp/200 ft-lb more then the R8 has.

Think about this, folks (read: Louis j/k)! Jay + the Audi R8 would destroy the "gentleman" and his Mercedes-Benz AMG CLS55 on any road course.

You think that's touch, try explaining a Miata to people!

"Is it powerful?"
"No."
"Does it get good mileage?"
"No."
"Then what's the point?"
"Everything else, the handling, the shifting, the feel through the steering wheel."
"That all sounds like a lot of work."
"..."

"Think about this, folks (read: Louis j/k)! Jay + the Audi R8 would destroy the "gentleman" and his Mercedes-Benz AMG CLS55 on any road course."

A S2000 would destroy that CLS55 on any road course......don't even need a R8 for that. A Miata would destroy that CLS55 on an AutoX course. Apple to orange here.

This is the U.S.A., home and founder of drag racing, especially for an old guy, all he cares is drag racing, he never turn. NASCAR, the most popular motorsport in the U.S.A., barely turn.

It is sad and not cool, but the reality is, 95% of car enthusiasts in this country (USA), care mostly just about power and 1/4 mile time. Handling and driving dynamic really is not a priority. And I agree, for a street car driven by people that never go to the track, acceleration is really the only thing those people can appreciate.

NASCAR turns.. just don't ask them to turn right =P

Gotta agree with you lazyhater about them only enjoying the acceleration. Also, what else does that AMG have? nothing..

We are are talking about cars that if driven to a fraction of their potential on the street you would be violating the law big time.
Comparing them to cars like the S2000 and Miata that can be enjoyed on regular roads at least somewhat close to the legal limit doesn't work. It is fun vs numerical bragging rights.

Also what is up with blacked out taillights? I want so bad to look cool that I don't care if it gets in the way of the car behind me knowing if I'm braking or signaling for a turn?? People don't pay enough attention now, the last thing I'd want is to make those things harder to see.

lazerhater, the CLS55 does 0-60 in 4.6 secs and hits the 1/4 mile in 12.7 at 111 mph. The R8 does the numbers in 4.2 secs and 12.7 @ 110 (both in Edmunds testing). So 500 lbs DOES make a difference since the Benz does outpower the R8 with 469 hp and 516 lb-ft of torque. Also, the M-B has a torque converter automatic while the R8 has the optional R-Tronic automated manual gearbox, there is a significant difference there.

"The R8 deserved to get make fun at, with that exotic looks and exotic price, 420 hp is pretty low in today's standard. Cars that cost 1/4~1/3 of the price of the R8 comes stock with that much power now a days."

What car costs $27-36k that has 420 hp "stock"? The only one that comes close to your exaggeration are the $37k+ SRT-8's, and the R8 walks away from those cars in every dynamic measure. There will always be other cars that offer "cheap power", this is not a new concept.

Funny, a post comparing 2 cars imported from europe turns into bashing america(ns)

Thank you, bimmerjay. I was going to make basically the same point to lazyhater. I'll add that 500 lbs is a lot of metal in any car. In this case, it's enough that using lazyhater's numbers, the power-to-weight ratio of the two cars in question is exactly the same. The funny thing is that the Benz owner in Jason's story overestimated his car's horsepower by a small bit, which means the R8 actually has a small advantage in the P-W department.

Of course, I'd imagine the numbers border on meaningless to a seat-of-the-pants enthusiast. Still, I imagine he'd choose the R8 over the Benz any day of the week.

"NASCAR, the most popular motorsport in the U.S.A., barely turn."

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/Watkins_Glen_International_Circuit_Map.png

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Infineon_%28Sears_Point%29_with_emphasis_on_NASCAR_track.png

This conversation reminded me of an episode on last year's Top Gear show where they compared and contrasted the BMW M3, the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG and the Audi RS4. While the Merc generated huge gobs of power, more than the other two by far, the M# mopped the floor with the other two on the track. Horsepower is nice, but in the end all the dynamics come to play when the road gets twisty and horsepower alone won't win the day.

^^^ that episode was hilarious - Jeremy couldn't hit the apple on the apex of the corner until he turned around and drove straight over it, lol.

That was kind of obnoxious on the AMG owner's part. Sounds like that guy suffers from small penis syndrome. He tried a "mine's bigger than yours" tactic, probably because horsepower is the only thing he knew he had more of.

The guy obviously doesn't understand the concept of power-to-weight ratio. I would have loved to schooled him on that concept with my 450hp Z06 - even though he has 30 more horsepower, I'm over 1,000 lbs. lighter, and 480hp on a CLS just won't cut it in a race with my car.

He's full of crap with his 23 MPG comment too - a CLS 55 *might* get 23 MPG on the highway, doing 55 MPH with the A/C off, going slightly downhill. I guess he doesn't have much money if he's so concerned about fuel economy with that car.

What is it with AMG owners anyway? I had a black sedan pull up to me at night at a red light once - light turned green and he just took off, full throttle. Sounded nice, and I caught the AMG badge - it was an E55. By the time I knew he was racing me, he was 1/8th mile down the road. He didn't give me any indication at the red light that he wanted to race - not even a rev. So I catch up to him, and at the next light he's all full of himself, and said something like "pretty fast, huh?" I said if I knew you wanted to race me, you would have only seen my taillights.

Don't get me wrong, I like the CLS AMG's, but some of their owners are just tools.

Before I post any replies, let me make it clear that I am not an AMG fanboy, in fact, I don't like any Euro cars because none of them fit my preferences.

I am just telling it like it is.

I am posting here because in my opinion the Audi R8 is one of the most over hyped car in recent history. I hate everything that is overhyped.

You should have responded to that gentleman by saying:

"Your car CLS gets better mileage; but my R8 gets better chicks." B-)

I forgot to mention, in my opinion, in these few years, Mercedes make the lowest quality cars on the market.

So yes, I hate Mercedes.

I am just here to say the CLS55 is a quicker drag car then the R8 in a straight line, from a low speed roll.

"Your car CLS gets better mileage; but my R8 gets better chicks." B-)

Only men with small penis use his car to pick up chicks.

And cars don't pick up any chicks now a days, money does.

"Also what is up with blacked out taillights? I want so bad to look cool that I don't care if it gets in the way of the car behind me knowing if I'm braking or signaling for a turn?? People don't pay enough attention now, the last thing I'd want is to make those things harder to see."

Black out taillights is a stupid Euro trend.

Stupid people don't care about functions.

Bimmerjay: "lazerhater, the CLS55 does 0-60 in 4.6 secs and hits the 1/4 mile in 12.7 at 111 mph. The R8 does the numbers in 4.2 secs and 12.7 @ 110 (both in Edmunds testing). So 500 lbs DOES make a difference since the Benz does outpower the R8 with 469 hp and 516 lb-ft of torque. Also, the M-B has a torque converter automatic while the R8 has the optional R-Tronic automated manual gearbox, there is a significant difference there."

500 lbs definitely make a difference, but read my above real life dyno #, the AMG motor make way more power to compensate the 500 lbs weight.

And I said drag from a roll, see my post above. Yes the CLS55 is slower from a dig in 0-60, because it is severely 2WD traction limited. The 4WD R8 with a full on press car/no body care/launch it abusively like you want to see if it break..... of course it is quicker from 0-60. Just like all those 4WD EVO/STi, extremely quick 0-60 from extremely abusive redline launches, but acceleration rate slow down significantly after 80 mph.

Run the R8 and CLS55 from a roll at 15 mph, the AMG would pull away.

Bimmerjay: "What car costs $27-36k that has 420 hp "stock"? The only one that comes close to your exaggeration are the $37k+ SRT-8's, and the R8 walks away from those cars in every dynamic measure. There will always be other cars that offer "cheap power", this is not a new concept."

I live in the real world, so I only look at real world #.

Your $27-$36k # was from the R8's base MSRP of $108k. Let's not even talk about all the mark up premium all the R8s on the market has today, they all list for $150k~$180k.

Let's just look at straight MSRP. Base R8's MSRP is $108k, there is not a single Audi sold in this country in the history of the USA that is a bare stripper base model. The R tronic equipped R8 starts at $118k, add a few options that every R8 comes with, the cheapest R8 that you can find on a dealer's lot is $125k, and that is being conservative.

Let's call it $120k just to be even, so at 1/4-1/3, that is $30k-$40k. Stock cars that cost that much with 400 hp? To name a few.....Pontiac GTO/G8, all various Dodge SRT-8s, base C6 Vette, hell the Ford Shelby GT500 comes with 500 hp, and it is $42k.

Let me make it clear again, I am only comparing power here like that old guy with the CLS55, not driving dynamic, not status, not luxury, not the feel of the car.

What I am saying is, today, July of 2008, for a $125k+ sports car that are in the exotic car category, 420 hp is really embarrassingly low. Let's not even talk about the tiny 317 lb-ft of torque.

"Funny, a post comparing 2 cars imported from europe turns into bashing america(ns)"

Don't be mistaken here. I am not bashing anything American. I am an American and the USA is my favorite country, I won't live anywhere else.

I was just pointing out some facts.

Do I think NASCAR is lame? Yes.

Do I think it is wrong for so many people to love NASCAR? No.

ewilfong: "Thank you, bimmerjay. I was going to make basically the same point to lazyhater. I'll add that 500 lbs is a lot of metal in any car. In this case, it's enough that using lazyhater's numbers, the power-to-weight ratio of the two cars in question is exactly the same. The funny thing is that the Benz owner in Jason's story overestimated his car's horsepower by a small bit, which means the R8 actually has a small advantage in the P-W department."

A few points you are missing here.

Like the price reality I mention above, claimed power # on the spec sheet and the power each car actually put down on the ground in reality can be very different most of the time. The R8 put down 338hp/275lb-ft on a dyno (see below dyno graph), the CLS55/E55 typically put down 420hp/420lb-ft on a dyno. That CLS55 owner actually still underestimated his car's power a bit, those cars puts out over 500hp at the motor.

http://image.automobilemag.com/f/features/6693427/0704_z+audi_rs4_r8_dyno+chart_a.jpg

Using real world #, the CLS55 has a much superior power-to-weight ratio. Roughly 8.3lbs/hp for the R8, CLS55 is about 7.69lbs/hp.

Test # show the CLS55 has roughly the same acceleration time as the R8, that is because of the severe traction limitation of the Benz. From a roll when the AMG has full traction, it is a much quicker car.

The last point is, low end torque is what matters in acceration, the CLS55 has 200 ft-lb of advantage over the R8.

"The guy obviously doesn't understand the concept of power-to-weight ratio. I would have loved to schooled him on that concept with my 450hp Z06 - even though he has 30 more horsepower, I'm over 1,000 lbs. lighter, and 480hp on a CLS just won't cut it in a race with my car."

I would guess that particular guy doesn't understand the concept of power-to-weight ratio either. BUT those CLS55/E55 are REALLY quick car (see my reasons from last post), I would say your 450hp Z06 would have a hard time passing him. I would say it is an even race. Again, the AMG has more torque then your Z06.

I witness with my own eyes, a stock E55 run dead even with a Toyota Supra with 500 hp AT THE WHEELS, from 30 mph-160 mph.

^^^ owners of above mention Supra and E55 are personal friends of mine, so we know exactly what each car got and how fast they are.

We were all shock at how fast a stock E55 is!

The race was done on a close race track, in Europe, of course :)

"Don't get me wrong, I like the CLS AMG's, but some of their owners are just tools."

Sadly this can be said for just about any performance oriented or "modified" car owner these days. In my experiences the most annoying are Mustang GT (5.0), Camaro Z28/SS drivers, and that dumb ass in his automatic 99-00 Civic DX with a Pep Boys muffler and a serious idling issue that thought he could take the Odyssey. The Odyssey shut him down!

When Im driving my S2K they surround me like bees. Of course I cant outrun an SS in the S2k but a 5.0L Mustang gives me no competition especially a convertible.

"and that dumb ass in his automatic 99-00 Civic DX with a Pep Boys muffler and a serious idling issue that thought he could take the Odyssey. The Odyssey shut him down"

Hey his lumpy idle is due to his seriously mad JDM type-R cams or his Motec standalone ECU without idle control. It is mad type JDM!

He got shut down by the Odyssey cause his VTEC hasn't kick-in Yo!

Don't you know anything?

there is only one way to settle this. By popular demand, you need to go back there to the Basshole and smoke the old guys MB in a race.

Seems like that Benz guy was in the right place for his attitude. Polite of you not to say anything like, "But other than the R-Class, the CLS is probably the fugliest Benz of all time. Maybe that's why you want to get past all those other cars."

"Seems like that Benz guy was in the right place for his attitude. Polite of you not to say anything like, "But other than the R-Class, the CLS is probably the fugliest Benz of all time. Maybe that's why you want to get past all those other cars."

In my opinion, the R-class look better then the CLS.

"BUT those CLS55/E55 are REALLY quick car (see my reasons from last post), I would say your 450hp Z06 would have a hard time passing him. I would say it is an even race. Again, the AMG has more torque then your Z06."

Yes, they are fast for what they are, but not faster than my Z06. I raced a 2002 E55 before when my car was stock (same years), and I easily beat it. A quick look at the specs makes it clear why: 1/4 mile for the E55: 13.4 @ 107 MPH. 1/4 mile for my car stock: 12.4 @ 117 MPH

Modified E55's are another story - I've seen some run high 10's @ over 130 MPH.

Even the new E63 is not a match for my car. A 2008 E63 will run the 1/4 mile in 12.7 @ 113 MPH. Closer, but still not as quick as my car stock. Don't forget I'm no longer stock, and have an extra 45hp over stock. I haven't had my car at the dragstrip, but I know it'll run at least a 12.0 @ 118 now. The E63 has more horsepower and more torque than my car, BUT, it weighs almost 1,000 lbs. more than my car.

It's in the power-to-weight ratio, as I stated earlier. Each 1 hp of the E63 is carrying 8.0 lbs. around. Each 1 hp of my car is carrying 7.0 lbs. around (7.7 when stock).