STG

Good additional info. Me personally, I'd stick with the 50th.

If you must try something new, I'd say go for the R8. I'd obviously suggest test driving it first. I can appreciate your appreciation for the NA love

It does look like a pretty cool car.

STG

Totally agree.

I think I heard some guys getting like 10% off MSRP on new R8's too.

STG

mjj

Since the 50th will likely not depreciate, can you keep it and consider it a fun investment and still buy the R8?

Just tell your significant other that you are rebalancing your investment portfolio and that you wanted to reduce your exposure to the S&P after a historic bull market.

mmaturo

I have the last gen R8 GT. Fantastic car and maybe it is the GT part of more track focused but it is a far better driving feel/performance than my 991.1 Carrera S. Reliability...excellent. I have had no issues at all. None. My 991.1 not so much. And it is not a garage queen...a pile of track days and it was my daily driver for awhile. The people saying it feels tight...the spyder does more so but not my coupe I fit fine. 6'-2" 280. Plenty of room. Seat position is important and every Audi I walk up to at a dealership always has the seats in not the best position for taller folks. Put the seat all the way down before you get in and back not quite all the way with a slight recline. I'm your size and the new V10+ sport seats feel comfortable to me. It is an awesome car, if my R8 GT wasn't so unique (333 worldwide, 90 in the US) I would have traded it for the new one already. I must be the only person that's gets the R-tronic in the old car. I am fine with it. The new transmission is excellent. It does get a ton of attention. I go shopping to home depot and Costco in mine however. Stuff fits. We can do long weekends easily with it...I have the soft version of the Bespoke luggage and it works great for us. I have a few friends that it is their daily car. I would just have the R8 but I really can't drive up to meetings with clients in the 8. The 911 while showy is not the super car showy level the 8 is. The new tech in the car is very good, have it in our new Q7 and does cool stuff. Go drive it, spend time getting the seat and steering wheel adjusted. I like my 911 but I LOVE my R8. I wanted to buy a 50th anniversary car but I needed my 911 for a really long commute I have for work so i'm putting 25K a year on my car. I'm about to cross 50K miles with it (jesus the extended warranty price hurt but I don't trust my car enough, to go without it). I couldn't do that to a 50th. Too special of a car to run into the ground.

ipse dixit

Have you considered a used 458? You can get a very nice one for around 200k (same price as a 2018 R8 V10+). Quite a few 2012/2013 458s trading right around that 200k mark.

I don't mean to dissuade you from the R8, because it is a fantastic car and I was this close to getting one, but after driving a friend's 2017 R8 V10+ for a weekend, it just dawned on me that it wasn't the car for me. It's heavy, and even with that glorious 600hp+ V10 behind your ears, it still doesn't feel that fast (even tho it is blistering fast on the stopwatch). And cornering, you feel all 3600+ lbs of that car, and maybe even a bit more. Plus, the car just felt numb and very insulated (which may be a positive for some people who just want a pure GT car experience, so YMMV).

Now if Audi could just shave about 200 lbs from the R8, they would essentially have created a McLaren 570 with a NA V10. But alas, we live in the real world.

Good luck with your decision. Let us know what you decide.

Z356

I don't know about the good doctor.
But I am certainly thinking along
those lines...





Saludos,
Eduardo
Scottsdale

STG

Please share some of your research into the 458 as far as the market, and difference between model years. I've heard don't buy the early ones. Stick with 2014-2015?

How has pricing history been on these?

Learned much about their version of "exclusive options"?

Thanks

Bacura

I hear you. Unfortunately it is too small. I sat in a 488 last month and it is a bit roomier than a 458. With the seat all the way back you can barely recline the seat. My head hit the roof and my knees were touching the steering wheel. Ferrari's don't work for me. Also, the maintenance costs are ridiculous. A new R8 is covered for 4 years. One of the journalists (I think Dan Prosser) said that the R8 hard more head room than the Huracan. German cars tend to fit tall people much better than Italian cars. When I get to sit in the R8 it might be an immediate no do to discomfort. It has to be at least as comfortable and roomy as a 991. Ferrari's aren't.

Dennis C

I'm 6'4", and I found the interior and seating position in the R8 to be acceptable. I've only driven an R8 one time, but I didn't have any issues with interior room. I've also driven a 458, and I fit just fine into that car too. It was definitely a little bit tighter than the R8, but I didn't have any issue with it. I havent yet found a Lamborghini that I can drive. My head touches the roof in all of them, although I haven't yet tried a Huracan.

STG

https://www.topgear.com/videos/chris...s-chris-harris

seattle_sun

I say get the R8. If you don't like it, you can always trade it in.

Personally, I have jumped from many Porsches, Ferrari, Aston, BMW, etc. It wasn't really that I hated the car I was presently in, but it was more curiosity about the other brands- how they drove, cost, and how they stirred the soul.

When I found out what I wanted in a car, I came back to Porsche.

PantsFire

I love the rear end of the V10, but the rest of it puts me to sleep, it's just dull, where's the drama?!

Bacura

I'm not sure how to answer that. I love my 911/50 but I would hardly call it dramatic. I would say an R8 is more dramatic than a 991.

AF330i

I agree with you ... I've got the R tronic and find it a very involving experience ... it needs to be driven in manual mode and driven like an actual manual transmission.