I have been humming and hawing between ordering a 991 911S (or hanging on a bit for the new GT3), or buying a low mileage pre-owned R8 V10. This past week, I placed a deposit on such an R8. I happened to be in Las Vegas at the time and was really thinking hard about the decision and decided to go try them both out at the Exotic Speedway off of the strip.

When I got there, I first drove the 911. I have been to the Speedway before and driven several cars there, so I was somewhat familiar with it, but would not call myself an accomplished track driver like some of the forum's members here. Having said that, I had a hell of a time in the 911. I was stunned by the grip, the lack of twitchiness in the rear. I did not hear an ounce of tire screeching and the vehicle handled very neutrally. Even in a sharp hairpin, I don't recall feeling myself being pushed laterally as much as I would have in other cars I have driven. On one lap, going in late to the corner and not has heavy on the brake as I was told to by the ride along instructor, I came out better than I thought.

Next up was the R8. The one I have held for myself is a 6sp manual. This one was the R Tronic. What hit me first was the shifts stink. Big dip forward and then a surge as the gear shifts. What I noticed was that all I heard through the ride was tire screeching. I felt like with the Audi I was constantly plowing with the front end. Again, it made me think of how effortless the 911 was to drive. A friend told me that was all the electronics making me a better driver. Maybe it was?

Getting back on topic here, I am just stunned at how beautifully composed, competent, and a complete package the 911 is. I left out that the brake modulation on the 911 is stunning, as opposed to the R8 which was grabby. And this is "just a Carrera S!" Imagine what will happen with the GT3/Turbo/Turbo S.

So, here I lie, as I have for the past 24 hrs, contemplating cancelling the hold on the R8. I know that I will not have the opportunity to track the vehicle where I live. Further, I will not have the opportunity nor desire to drive like that on the street, so maybe some of this discussion is moot. But there are things that this car does so well that makes me wonder. The PDK is wicked. The exhaust symphonic. The interior fit and finish, IMHO, beats Audi at its own game.

In terms of looks, I feel that the design has really brought all of the 911 elements into a unified harmonious co-existence...the rear wheel arch flares, the headlights, the side profile.

I can freely admit that while it can be nice to have others admire your vehicle while you are out driving, I am self secure enough that it is not something I need. What I require is to enjoy my vehicle for myself. In so saying, while driving an R8 would be an amazing experience in terms of its lines, I feel myself drawing a bigger grin on my face when I look at the 20" rims on the 911 CS, the rear lights, the wheel arches, the athletic stance from a side view, the interior.

Can any previous R8 owners that may be here chime in? I would love to know your thoughts. All comments welcome.

 

The 991 is super special, I think Porsche hit a home run. The R8 is an incredible feat from Audi always hard to pick Check this thread out might be of use to you

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...d-audi-r8.html

 

Before ordering my 991 S I seriously considered the following - 997 GT2, 997 Turbo and the R8 (V10).

In the end I decided against the R8 for two reasons - (1) I'm not thrilled with the look of the carbon fiber blade (it can be ordered non carbon fiber as a panel painted to match the car but they are few and far between) and (2) the R8 is scheduled for a fairly significant makeover when the 2014 model is released in 2013.

I only have a few hundred miles on my 991 S, but it is a fantastic car.

 

Go for the 991. My 991cs just hit 1k miles and I'm able to run up second gear to 8200 rpm before a quick shift to third. At that point I'm already pushing 75-80 mph. How much more power do you need in an everyday, versatile car you can take anywhere? The new PDK is incredibly refined and lightning fast between gears. It is quicker and more reponsive than the E92 M3's DCT and LP-550's gearbox, both cars I know well. Performance doesn't get any better and at 110k-120k w/sport chrono it's quite a bargain. The R8 is a great car. The 991 is a very special car indeed.

 

Pre owned Vs new .. Audi Vs 991 ...

It's a no brainer to me .

I can't think of one reason to opt for the R8 . In fact the mere fact that it's already a used car indicates that someone else got tired of its novelty too.

 

Next gen R8 should improve all of its (few) shortcomings... Then the decision will be much tougher.

 

tough decision. test drive is the only way to decide on this imho.

 

Greetings all! First real post here. Been reading for a while, but thought I could speak to this question.

My 2010 R8 5.2 was wrecked in March by a very careless driver who decided that the big red light up on the pole just didn't apply to her. T-boned, a bad day, but mostly for my beloved R8. I wasn't seriously or permanently hurt, thankfully. I got a very fair treatment by the insurance company, and promptly began agonizing over the R8's replacement.

I have a 2.5 year old daughter now, who arrived a month after the Audi did, and I was always a bit jealous of those Porsche guys who could throw a car seat in the back; I used to park daily next to a 996 997TT with a toddler seat in the back, and rather than ruin the look, I always thought it looked so damn sporty and almost cool. Everyday supercar? Check. Toddler? Check. Off we go!

There were a few other nitpicks with the R8, the usual stuff, including just the new car lust, so I had just casually started to wonder about maybe moving into something else, although this was not how I would have gone about it, naturally. So, I took the "silver lining" approach and grabbed the opportunity to really look around.

I drove the 991 right away, also a new R8 5.2 Spyder (which I'd never driven before). I cross-shopped pretty much all the locally available cars in this price and general performance segment: AMG, M stuff from BMW, even looked at a Vette, the GT-R, Maserati, even the Jag XKRS, a few others.

Ultimately, because I loved it, I was 99% set to get another R8 V10. But...but...I just couldn't get that damn Racing Yellow 991S PDK from the Porsche showroom off my mind. So, I jumped and went and got it. And I'm really enjoying it. Obviously, it's a very different animal than the R8. I'm neither an accomplished driver nor a journalist, so I'll just do my best to explain the differences as I perceive them. I have PDK, PTV, PASM, PSE, multi-function wheel, sport-chrono. I don't have PDCC. The R8 was a manual 6 with that awesome gated shifter. So, there's an admittedly apples-to-oranges there.

The R8 styling is obviously unique, love it or hate it. Even in Toronto, it got a lot of daily unwanted attention: people shooting video of it on phones on the 401 when they should be paying attention to their driving, circling me on the road to take photos, minivans with little kids driving like maniacs to catch up so the kids could wave. I got followed home sometimes, quite unnerving. And two very unsettling incidents where young women waited by the car in store parking lots to "see who drove such a hot car" and to ask for a ride. That sort of nonsense. Now, the 991 gets thumbs and nods and second looks, but its not like the Audi. So that's one big plus in the Porsche column. It is more sleeper, even in racing yellow, than the R8. (I'm getting old; I don't care so much anymore what some kid in a Civic with a trash-can sized exhaust thinks of my ride.) But man, I do miss those R8 5.2 wheels...

The interior in the R8 was excellent, but austere and looking a bit dated. The gadgetry was also definitely showing its age in the Audi. I love the interior of the 991 by comparison; it is more comfortable for sure. The Audi wasn't stripped down by any means, but it was more like Serious Business. I'm only 5'6" and my wife smaller, but even still we both found entry and exit from the R8 a challenge, and I don't think the wifey was ever really comfortable in the R8. Not that I factored her comfort in too much... And of course I now have a great little car seat in the back for the daughter. She loves it.

The ride is better in the Porsche. The Porsche is firm but compliant, gives better feedback actually, but is considerably less punishing. Again, the wife-o-meter tells me there's no comparison. She always compared the ride in the R8 to sitting on plywood. I liked it, and would not have gone that far. But the 991 is an improvement.

Now, I've had 4 straight Audi's including the R8, all AWD. So I admit there's likely a novelty RWD element to this, but the handling of the Porsche is just a bit more...thrilling. The R8 was heavy, it felt like a purpose built speed machine and it handled that way. The steering was very purposeful and took enough effort that when I was steering it, I felt like it was rewarding me by even accepting my inputs. It was almost...grandiose. Now, it was definitely weighty. And there was the understeer. The 911 turns more crisply, and 991 vs 997 stuff notwithstanding, the 911 just feels more connected.

I am enjoying the PDK. I admit that I made the decision to go PDK vs MT partly because I spend time commuting and this is a daily driver. And partly because said wife wants to occasionally drive it. There are definitely many times when I miss the manual, and it does overall, to me, feel somewhat less involving. The PDK is almost surgical, which has its own appeal, and there is a thrill to feeling the little Pop! as the PDK shifts. The transmission in the R8 was fantastic, and that gated shifter...mmm...so the jury's still out on this point. Overall, I suspect that I'll eventually miss the manual more than I enjoy the PDK, but will continue to appreciate the PDK.

The butt-dyno definitely registers the loss of 125 horse and a few dozen lb-ft of torque. So I've lost that kick in the back feeling. The 991 is quick. If you believe the numbers out of the mags that claim to have done testing, the two cars are ridiculously close in a straight line or around a circuit. But the R8 felt much, much faster, no question. But the speed in the 991 feels perhaps a bit more accessible, not to sound too cliche. And it definitely will end up costing a lot less in fuel.

The brakes in the R8 were great, but they're clearly better in the Porsche. No surprise there. And with PSE, or even when it's turned off, the exhaust note is fantastic in the 991. The stock exhaust in the R8 had a big V10 sound, imposing but somewhat distant, whereas the 991 is raucous. If the R8 was Brahms, the Porsche is more Stravinsky, if that makes any sense. I get way more heads turning pulling away in the Porsche.

I must also admit, as pointed out above, the fact that the current gen R8 is nearing the end of its production cycle was a factor.

So, back to the OP's conundrum: This is an extremely good dilemma to have. Both are fantastic cars, you can't lose. I'd say the 991 is newer, more techy, a trifle more comfortable and a bit more involving to drive, even with PDK. And a bit more practical, especially if you want to bring more than one passenger and carry more than a briefcase.

The R8 is unique, a tightly built package and more purposeful as a performance car, at least to me. It feels quicker and looks a thousand miles an hour even at rest. But it gives up ground in modern gadgets and connectedness to the driver, and maybe a smidgen in braking and handling, within my limits of detection at least.

Performance wise, I think it's a wash. Different strengths, I guess, is the easiest way to say it.

Dunno if that helps. I think the discriminator might come down to creature comforts and practicality, and if you have a clear preference V10 (or V8) vs the 6.

Good luck!

Edit: Oh hey, just noticed the OP is from Edmonton. That's where I was when I bought the R8. Had good experiences with Southgate Audi there, is that where the R8 is?

Anyway, if I was buying a car again to drive in the pothole mecca of Edmonton, it would be the Porsche. The roads there are so, so bad that there were days I literally winced in the Audi. Having driven both, if I was buying to drive the car in Edmonton, the Porsche would be a better choice by a wide margin if for no other reason than its ride quailty.

 

Well as the resident R8 lover and ex-Porsche owner - here's my $0.02.

If I were choosing between a used R8 and a new 991 both with automatics, I would certainly choose the 991. The PDK is generations beyond the R-tronic - no comparison. As far as the handling of the R8 you test drove, I've also been on a test drive in a used R8 that plowed badly. When I told the salesman that this can't be the handling of a car that everyone has raved about, we checked the air pressure on the tires and instead of the 44 lbs in the front tires, which is the spec, this used car was at 25 lbs. Added air and what a difference.

I think that if I were shopping for a coupe, the nod would go to the 991. I'm one of those who never was that crazy about the R8 coupe's sideblades. On the other hand, the V10 spyder was the car that won me over in a big way with looks and its presence. The downside on the spyder is that there is virtually no luggage space - not a problem for me, but certainly a consideration for others.

I was intrigued by megacondensors comment that the 991 has a better ride than the R8, because my R8 has a far better ride than my 997.2 and so the 991 must have made a huge jump in this department.

Good luck - can't go wrong with either

 

I was considering both the R-tronic R8 and the PDK 991 to replace my manual 997.1S. My concerns with the R8 were the archaic R-tronic single clutch tranny and the heavier AWD. I think the R8 is one of the most beautiful cars on the road and certainly is more unique than a 911.

I guess, unlike many of you, I wanted a more unique experience with the benefits of a modern DCT, true paddle shifters, and an orgasmic exhaust note to boot. I never had a convertible before and never was fond of the appearance of soft-top verts with the tops up.

When I was pricing out a tastefully optioned 991S with all the goodies I had on my 997.1S, I was in the 130K ballpark range and a lot more desirable cars came in to play. My purposes were a functional daily driver. I don't track and although I came from a 350Z and 997.1S, place a premium on modern amenities and comfort over a harsh ride and inability to navigate driveways or speed bumps.

You can get a R8 V10 spyder for steep discounts at the moment if that's the route you want to pursue. I see you live in Canada so perhaps AWD will be a plus although with a good set of winter tires on a 991 you should be fine.

My whip

 

Not trying to be smart here but...all you need to do is re-read your post. Your mind is already made up. Cancel that hold on the R8 and get a 991...I'd weight for a turbo or GT3 if you can swing it.

 

gt3 or turbo s

 

what you bought was well north of 130k

 

The 991 is the better more up to date car.
The Audi looks more flashy and is AWD. Having lived in Edmonton for 25 years, the AWD would help, but if you have a winter vehicle, who cares. I wouldn't get a GT3 if you don't track.

 

Ditto, go for 991!