Considering going from Z4MR to R8. Thoughts? (UPDATE: Bought a V10 R8!)

[Beerman]

I'm surprised their values are still going down. It wasn't so long ago £40k was the very bottom of the market. They've dropped a lot recently when everything else rare and sporty has remained firm.

The V8 isn't as fast as it should be.

[Adam D]

100% would swap my Z4M for a R8 if I had the cash.

Me too, whilst the early v8 may not be super car fast it has a nice sound and looks great. Would want the manual gearbox

[Doddsy]

I’ve drove plenty of first gen R8’s. I prefer the V10 but you can’t really go wrong with the V8. Happy hunting!

[Beedub]

Or OP..... another option. Keep the Z and add a stage 1 blower. Really cheap compared to this swap up. Everything is reversible and i will gaurantee you could sell the blower within a few days of it going for sale if you remove from the car. Performance will blow your mind.

[markos]

I just sold my V8 R8 after just shy of 2 years, and that was coming straight from a Z4MC. Like the OP it was something I'd lusted after ever since I first saw one so picked up a manual 2-owner with 29k on the clock for mid-40's with FASH, magride, cruise, elec seats (seriously, many don't have this, and even then elec seats don't have memory ) B&O, parking sensors, carbin interior.

Jeez, this is a long post so let me break it down!

Performance and perception
In terms of performance as all say, it's not a big difference at all, although flooring from standstill or close standstill is 'wow'! In terms of prestige and others perception: huge difference, even at the low end of R8s you're in a supercar*/almost-a-supercar with a V8 which means you can afford to buy and run one which strangely kind of puts you in the 'big boys' category even though their supercars may cost 4-5 times as much... odd but that seems to be the general perception. I got a lot more attention in the R8 as you'd expect, from kids in back seats craning their necks on the motorway to men shouting out "Lovely car mate!" or "What are you doing in my car?!" as you drive past them. Being London-based I often see real super/hypercars so my 2008 R8 always had 'context' for me, but for many people it's an exotic supercar, period. Seeing people's turnng heads and reactions as you just pootle through or stop in a local high street was kinda nice, and I'm not really one to show-off, but I guess I appreciated it.

Used prices
I sold mine as for the first time in YEARS, they're dropping in value as I guess Brexit uncertaintly hits the markets, a lot of nice cars are much cheaper in price than 2 years ago. Normally £40k was the start mark, £45k for a good early one, but now you can get a good early one for £39k. I actually think it's the V10s that have sparked the V8 price drop as they are much cheaper than before and there's no way V8 values can hold firm as V10s drop. 2 years ago you needed £65 for a nice V10, now there's this for £50k:

https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds ... 09/9161141

Potential bills
The R8 pretty much a hand-built car made in comparatively low volumes so things can go wrong. On mine I changed the oil cooler and pipes (common issue), heater flap (common), and door handle mechanism (£220), then I stuck an Audi warranty on which was possible as it has FASH, and which gives peace of mind.

What the warranty won't cover is things like clutch or magride, and I didn't want those bills. No idea on clutch, if it's less than £5k then I'd be impressed, as for magride, Audi would want over £6k I reckon to change all 4. There's a place in Poland that refurbishes them (Nagengast) although Id have just stuck regular Audi R8 passive dampers for around the £2k mark if I'd have needed to change them. That being said magride works unbelievably well in ironing out bad road surfaces.

Spec and aftermarket upgrade parts
As for spec, prospective buyers (mine did) still want magride and as much kit as possible, so when sourcing one note that ones with lots of kit and carbon (and manual gearboxes) go for more than poverty spec ones and R-Tronics. Miles obviously affects values just as you'd expect although the V8 is in other Audi mdels and seems very strong and good for 150+k with good maintenance I'd have thought.

Also know that aftermarket parts arent priced in terms of what they cost to make, but more like 'just a bit cheaper than Audi charge for the same part', and Audi charge a lot for parts. IIRC a new headlamp for an early R8 is something mad like £4k, although I recently saw a used one £1700, so this is the world the R8 lives in. Happyparts.de are good for used parts.

Is it a supercar?
As for the whole supercar thing, on Pistonheads the R8 gets hauled over the coals over the whole 'is it a supercar or not' thing. When it first came out it was, but the power and stats for supercars has moved on lots since 2007. There sems to be a bit of badge snobbery maybe or there's too many Porsche lovers on PH, or maybe the R8 is too well-rounded and not raw enough for their taste, but that's PH for you. it 100% IS something that you can drive daily, although it's wider than most cars and storage is limited.

Negatives
Negative points for me was on normal driving the V8 rumble is lovely, but when really opening it up the exhaust doesn't do the car justice. With fitting the cheapest new exhaust for a V8 is £2k, and they don't ever come up used. I'd say the cabin is too well insulated against noise and when really opening it up the power delivery is very linear and there's not enough roar or drama – certainly compared to the much more raw Z4M – so I ended up accidentally bouncing off the limiter many times.

Summary
Plenty above to scare off most people ( ), but a well-maintained one is a thing of utter beauty, the V8 rumble is lovely and it's a very special car. My plan was to keep for just 6 months but I ended up keeping it for nearly two years, and had Brexit not been a thing IMO there's every chance I'd still have it.

[NorthernSky]

As mentioned, the 'mag ride' should definitely be checked and if possible buy one which has just had a full service and health check. But you'd do that as standard if considering such a purchase right?

I have had my eye on this one, it's been for sale for months - initially a private sale but it seems the guy caved in and sold it to this dealer. Still, 41000 for this seems very appealing. Mega low miles and such a gorgeous rare green colour too.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified ... 000&page=1

Let us know how you get on!

[mr.tourette]

nice write up.. there's no doubt they are one of the most handsome cars ever built.. friend of mine had one for 2 years, v10, drove it a couple of times and by christ it was fast.. he gave it up for a chevy camaro of all things but that was a very nice looking thing too in an altogether different way

[Yorkie Z]

Fantastic write up Markos, thanks for sharing

[ocrx8]

Fantastic write up Markos, thanks for sharing

+1 enjoyed reading this! I’d love one

[Havard]

I must be one of the few that doesn’t appreciate this car. True, it is a thing of beauty and the V8 sounds great.

I looked long and hard at these while I had money burning a hole in my pocket. Just like the V8 Vantage, I couldn’t justify the outlay for a car that could cause a bill for £4 - 5k at the drop of a hat. Also, I found that on the few occasions I have driven one, it hit me quite quickly that I could get bored of the drive.

I was lucky enough to drive a number of cars back to back a few years ago and after trying a Ferrari 360, Gallardo, R8, V8 Vantage and a 997 911, the latter two were the only ones I would shell out my hard earned for.

I am fan of Audi for day to day cars as my company A4 never missed a beat over 60k miles and I would have another for that reason. I did however lose interest as the drive was fairly boring. It’s a shame they can’t transfer this reliability to their performance models as the RS4 and R8 were discounted from consideration due to mainly faults with suspension and coking up.

Maybe the PH lot are biased but people generally give an honest opinion of what happened to them as long as they are not selling the car at the time.

Good luck.

H

[Vanne]

I like em, and they are fast (V10) drove one on the track a few laps... But... but they are a dime a dozen where I live. Every chav and his dog has one. And that HORRID cockpit and interrior.
I wouldent trade mine for one.

[markos]

I haven't driven any of the other supercars so difficult for me to compare to similarly priced AMs or 911s etc, but my guess would be it might lack a little drama for some as it's a very refined car. Magride in some ways doesn't help as when in normal mode the ride is so supple, perhaps too subtle for such a high performance car. But those looks!!

As for potential bills, I think when you're in a performance car that costs £80k+ when new you've got to accept a big bill/s might come your way at any point, especially in a mid-engined car where access to some parts is time consuming (ie engine out!).

I have had a go in a 2015 V10+ and that thing is an absolute beast, would be hard to describe that as too refined or lacking drama once you floor it, the performance is utterly incomparable to the V8 version

[Mister T]

I've got a 4.7 Vantage and a Z4M Coupe. I haven't really driven the Z since I got the Aston!

[shuey]

So I’ve been lucky enough to have driven an r8 v10 R-tronic over the course of a week and a bit, on a couple of separate occasions. As well as a few other supercars.

The time I first drove the R8, I was coming from a manual 240bhp Leon cuppa MKII. So naturally anything over a 100 bhp than what I was use to would have felt awesome.

Was pretty surprised tho was how easy it was to drive, and how quickly I was flinging the car around, (after about an hours driving). The engine was mind blowing, especially taking it all the way up revs... the sound is intoxicating... and all you want to do is floor it. I even got the back out - after a couple of days. I usually go for manuals when buying a car, but I’m not sure I would have wanted a manual with so much power, primarily because of the amount of power on acceleration... I actually thing the manual may have made it less fun (but can’t say for sure).

In terms of comparison - so I’ve driven 4 other supercars again for a good few days in each car after the R8. The 458, a Huracan, an AMG GT, and the Nissan GTR. Out of all them, the R8 felt like the car I could most comfortably drive day to day, not get tired and also have fun without having to concentrate too much. The GTR I was really disappointed with out of the lot (I know, I know, - but I think I was given a dodgy rental that wasn’t looked after - and the sound from engine was literally non-existent) even though the car was fast (but didn’t feel fast). The Huracan was just as easy to drive, and very similar in feel to the R8 (obviously both same-ish underneath) but the noise from the Huracan was another level compared to the R8 V10.

The AMG GT felt the most special sitting inside, and also the least throwable and most daunting to drive quick. It also felt like it had the most power, and kept you on your toes driving it, managed to spin up the rears pretty relatively easily. Looks wise I thought it was absolutely stunning, and it’s probably the car I’d want to own - more to do with the challenging drive, the looks and how hunkered down you feel inside... versus the usability of the lambo and r8.

The 458 felt special but I’d say that being a Ferrari nut. It took me a while to get use to it. I felt that the 458 had a lot more to give even though I was pushing it quite hard after the first day of driving it.

The r8 was the only car I felt you could come to 90% of its limit on the road, and really feel like you were pushing it. Followed by lambo closely. The AMG gt, 458, and GTR felt like they had way more to give on the road, so would prob make for better cars to track.

Anyway not sure if that helps... but if you are going for an r8, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed in the slightest and it’s prob the car that’s most easy to drive day to day but also have an awesome amount of fun when you want to.

Lastly just to give u a bit of context - I tend rent supercars out on weekends whenever I’m in Dubai, so none of these cars, I’ve owned, - but have driven each car for a good few days (except the Merc).

[Babw]

I've been very tempted to sell both my GTR and Z4M for a gen 1 R8 V8 manual possibly a convertible.

A friend has owned a V10 convertible since new for about 8 years and it's taken daily driving easily with regular maintenance. I think he has over 70k miles in his and apart from the horrible R-tronic it's a fantastic car with the engine in the right place.