Audi R8 vs Porsche 911 Carrera S 2008 Comparison

Every sports car maker worth its Z-rated tyres wants to build a Porsche 911 beater. That often unspoken mission statement is like the automotive equivalent of the waning of the moon - it's always been that way, or at least it has since Porsche launched its 911 series in 1963.

Maserati has been trying (and failing) for years with its various Coupe models. BMW's muscular M6 lacks the delicacy and sheer involvement of the Porsche. More recently, the 911's seen off surprisingly strong challenges from the British pairing of the Jaguar XKR and Aston Martin V8 Vantage.

On a product roll like never before, Audi enters the fray with its R8 - the darling of the world's motoring press since its international launch in early 2007.

Our rationale in comparing the all-drive R8 to the rear-drive Carrera S is simple. If Audi wants to end the 911's hegemony it must defeat the most popular version of the iconic Porsche.

The rear-drive, six-speed manual Carrera S lists at $227,600, but our example tops $243,000 thanks to such options as a sports exhaust ($4690), Sports Chrono package ($2190), 19-inch Carrera Sports alloys ($2080) and aluminium gear shifter and handbrake at a faintly absurd $2290.

Built in tiny numbers (just 15 per day), it's no surprise that the exotic R8 is significantly more expensive, with the H-pattern manual version starting at $259,900. Unfortunately the manual we'd booked was damaged in a coming together with one half of our national coat of arms only days before the test was due to take place. To our amazement and gratitude, Audi HQ scrambled their only other example, fitted with the sequential manual R-tronic 'box. While this is not ideal we did manage a brief steer of the repaired manual version a few weeks later.

Kicking off at $274,900, our test R-tronic adds nearly $29,000 in options, including the carbonfibre engine cover surround ($7850), carbon side blades ($5050) and an astonishing $13,450 for Nappa leather trim. That's a grand total, with a couple of minor options also thrown in, of $303,550.

In other words, you could buy a Porsche 911 GT3 RS for the same money as your optioned-up R8. Of course, the Audi is not targeted against such hardcore track specials, but it's hoped buyers will really use their supercar.

Given the difference in spec, price was never to be a deciding factor in this comparison. However, it's impossible to ignore the gulf between the projected resale values of the Audi and Porsche. According to the industry resale bible Redbook, the R8 will retain 57 percent of its $274,900 list price after three years, while the 911 will still be worth 65 percent of its $227,600 base price. (More on Redbook here.) In real terms, that means your Audi will be worth only $157,000, while the smug 911 owner could expect $148,000 at trade-in time, despite starting from a lower base price.

Battling Sydney's early-morning traffic on the way to performance testing at Oran Park gives plenty of time to form first impressions of the Audi. Unfortunately they're not entirely favourable. The optional R-tronic 'box is, frankly, ordinary at best and a long way behind the benchmark sequential manuals found in Ferrari's admittedly more expensive 430 Scuderia and 599 GTB. Despite sharing the Graziano-sourced gearbox and Magneti Marelli software (albeit with a different calibration) with the related Lamborghini Gallardo, the R-tronic lags behind that car's E-gear system. Nor can R-tronic match BMW's SMG offering.

The problems with the calibration manifest themselves in all modes on offer: auto, normal and sport. Auto is best avoided as it manages to shift both too early and hold gears too long despite the same driving conditions. For example, the Audi would often grab first gear at around 20km/h on the approach to a red light, causing the embarrassed driver to lurch forward in his belts. And yet, in the same scenario, the R-tronic would also fail to shift back to first until the car came to rest. Weird.

It's better, but far from perfect, in manual mode and better again in Sport, but the shifts are still too clunky and punctuated by long pauses before the software allows you to pick up the throttle again.

All this makes the estimated sales split (around 70 percent in favour of the R-tronic) impossible to understand.

By contrast, the operation of the 911's six-speed manual and clutch make it as easy to drive as a Corolla. Yet the 911's shift also offers tactile response that is unmatched.

While the R-tronic calls into question the Audi's suitability to the daily grind, the ride quality is easily up to the task. Riding on 19-inch alloys with Pirelli P Zero rubber (235/35 front and 295/30 rear) the R8 offers surprising comfort with the adjustable MRC suspension set in both normal or sport modes.

Conversely, the 911 struggles to offer a passable ride over Sydney's broken roads on its 19-inch Pirelli P Zero Rosso rubber (235/35 front and marginally wider 305/30 rears) especially with the adjustable dampers in sport mode. The shorter wheelbase and heavily rear-biased weight distribution has the 911 bobbing along like a nodding dog. But you know the inherent firmness will translate to iron-fisted body control when the Carrera can be unleashed.

Rolling onto Oran Park's front straight we were expecting the Audi to best its German counterpart given its quattro drivetrain and power-to-weight advantage (197kW/tonne to the 911's 184kW/tonne) and that's exactly how it played out.

Getting the squat Audi cleanly off the line is made easy by the R-tronic's launch control system. Ensure the two-stage traction control/ESP is switched all the way off and select sport mode for the 'box. Now it's simply a matter of mashing the throttle and allowing the electronics to sort out optimum revs. With about 5000rpm showing on the tacho, the R8 fires down the strip nailing 0-100km/h in 4.7 seconds, getting within a 10th of a second of the claimed time.

It should be noted, however, that by the third run, the clutch was slipping badly - a trait common with other high-performance sequential manuals we've tested.

The 911, while more difficult to launch, felt like it would do it all day. Limited track time meant we had to settle for a 0-100km/h of five dead and 13.2 seconds for the 0-400m at a terminal speed of 177km/h. The Audi maintained its launch advantage over the 400 metres with a 12.8 run at 180km/h.

When we crossed the wires on the Vbox to record rolling 80-120km/h acceleration, the Audi's R-tronic 'box revealed yet another annoying quirk. Even in Sport mode, the R8 will kick down like an auto when the throttle is wide open. But in third gear the R8 is a full half second faster than the 911.

The pay-off for this performance came at the end of the test when the R8 returned 17.8L/100km (up significantly over the R-tronic's 13.6L/100km ADR81 result). The Porsche recorded a relatively parsimonious 13.6L/100km (11.6 according to ADR81).

Exiting Oran Park in the 911 with the R8 in front and the last of Sydney's sprawl melting away in the rear view mirror, I can sense news editor Sean Poppitt already pawing at the Audi's downshift paddle. Anticipating such youthful exuberance, I've slotted the six-speeder into third and primed the engine with about 4000rpm.

Roaring like a Spitfire on a strafing run, the 911's 3.8-litre six is spinning hard and using all of its 261kW to stay locked onto the wide rump of the Audi R8. And while surprisingly muted inside the cabin, the NASCAR-like exhaust soundtrack of the Audi's 309kW 4.2-litre V8 is clearly audible above the wailing boxer.

When the road deviates into a combination of fast sweepers and slower, tighter corners, the R8 reveals a depth of character absent from all previous 911 challengers. Keep the throttle buried and the Audi will exit sweepers with a satisfying suspicion of oversteer. When the road tightens there's just a hint of safe understeer before the ESP reins in any slip.

In isolation, the R8's steering feel and chassis control is exemplary, but under the blowtorch that is a comparison with the 911, it fails to deliver at the last hurdle. So tactile is the 911's steering that after a good thrash you half expect the whorls on your fingertips to have been ground smooth by gravel rash. The body control is astounding and the traction is so strong that you merely need to guide the nose towards the apex before opening the taps all the way. Even in the wet, the rear-drive 911 claws at the tarmac and finds scarcely believable drive.

Brakes are probably the Audi's only dynamic weak link with only average feel through the pedal. There's nothing wrong with the actual stopping power or stamina of the 380mm front and 356mm rear rotors, but they fail to deliver the last 10th of feel and precision that can be metered out with the Carrera's equally powerful and tireless 330mm cross-drilled discs.

Frustrating R-tronic aside, the R8 is a great car. There's something very real and genuine about its abilities. It may not deliver on the promise of being a 911 beater, but you can perfectly understand why customers would choose it over the Porsche.

But if you own a 911, don't ever think you're driving second best.

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