Audi R8 V8 review - see why it's a £40,000 bargain supercar!
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00:00This is a 2007 Audi R8 V8, and is it a future classic?
00:06Well in this video we're going to find out because I'm going to drive it, I'm going to show you all around it.
00:09I'm going to give you some buying tips, things to look out for if you're going to buy one of these which could cost you a lot of money.
00:16I'm also of course, even though it's old, going to launch it to see how quick it really is from 0-60mph.
00:22This video is brought to you by the new Stereo app.
00:29It's a live broadcast social platform which you can download for free by following the link in the description or the pinned comment below.
00:35When the R8 went on sale in 2007, everyone was like, oh my god, look at that, it's amazing.
00:41Now some cars date, but this hasn't at all. It still looks fresh and modern.
00:45You could argue that it actually looks better than the current R8.
00:49I really like the look of it, I really do. And don't forget, it was cool enough for Iron Man.
00:54One of the standout design features on the R8 is this, the side blade.
00:58I love the side blade. You can have them in different colours, you can even get them in carbon.
01:02This works well with this grey combination, it's nice.
01:05Every single angle of this car just works. It's got a lovely back end and they're real vents, real exhaust pipes as well.
01:11The V8 has twin pipes on each side, the V10 version had an oval pipe on each side.
01:18It's a bit dirty, can't help that, can't wash it, and I've been driving it, having fun.
01:22That's how it should be in the winter.
01:24The good thing is, even when you're driving on grimy roads, the dirt never seems to make it onto this rear screen,
01:29so it's always clear for you to look through and drool over that V8 engine.
01:34It's also nice, actually, when it's a cold day like today, because then you can warm your hands and your body on this warm engine bay.
01:40One of the key things about the Audi R8 is that all its body panels are made out of aluminium.
01:45I don't know what that's proving, I should really get a magnet and show that it doesn't stick.
01:48Anyway, also, the wishbone suspension is made out of aluminium as well.
01:52All this helps keep the weight down, though this car still weighs in at 1575 kilos, so it's not exactly a featherweight.
01:59Now, part of the reason for that weight is the fact that you've got quattro permanent all-wheel drive,
02:04and it's set up so that it sends 70% of the power to the rear wheels and only 30% to the front,
02:09so it does have a rear drive bias.
02:11For that sporty driving experience, yeah.
02:15The R8 was initially launched with this engine here.
02:17It's a 4.2-litre naturally aspirated V8 with 420 horsepower.
02:22It's supposed to do 0-60 in 4.6 seconds, but we'll find out exactly what it does in a moment when I launch it and time it.
02:29A year later, in 2008, Audi actually fitted the 5.2-litre naturally aspirated V10 from the Lamborghini Gallardo,
02:37and that had 520 horsepower and could do 0-60 in 3.9 seconds.
02:41Let's see how quick this old R8 is from 0-60 miles an hour.
02:44Sorry to interrupt the video just before I launch the old R8 and probably knacker its ageing clutch, but I need to tell you about the new stereo app.
02:51It's basically a podcast between two people that's live that other people can join in on by sending voice messages.
02:58To show you what it's like, here's an extract from my recent stereo show with Yanni.
03:03When are you going to let Yanni wrap one of your cars, and will he have full design choice over what you get?
03:10So it'll be a total surprise.
03:12Good question, Alex.
03:13So, Yanni, it's up to you. When are you going to wrap one of my cars?
03:17Are you going to pay, though, Matt?
03:19Of course not. The people want to see it. You've got to give the people what they want.
03:22In terms of Yanni having his own choice, well, do you know what?
03:27Do you know what? If he's going to do it for free, I'll let him do whatever he wants to do,
03:31and I promise, no matter what it is, to drive the car around in that scheme for at least three months.
03:38I'm happy for that deal. You heard it here live on stereo. You heard it.
03:41And there's no running away from that.
03:43He said he will let me wrap one of his cars and he'll have to drive it for three months.
03:47And you can't give me the Porsche that you never drive around.
03:49I want a car that you use on a daily basis. I want people to see my masterpiece, the work of art.
03:55How many points on your licenses do you both have?
03:58None.
03:59Really?
04:00Zero points.
04:01What do you mean, really?
04:02Now, I'll be doing another stereo show with Yanni live tomorrow night at 7pm.
04:07So make sure you tune in and send in your questions to us.
04:11You can download the app for free by following the link in the description or in the pinned comment below.
04:15Anyway, let's get on with the launching of the R8.
04:25I have my specialist timing gear up here. I'm going to launch it.
04:31Come on.
04:35Bit off the pace there.
04:37Hmm, 0-60 in 5.2 seconds.
04:39Crap gear change. I'm going to try it again.
04:41This time I'm going to try it with the ESP in sport mode.
04:45Come on.
04:47Bit slippery there.
04:50That's a better one.
04:51Oh, a 4.9 seconds.
04:55And do you know what? I'm not sure I want to do it again because I don't want to damage the clutch.
05:00Here on the inside, the R8 actually still feels pretty modern.
05:03It's a really, really nice design.
05:05I like the sweeping dash. I like the quality of the leather.
05:08Nice steering wheel. The seating position is brilliant.
05:11Loads of adjustment in it as well.
05:13So it doesn't matter whether you're big or small, you're going to be able to find a decent driving position.
05:18And you sit nice and low in it as well.
05:20There's a couple of things that I do find a little bit odd.
05:22For instance, the layout of the dials.
05:25Always the owners of this era with that kind of shape dials just reminded me of Wall-E.
05:33You're not going to be able to unsee that now. Sorry.
05:35Another thing that I'm not so keen on is this.
05:37The infotainment system just seems so dated.
05:39It hasn't even got Bluetooth for audio, so you can't play your music through it.
05:44If I was going to buy this car, I'd rip that out.
05:46I'd keep it, you know, for future when I come to sell the car and put a modern system in so I've got full connectivity.
05:53In terms of practicality, you've got some cup holders there.
05:55There's a ledge here where you can store stuff and a glove box of moderate size and some small pins in the door.
06:03It's not the most practical, but it is a sports car, isn't it?
06:06Underneath here is your boot, your front boot.
06:09So your fruit.
06:11And you have a 100 litre capacity.
06:13I think it's a little bit smaller than you have on an equivalent Porsche 911.
06:17But you can fit enough luggage in there for a weekend away.
06:21And look, I'm like a cat that's presented with an open box.
06:24I just have to get in it.
06:26There's enough room for a man in here.
06:28In fact, I reckon I could fill it with water and have a little bath.
06:31That's a bit odd, but you could.
06:33One of my favourite things about this original R8 is the open gated manual gearbox.
06:38It's just so, so good to use.
06:42I love it.
06:43You can get the car with an automatic, with a single clutch auto.
06:47And it should have been called the R Chronic because it just isn't very good.
06:51In 2012, they updated that automatic with a dual clutch system.
06:54And it's much better.
06:55But still, if you're buying this car, you want to be able to go...
06:59Because it's just so wonderful.
07:02An early 2007 Audi R8 V8 will set you back from around 30 grand.
07:07However, you probably want to spend about £40,000
07:10because then you'll get a Minter like this one here.
07:13Though if you are buying one of these cars, there are a few things to look out for.
07:16While these brakes are brilliant, you've got eight piston calipers at the front
07:19and four piston at the rear.
07:20These discs are rather expensive.
07:22So they cost £300 each.
07:25So you want to make sure that they're in good condition.
07:27And it's best to change your pads when they're about 50% down
07:30because you don't want to accidentally damage these discs
07:32and end up having to replace them.
07:34The V8 engine is generally very tough.
07:37But if you hear a clunking noise, that could be the bottom end bearings going,
07:40walk away from that car because that could be really expensive to fix.
07:43The engine can get coked up because of the direct injection system.
07:46A decoke will fix that for you.
07:48One thing to watch out for though is the clutch
07:50because it'll cost about £3,500 to have one replaced.
07:53Make sure you check the radiators for any leaks.
07:56It's a common problem on these cars.
07:58Also, if you are buying one, get it up on a ramp,
08:00get all the underbody trays removed to look for other leaks
08:02in the brake lines and coolant hoses as well.
08:05Another thing to check that the lights are working properly,
08:08all the LEDs and the xenons
08:11because one of these units will cost you about £650.
08:15Because the rear suspension wishbones are made out of aluminium
08:18but they went and used steel bolts on the car,
08:20the two can react.
08:21So if you need to remove anything, it can be a bit of a problem.
08:24However, that's the least of your worries.
08:26If the rear lower wishbones go, which can be a common fault on these,
08:30£3,000 each to replace
08:32because you have to replace the whole unit and the hub.
08:34Take the car for a drive, brake, accelerate,
08:36and go over speed bumps if you can
08:38and listen out for any knocking sounds.
08:39That could be a sign that there's a problem with the lower wishbones.
08:42Look out for general wear and tear in the interior.
08:45For instance, the leather on the seat bases can get a little bit baggy
08:48as they have done on this car.
08:49If you look at this gear knob, you can see it's all scratched.
08:52The driver obviously wore rings and made a bit of a mess of that.
08:56Shame.
08:57Bigger concern is this.
08:58If you get a car with the magnetic ride, they can fail.
09:01And the dampers cost £800 a corner.
09:06So you might be safer just getting one with the normal setup.
09:09In fact, if I was buying this car,
09:11I would actually just get one without the magnetic ride
09:13and replace all the suspension on the car anyway.
09:16As a matter of course, probably fit coilovers.
09:19Let's see what this old R8 is like to drive.
09:21Well, do you know what?
09:22It may be over 13 years old, but it still feels really quite new in here.
09:28One of the things about the R8 was that it was always easy to drive,
09:31yet when you wanted to have fun and you wanted performance,
09:34it gave you exactly that.
09:36These adaptive dampers are great when they're working
09:39and they really do smooth out the bumps in the road.
09:41And the faster you get, the more they smooth out those bumps.
09:44If I press a button down here, put it into sports mode,
09:47all of a sudden you can feel it firm everything up.
09:49It's a little bit too bumpy then for British roads.
09:52The comfort setting though is perfect, as is the gear shift.
09:56Oh, it's so nice.
09:57You find yourself just changing gear for the hell of it,
09:59even when you don't need to.
10:02But then again, this is an engine that likes to rev.
10:05You can spin it all the way up to 8,000 rpm
10:08and it sounds awesome when you do it.
10:20So sure-footed, this car.
10:22Steering's sharp, direct.
10:24I actually spoke to the guy who was in charge of developing this car
10:27and he said if there's one thing he'd have changed,
10:29it would have been the steering.
10:30He did say that he wanted even more feedback,
10:32but they have to develop these things to a budget
10:35and they had spent all that they could in that area.
10:38But I think the steering, by today's standards,
10:40because it's hydraulically assisted,
10:42is just nicer than most modern supercars or sports cars.
10:46And you can't fault a naturally aspirated V8.
10:49The throttle response, you just flex your right foot
10:52and it immediately just picks up.
10:54It's actually quite easy to heel and toe as well.
10:56The pedal position's just really nice.
10:58And the beauty of this car is that it's not too cumbersome
11:01to just suddenly have to do a U-turn.
11:03And the clutch pedal isn't too hard or stiff either.
11:06So when you're just pooling around in this car,
11:08it doesn't get on your nerves.
11:09I really like it.
11:10And then you put your foot down and...
11:12Oh, yes!
11:15Do you know what?
11:16You do not need to go any quicker
11:18than this car is capable of on the road.
11:21You really don't.
11:22Back in the day, I'd always recommend getting the V10
11:24just because of that sound and the added performance
11:26and made it feel like a supercar rather than a sports car.
11:29But when you're buying an older car, that's not such a problem.
11:32And I think this V8, really, when you're thinking about it,
11:34it is all you need.
11:36They absolutely nailed it when they released this thing.
11:39It's got to be a future classic.
11:41There is only one thing that I've noticed
11:43that really annoys me when I'm driving this car.
11:45I'm in my ideal driving position,
11:47but the way the key is and the fob,
11:49it's always bashing off my knee.
11:51I don't want to take the fob off the key
11:53because it's got the Audi logo on it,
11:55but it's just a bit annoying
11:56that it's just tapping away there like that.
11:58That really is my only complaint, though, with the way it drives.
12:00That's the biggest problem.
12:02That shows how good this car is.
12:04So what do I think about the Audi R8 V8?
12:07Well, do you know what?
12:08It's a bit of a bargain, really.
12:10There's so much car here.
12:11It looks modern.
12:12It's got all the performance you could ever need.
12:14With the manual, it's fun to drive.
12:16It's a fabulous, fabulous thing.
12:18The only problem is is that now I think I quite want one myself,
12:21which means I'm going to have to get another car.
12:23Should I get one?
12:24I really shouldn't get another car.
12:26Let me know what you think in the comments below.
12:29But it is wonderful.
12:31It really, really is.
12:33Don't want to give it back.
12:39I hope you'll enjoy the video.
12:40If you did, please give it a like.
12:42You can watch more videos by clicking on those windows there,
12:44and don't forget to subscribe to this channel.
12:46Also, download the Stereo app for free
12:48by following the link in the description or in the pinned comment.
12:51And tune in to my new show.