Twin test: Audi R8 vs Porsche 911 Turbo

This is going to be close

Time passes and things change. Here we are dealing with a rip-snorting big naturally aspirated engine in a four-wheel drive chassis of some brilliance. And up against it is a car with a relatively weedy 3.4-litre engine. At least the 911 Turbo gets a flat-six unlike lesser versions with the flat-four with the anodyne soundtrack.

But whether it’s a 3.4-litre twin-turbo flat six or a 5.2-litre V10, both these engines fire their cars off the line like heat-seeking missiles. Four-wheel drive and sophisticated launch controls conjure up 0-60mph times in under 3.5sec, with the Audi fractionally ahead thanks to wet conditions.

The 532bhp of that Porsche engine is brutally delivered if you’re firm with the throttle, yet you can trot around town without scaring the horses. It’s a great engine. But then the 533bhp produced by the 5.2-litre V10 comes howling along and just keeps on howling. Where the Porsche runs out at 6800rpm, the Audi soars all the way to 8500rpm. It sounds magnificent and is an engine as full of character and drama as it is of horsepower

Specifications: Audi R8 5.2 FSI V10 quattro S tronic

Engine size 5.2-litre V10, petrol
List price £119,520
Target Price £115,400
Power 533bhp
Torque 398lb ft
0-62mph 3.2sec
Top speed 199mph
Official fuel economy 24.8mpg
CO2 emissions 272g/km

Taming that power in the Audi is a package that seems to stick the mid-engined car to the road whatever you do. It doesn’t lean in the corners yet the ride isn’t too firm. It won’t wash out the fronts like the Porsche yet it won’t oversteer either. The Porsche, by comparison, feels less wieldy, less planted, yet it’s the one you might prefer if you want to twitch the back a bit and are happy to live on the edge.

Both cope with bumpy roads very well but it’s the passively damped Audi which actually feels more controlled than the 911 with its adaptive dampers. And the Audi is quieter too, with less road noise, although more of that lovely engine noise.

Inside it’s the Porsche that wins the battle of practicality, should such a consideration be important to buyers. It has two small rear seats, and its cabin is beautifully designed and put together. The Audi has just a rear parcel shelf but the dashboard is a triumph, crowned by the screen ahead of the driver which is the Virtual Cockpit. This can be simply configured to focus more on speed or sat nav or whatever, adapted by buttons on the steering wheel or by a central rotary dial. It’s pretty fabulous once you’ve got used to it.

Both cockpits show real attention to detail and quality, but then these are expensive cars costing well over £100,000 each. But it’s the immaculately made R8 that is about £12k cheaper in reality to buy, and it’s the cheaper on finance, cheaper to service and generally less of a cost to ownership.

Both cars get a reasonable amount of kit but we’d be tempted by the sports exhaust on our R8 test car, which is a £1800 extra, as well as the Driver Assistance Pack (£650) as that gives you a reversing camera and cruise control – both of which are standard on the 911 Turbo.

This is a close-fought contest although a lot of people will still put their money on the Porsche 911 Turbo as an instant classic. It is a car that can take your breath away, and it feels more alive than the more clinical Audi. Yet there’s no getting away from the R8’s immense range of abilities, from the delivery of that wonderful engine, to the build quality to the simple sense of feeling you’re in something really special. The Audi R8 takes it by a nose.

Graham Scott

AUTOCAR