Bye bye 996 turbo, Hello R8 V10.
 

So its been an excellent 1.5 years of ownership in my pristine 03 911 turbo 6 speed k16 with a tune and exhaust. I am a wholesale car dealer by trade, so I went to the local high end dealership and they made me an offer I could not refuse. Here is the car for sale now..49k miles..: http://www.sweetcars.com/inventory_detail.php?id=11485

After about 2 weeks came my 2011 R8 v10 ibis white 6 speed gated shifter. I made this decision mainly because the 10k miles I put on my 996 turbo were SO extremely trouble free that I knew something was going to let go.. whether it be the coolant pipes, slave, accumulator, spoiler, turbos, lifters... after all the car was 11 year old. I was ready to spend about 10k on it between suspension and clutch, and knew it wouldn't end there for rock solid reliability (motor has to come out for coolant pipe welding, etc) so I took the offer for the dealer to buy.

Love the tech in the R8, backup camera, bang and olufson sound, carbon fiber everywhere, etc.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.6sp...eaf098dd69.jpg


Driving impressions of R8:
Very extremely super smooth. Quiet, controlled, not twitchy at high speeds like my turbo needing suspension. EXTREMELY refined. And you can engage the magnetic suspension with a button push that makes it ride almost as hard as my turbo! I do feel sometimes that the 996 turbo with a tune is faster than the r8 v10, but can't prove it..only relying on the butt dyno. I think the torque comes on differently due to the NA engine with an 8800rpm redline. But punching it in 3rd in the turbo vs punching it in 3rd in the R8... turbo is blistering felt like vs R8. All in all, this is what I wanted. A smooth non-jarring drive and looks that kill. I will be back in the Porsche world I expect, probably 991 turbo some day. You all have been an excellent help in the couple years I had my car, thank you!

I agree about the ride, the R8 feels so much more planted & I think the butt feeling statement you made about speed is also correct.


Driving the R8 is much more pleasant vs the GT2, but when it comes to power the R8 feels more linear vs the explosive feel of a turbo car.


I like them both for different reasons.

gorgeous car. perfect color !
i was looking at one last week on ebay with a Buy it now of 98k !!!
if things were different and i still had my 996, i would of gotten an r8 v10, instead of my 997.

Good luck with the new car, she is a beauty!! Love the color choice also!!

Great, Congrats, Enjoy

+1. Nice move...Enjoy it. If you get the itch there are many paths to scratch it on the R8 too!

Congratulations! You really can't go wrong with a R8 in the garage ;)

Congratulations...... For me the R8 would or could be a next car from my recently acquired 996TT. R8 is quite a jump in $$$ and the Porsche turbo is pretty easily upgraded for more power so I'd be torn on getting a 997TT VS R8 as well. Regardless Congrats to you.....

I had considered that particular car, however it has been in an accident that involved almost every body panel of car (I pulled a police report.) So I bought a 2011 with 6k miles and still under warranty for 1.5 years for about 10k more. It was worth the extra 10k for peace of mind an a car that hadn't been in an accident.

Not to thread jack, but would you really have bought the R8 over the 997 Turbo? Those are two cars I'm considering along with a GT3.

Congrats! For the money, you've made an excellent decision. If I had to do it again, I would have picked the R8 vs the GT2....plus save 20-34k.

Congrats. The r8 is a more complete car overall, and people like them more too. I guess newer is better in most peoples eyes? :rolleyes:

I see them everywhere and it must be for a reason. I wouldn't trade my car for it- but nice that you got what you wanted in the end!

Are you concerned about the R8 depreciation drop coming with the 2016 redesign? I want to ditch the GTR for an R8 V10 but I just feel like getting an R8 now is like buying a 997TT right now... they are just getting creamed (and will continue to do so over the next 12 months) on depreciation with the 991TT coming out.

I have a similar fear with the R8 V10 as we know the new one is on the way.

Kind of thinking doing something else for a year before getting into one when they are solidly at the 100k price point... DBS or 430?

Hell the R8 V10's have dropped about 10-15k in asking price compared to 4 months ago.

Don't get me wrong - badass car and huge congrats to you for doing it - just wondering if you had any insights on the resale of your car in a 12 months?

Great looking car. Enjoy it!

Mine is an 11 with 6k miles and warranty until December 2015.. and I bought it for just over 100k. I personally believe that they won't drop below 90k for a long time... the 08 regular r8 v8s are hanging steady at the 75-80k mark and that is an old car! Also, it helps to buy one with options like carbon fiber and get the more desirable 6speed not rtronic. In the long run, for me, doesn't matter. I expected to lose 10k on my 996 turbo in 2 years, ended up making money on it. The r8 is too awesome of a car to worry about depreciation! But I wouldn't pay asking price for all the 2011-12s on the market right now! (120-130k)!