Greetings all,

After an incredible journey i'm finally in a position to make a 30 year dream come true! Like a lot of you on this forum I got bitten by the sports car bug very early on and can vividly recall watching Steve McQueen in the epic movie Le Mans and falling in love with the Porsche 911S he was driving at the beginning of the film. That was the start...



I have owned some very good sports sedans along the way but that itch to own and drive a true sports supercar never went away, it stayed bubbling along just below the surface. Now after lots of planning and years of hard work I am in a position to pull the trigger on a second hand exotic as a weekend car.

... and now the decision, and I am finding it a truly agonising one!
PORSCHE 997 Turbo Gen1 or AUDI R8 V8?

I have recently test driven both cars and here are some thoughts I jotted down immediately afterwards:-

2008 Audi R8 V8, phantom black manual
Incredible looks, wide, low, modern, sex on wheels, curvaceous head turner. I could stare at that shape for hours and knowing one was in the garage would be the equivalent of having Doutzen Kroes as your date for the evening, whenever you wanted :P
Modern and contemporary interior, fantastic driving position, very comfortable, very good visibility. Exhilarating performance, turbine smooth acceleration, sublime handling, telepathic steering. The chassis felt so
solid and rigid, the six speed gate smooth as butter and a really close driver to car connection.
Excellent build quality, fit and finish, everything I expected a supercar to be and more. Pure excitement!

Porsche 997 Turbo, basalt black manual
Much lower and wider than I thought it would be. The air intakes, grills and pumped out fenders really make it stand out compared to a standard 911, you'd never mistake the two imho. Where the R8 I would describe as
beautiful, I would say the 911 is muscular and tough.
I found the interior classic and bespoke, the materials just smacked of expensive quality, light clutch and incredible seats (this one was optioned with sports adaptive seats) with adjustability that made you feel like your in a race car.
Performance: where the Audi straight line performance was what I would best describe as exhilarating, the 997TT was on another level, brutal and almost scary in that you better really have your wits about you if you
decide to pull the trigger in general metropolitan areas! I realise that applies to most sports cars but if you have driven a 911Turbo you know what I am talking about. Handling felt great with brilliant steering and feedback.
Build quality excellent.

I recall thinking that the R8 was ultimately the 'prettier' looking of the two cars but that incredible acceleration in the 911 evened up the argument. So now I have a huge decision to make: do I go with the more glamour looking R8 with excellent performance and handling or pull the trigger on the more muscular looking 911 with its hyper-drive acceleration and cult status?

Please feel free to let me know your opinions on the two, the more information I have the easier it will be to make the right decision I am hoping.

Thanks & regards
Patton

Test vehicles:-

 

My opinion was this...think first about what you're buying the car for. Speed or fun? both of those cars are pretty much clear cut winners in their respective departments. The R8 looks better (for the most part) and the TT is so much faster. I actually was torn between the R8 V10 and the 997.2 turbo. After driving both an debating all the pros and cons...I went with the turbo. Having said that, it really is a decision to make on your own.

When I bought the TT...I wanted a car that was brutally fast. Everytime I see an R8 on the road I wish I had that car because it's such a beautiful car...but when they pull up next to me and I drop the hammer...the car doesn't look as nice as it gets smaller and smaller in me rear view mirrors. haha!

No matter what decision to make...you'll be happy with both and you'll regret not getting the other at the same time. If I were you...go with the TT...the R8 V8 is nowhere near as fun to drive and after all...that's what you got the car for in the first place. I don't envy your position...good luck!

 

The R8 V8 is quite "slow" a tuned 335i will pull you, and that isnt an 'exotic' feeling

 

Love the R8! But not the V8.


I personally feel the Audi R8 v10 is a much better overall car than the 997.2 Turbo. There I said it. The sound is exotic and intoxicating. The comfort level is much better. The interior is much better. Looks are subjective of course - but the Audi is very unique. And the mid-engine gives it better balance.


But...the Porsche is just soooo much faster in every respect the two cars aren't really even comparable at all. I am an adrenaline junkie. And already with a 650 HP M3 daily driver, the R8 was a step down. Even a bone stock Turbo S was a big step up.


If you are after speed, there is no contest. If you are looking for a better balanced overall car, I give the nod to the R8.

 

try the Tip 911. You will then know what the manuals are missing.

 

And what is that? Squat you seem to bash everything that isn't a slush box automatic, are you trying to convince yourself you made the right decision?

IMO, ifyou are going to go 911 and go away from the .1 manual, I would move to a PDK and not think twice. The downfall of the PDK is it comes with a less proven engine and right now the PDK can't handle to much hp over stock but they are almost unbeatable from stoplight to stoplight plus the interior is nicer.

I love the look of the R8 but there is just something about a wide body 911.

 

Slush box ahhahahaha, as I smoke your manual. All yuou "purists" are the ones slapping on mods and you still arent as fast. I love how you recommend a PDK.... faster than your glorious manual... but not the tip... still faster than your manual.
I commented because so many people think bad about something they never tried. Like I always say, having driven both. I have never regretted the Tip. I sold my M3 6sp after.
I am sorry you dont like the fact there are other options you have never tried and can only call it a slushbox.... as if we are in the 90s when they actually were.

 

Weren't you trying to sell you beloved Tip for a PDK?

I will be back in the DC area in a year or two if you want to test your "my tip is faster" theory...just for funs!

Sorry for the thread jack!

Back on track, you came to a Porsche forum to ask the question, if you didn't also go to an R8 forum and ask the same question.....I think you know the answer to your own question! Pick the Porsche!

 

I have tried the Tiptronic 911 on a 997.1tt. It didn't do anything for me. Slow to shift, robs the engine of power, and no driver involvement. I've also tried PDK before, much better than tiptronic due to very fast shifting, but still not as much driver involvement and control.

I'm in the market for a 911tt, and for me, it's manual or nothing.

When it comes to transmission choice, it's a personal decision. At the end of the day, a Porsche 911 is a Porsche 911.

 

Im in Las Vegas for a bit. But sure. My car is stock and how much did you dump in yours? And yeah when the guy was asking 78k for it because he was leaving the country... who wouldnt

The Tip robs power. LOL Docboy you really need to read about the car.

here is what makes the tip SO much better and you so full of malarky. The Tip and PDK are able to MAINTAIN BOOST! while the manual cant and has to rebuild it
So your comments about robbing power are just

See the reason it cant handle as much HP as in the NUMBER not the real world application is because of what I said above. The Massive power and the held boost is too much.

 

OP is looking for a manual, so i would choose the manual porsche over the R8 V8.

On choosing manual, its all about preference. I get more driving pleasure from a manual.

Remember seeing a 'no lift shift option' on the EPL tune on this forum. Perhaps, this would help maintaining boost in the manual?

 

I talked to a few tuners about no lift shifting and they warned against it because it is hard on the car.

 

A PDK car for 78k, you should have gone to carmax to trade yours in at that price! Holy crap.

 

I was just offering a suggestion to try another option.

 

To me personally, if it was the V10 vs the 911.1 it would be a hard choice, but because of the power and mod ability of the 997.1 I would still chose the 997.1 UNLESS I HAD $$ to twin turbo it!!


the V8 R8 to me is not even a discussion as for it looks, handling, exoticness is TOTALLY OFF SETTED BY THE LACK OF POWER (think Acura NSX all over again!)! Gorgeous machine, but how could they put a power plant like that in a machine like that! A stock 993Turbo (from 1997!!) pulls a 2008 R8 V8, a S4 with just flash not even pulley is hanging with the V8! Even if the car was worth 118+mph trap (1/4mile) it would be half decent for a machine like that, but 109-112!! The v10 should of been the only engine that should have come with this gorgeous machine period! Even that it would be hard for me to even do the V10 over the 997.1.


If you are just buying and keeping them stock I would take the v10 over the 997.1 and that would be hard choice, but the V8 would not even be in the cards.


Again, it is what you want from the car. My brother wanted me to do the R8 V8 over my 997.1, being he only cars about looks, but to me you better be able to walk the talk and the R8 V8 talks, but quite often gets walked and walked HARD!!