Audi never made an R8 GT3, but that's not to say there haven't been some very special ones…
By Matt Bird / Tuesday, March 29, 2022 / Loading comments
As the R8 nears the end of its petrol-powered life, it’s natural to look back over 15 years or so of Audi’s seminal supercar and remember the really, really good ones. There was the R8 GT, for example, which stripped out 100kg and toughened up the suspension; the stunning R8 V10 Plus could be had with a manual gearbox, which was pretty cool for a 550hp Audi; and nobody will forget either RWS or RWD in a hurry, either. Imagine telling the kids one day about the rear-wheel drive, V10 Audi…
The R8 Performance Parts probably isn’t one many are familiar with. Launched in 2018, the PP celebrated the R8’s considerable success in GT racing, and in the process created the most hardcore Audi ever. Power from the 5.2-litre V10 was left untouched, with 610hp deemed sufficient, but a wild carbon aerokit significantly increased downforce over standard. It came as standard with ceramic brakes (also boasting new pads and titanium backing places) as well as milled alloy wheels to save precious unsprung kilos.
And get this – the R8 Performance Parts came with three-way adjustable coilovers, like it was a Lotus track car or something. They were manually adjustable, too, there for owners to get down and dirty with rather than press a mag ride switch on the dash. It was a function before form R8 – probably the first and only one – which made the Performance Parts car quite cool.
Especially so given Audi went to all this effort for only 44 cars. Imagine getting an R8 down the production line with these alterations, to create less than 50. Quite the commitment. Amazingly, some PP R8s did come to the UK – five for our 115 Audi dealers in 2018 – one of which is now for sale on PH.
Certainly time has done nothing to dull the impact; in vibrant Misano Red with spoilers, slats and skirts fit for an N24 racer, it screams track car. Good job the Performance Parts has the hardware to cash the cheques its body is writing. Pleasingly, this one has been used and enjoyed by the three owners so far, notching up almost 10,000 miles since 2018. You would have to assume some of those have been on track, given the PP’s remit, but extensive paint protection film coverage means the R8 looks unblemished. Even those lightweight wheels look brand new. It’s being sold with an extended Audi warranty until later this year, and its most recent service was a thousand miles ago. Ready and raring to go for the summer, basically, and whatever an owner would have planned; keeping the R8’s interior intact should mean this one remains suitable for longer distances, too.
This Performance Parts is for sale at £169,995, or just a fraction less than its £176,560 new price almost four years ago. So while those earlier owners haven’t suffered extreme depreciation, neither has the R8 soared in value like so many other limited run track cars do. This sort of money undoubtedly buys all manner of similar cars, from GT3 RS to GT-R Pro and GT-R NISMO to 600LT, but it isn’t hard to see why a buyer might be tempted by the R8’s incredible rarity and specification. Plus that phenomenal engine, of course.
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