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Tag: Type 42

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2008 Audi R8

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the introduction of Audi’s supercar-scaring R8. It really was a bit of a leap for the company which typically mastered unsteer-laden sedans to jump into a mid-engine, rear-biased all out sports car, but when they put their mind to it they sure did an impressive job. The design built off existing themes in Audi’s show car history such as the Spyder and Avus concepts of the 90s, but the real foundation work was laid with the twin-turbo Lamborghini V10-powered LeMans quattro show car in 2003. Of course, such a crazy concept would never come to fruition, right?

Fast forward only three years later and the road-ready and newly coined “R8” was brought to the market. Architecture was heavily borrowed from existing models within the company’s umbrella; the basic platform was shared with the Audi-owned Lamborghini Gallardo, while the initial engine came from the RS4 in the form of the 4.2 liter, all-aluminum FSI V8. At 414 horsepower, it might not have given a 599GTB driver much concern, but it surely gave the crew heading into Porsche dealers pause.

From the get-go, journalists swooned over the performance and dynamics of the R8. It was lauded as one of the best packages you could buy – even Clarkson liked it! Even before the mega-V10 model rolled out for 2009’s model year, the 4.2 offered blistering performance in a budget (for the market) package. 0-60 was gone in 4.6 second, the standing quarter in 12.5 and it’d do nearly 190 mph flat-out – at least, that’s what Audi claimed. Car and Driver eclipsed the 60 mark in 4.0 seconds in theirs. At around $120,000 new with some options, the R8 was more dear than any Audi had ever hit market.

But there was something even more odd and unique that this car did, or rather, didn’t do, and it’s one of the main reasons I don’t often write them up. It didn’t fall in value. If you bought a well equipped, V10-engined S8 in 2007, you’d shell out about the same money – $110,000. Today? Less than 20 grand. But the R8 was the first modern Audi not to fall victim to depreciation. Lower mile examples of the early models are still asking over $70,000 – sometimes well over $80,000. So something struck me when I spotted this ’08 – it was cheap. In fact, it was the cheapest R8 I could find on the market. Does that make it a good buy?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2008 Audi R8 on eBay

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1997 BMW M3 Coupe with 26,000 Miles

You’d be forgiven for thinking that the last day was the “24 Hours of E36 M3” here at GCFSB. But, as both Andrew and Paul have pointed out, it’s a great package that offers competent performance, a budding aftermarket support for parts, modifications and maintenance, and still can be run as a daily driver. They are, perhaps, almost a bit cliche; the E36 M3 became the go-to, market defining package and continues to this day to set the bar. It seems there’s one on our page weekly, yet the brace of examples that precede this post offer us the opportunity to compare values. This particular M3 Coupe is offered in retina-burning Dakar Yellow with the blackest of black interiors:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1997 BMW M3 on eBay

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Modern Classic? 2011 Audi R8 V10 Spyder

When judging future collectables, it’s sometimes hard to predict what will be a classic and what won’t. But, it’s a safe bet that halo cars in general will remain the most valuable. Audi re-introduced and re-imagined itself to the world with the introduction of its first halo car, the Quattro. Almost 30 years later, Audi once again re-imagined itself, thanks to acquisitions such as Lamborghini. Whereas the original moved turbocharging and all-wheel drive to the masses, the R8 instead took supercars to a new tier. A celebration of their many wins at Le Mans by the race car of the same designation, the R8 was initially powered by the spectacular 4.2 FSi V8 from the RS4. Later Audi developed its own version of the 5.2 V10 whose sound channeled the original Quattro, and the final development was the introduction of the Spyder model. With slightly revised bodywork – including the removal of the polarizing “blade” the coupe has – the R8 V10 Spyder is a compelling alternative to the 911 Turbo Cabriolet and truly offers supercar-level performance at a relatively budget price:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2011 Audi R8 Spyder on eBay

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