Look! The new Audi R8 is here!
Oh wait… That’s not it
Oh, here it is…
That’s a completely new design
Oh wait… That’s not it
Oh, here it is…
That’s a completely new design
I honestly think that the old one looked better. This one, for me, is too much like the TT. aAd, also, the rear window is too wide, thus making the c column stand out, making the car look weird and fat at the rear. But that is just me. Overall, I think it is more boring and less well proportioned.
So new, I almost forgot it was an Audi! 
I want to see that in wide bodykit- shot
Wide bodykit? Who needs a wide bodykit.
Where’s the DTM bodykit with a rear wing that makes enough downforce to crush Corollas.
I think the new R8 looks amazing. I love designs with sharp edges and a general lack of roundness. Although, actually, I wish the R8 had the same grille as the TT, as the one here doesn’t look as good.
the people who say the new r8 is boring and looks like the old r8
U WOT?
Looks to me like a bunch of people gathered in a room and said, “Hey, we need a newww R8!” “Right, do you want a fresh design?” “NOOOOO JUST SLAP SOME ARTBITRARY ANGLES ON IT!”
Well, for me, the new R8 is just an evolutionary design, you can see the same general proportions and lines. However, this time, they didn’t go even further, they held back. It now looks like the TT’s big brother, whereas before it was something completely different and unhinged.
I think it is boring because they didn’t advance, it isn’t something outrageous like a supercar should. It is the old car, with straighter and more boring lines, in my point of view, with a TT face slapped on it.
A bit like what TofuWarrior said.
What’s bad about it being like a TT? There is nothing wrong with them wanting a common design language.
VW Group… Ditch the bloody rulers! Curves are best
It’s not bad, but it’s not a revolution. The 1st R8: Revolution, the new R8: Evolution.
To me it could be just a facelift of the ‘‘old’’ R8.
Give me the new Ferrari 488 GTB 
No manual, no thanks. Looks great though (no better or worse than the original…)
The R8 was about Audi breaking the barriers and making something radical, now it’s a step backwards.
Each to their own, I guess
[quote=“Leonardo9613”]Well, for me, the new R8 is just an evolutionary design, you can see the same general proportions and lines. However, this time, they didn’t go even further, they held back. It now looks like the TT’s big brother, whereas before it was something completely different and unhinged.
I think it is boring because they didn’t advance, it isn’t something outrageous like a supercar should. It is the old car, with straighter and more boring lines, in my point of view, with a TT face slapped on it.
A bit like what TofuWarrior said.[/quote]
Exactly!
While Audi is one of the handfull of companies to have the same face across most of their models, thhe R8 was always the exception. It’s a V10 supercar, it’s mid engined, it deserves to look the part too. Ferrari is famous because od their racing heritage, because of the performance and the feel of the car. Would it be the same without those Pinninfarina lines? I think not.
A bit like the Porsche Cayyenne and Panamera. Fairly decent cars, but they just arent porsches.
Porsche Cayenne. There is a substitute.
The new R8 looks more awkward than its predecessor as, even though I didn’t like the first R8, the original shape nailed it as far as proportion, detail and road presence is concerned.
It’s also a shame they’ve dropped the manual V8 version; having a manual option was just about the only thing that made me even pay attention to the R8 in the first place! 
The old-fashioned gated shift manual gearbox has been dying for years, though. In family cars it’s because people generally prefer automatics and CVTs, and in high-end cars a good semi-automatic, sequential, or double-clutch gearbox can shift much faster than a human can with a gated manual.
So you can’t really blame Audi for getting rid of it - the manual gearbox doesn’t really make sense in the R8’s intended market niche.
Regarding the new R8 - I was a huge fan of the original R8’s design language, and when the new TT was released I was quite happy that it looked less like a set of bubbles on wheels and more like a sporty car. The design trend this decade is sharp, strong-edged designs, admittedly - new Subaru WRX, new Audi TT, new MX-5, and so on.
Or, according to somebody I know, “everything looks like an Evo”.
[quote=“Sayonara”]
The old-fashioned gated shift manual gearbox has been dying for years, though. In family cars it’s because people generally prefer automatics and CVTs, and in high-end cars a good semi-automatic, sequential, or double-clutch gearbox can shift much faster than a human can with a gated manual.
So you can’t really blame Audi for getting rid of it - the manual gearbox doesn’t really make sense in the R8’s intended market niche.[/quote]
old fashioned
The manual gearbox is so much more than a method to get power to the driven wheels; it provides a direct connection between man and machine and is an important part of the sensory feedback of an automobile. Manual gearboxes are simpler so have less failures in normal operation than any other gearbox type and allow for more options when a car has a flat battery or damaged starter motor. Manual gearboxes can be used even when the clutch has failed (and defaulted to an always-on condition) whereas all the other boxes have to limp home in a single gear, and directly to a mechanic or just stop altogether.
The reason for manufacturers not selling manuals is because people are getting lazier, as modern manual boxes are almost too light in operation these days, and because user error is hard to sell. For example, an elderly gentleman bought a new Mitsubishi 380 manual and burnt out the clutch within 8000km’s of ownership. He transported other older people and wanted to give them a smooth ride so he never fully engaged the clutch. He blued his dual-mass flywheel and destroyed the clutch and none of it was Mitsubishi’s fault; he traded the 380 in on an auto and lost a bucketload of cash in the process! He was really angry at Mitsubishi yet it was his error that caused the problem. So, to avoid the perceived bad publicity, manufacturers now fit auto’s to anything with a bigger engine that’s “family orientated” and “race tech” sequential boxes to anything that’s even vaguely sporty! 
Another reason for the uptake of auto’s is fleet buyers; lots of cheap auto’s flooding the market periodically, artificially skews the perception by manufacturers against manual gearboxes.
Sequential boxes improve cars stats performance; manual gearboxes make a car more enjoyable to drive! 
Preach it brother! If it weren’t for the fact that my transmission was already “built”, I would seriously consider doing a manual swap. And shift speed makes no difference on the street where the majority of high-end cars are driven anyway.
Why deal with this? (watch from 29:40 to about 30:50) 
When you can have this? 
So as not to de-rail the thread… I’m also baffled at the fact they won’t offer a V8 either. The 4.0T could be tuned to make similar power, with lower emissions and better efficiency vs the de-tuned 540hp version of the V10 in the standard R8. I swear, the more I see these things the more anxious I get about the finished game. As armchair CEO and official Monday Morning Quarterback, my version of the R8 would have a twin-turbo V8 and a 6-speed GATED manual. 