MONTEREY, Calif. – When I decided I wanted to get into the car journalism business, one of the prime reasons for it – besides driving lots of neat cars, obviously – was wanting to be present for big moments in car history. I’d see photos from auto shows and car reveals from decades past and think, “How cool would it have been to be there?” And realizing all that had passed was new once, I didn’t want to miss the next historic event. Of course, I was thinking about the big reveals. What I wasn’t expecting, probably naively, were the big farewells, particularly as we move into the EV era. And one of those is for the Audi R8, which will depart after this 2023 model year.
To bid it farewell, Audi brought us and other journalists, along with nine-time Le Mans-winning driver Tom Kristensen (who drove the R8 and later Audi prototype race cars) and the designer of the original R8 concept and road car, Frank Lamberty, to WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca for a final spin in it.
I’m one of the younger staffers at Autoblog, so the R8 has been around long enough that it was easy for me to take it for granted, but Lamberty and other Audi representatives helped explain how special it was considering most of Audi’s history. The brand mostly did upscale sedans, wagons and coupes for decades, and around the turn of the millennium, something above six figures was a stretch. But a number of factors came together to make the R8 a reality. One of the big ones was Audi’s successes with the R8 Le Mans prototype race car, which scored its first victory in 2000 and would go on to win in 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2005. Audi wanted to celebrate the wins and prompted the design department to pen a concept; Lamberty managed to create the winning design within the department.
The concept went over well when it was revealed in 2003, and with the recent acquisition of Lamborghini, which was looking to create an entry-level mid-engine vehicle (the eventual Gallardo), the R8 was green-lit. The production car would launch in Europe in 2006, and the United States in 2008.
At the time, it had “just” a 420-horsepower V8 (and Quattro all-wheel-drive of course), but a V10 option from the Gallardo was added in 2010. The V10 would become the sole option for the second-generation car, and a unique rear-drive version would be offered a number of years into that generation. For much of the time, Audi continued to be the dominant force at Le Mans with the R10 diesel prototype racer, and then the hybrid diesel R18, frequently with Kristensen as one of the drivers. The road-going R8 also spawned GT3-class race cars, too, and it has its own impressive racing record with six wins at the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring and two class wins at the 24 Hours of Daytona.
Things are different today. Audi left the top tier of prototype endurance racing after 2016, though the GT3 car stuck around for customer teams. And instead of looking at rally or closed-wheel road racing as it has in the past, Audi has been experimenting with open-wheel racing. It had a brief run in Formula E, and has announced its intent to enter Formula 1. And in the powertrain world, fewer cylinders and more turbos have become the norm, with hybrids and full electrics right around the corner. Audi itself has multiple EVs on sale with 10 more coming by 2026. So with a direct lineage to Audi’s endurance racing era, and packing a naturally aspirated V10, the R8 is the very end of an era for both Audi’s motorsports and road car history.
That brings us to my day at Laguna Seca. The farewell experience came about during Monterey Car Week, and the highlight would be taking two laps of Laguna Seca in the midst of the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion. The setting could hardly be better, especially as a collector had brought an endurance-spec R8 race car out to compete. It took the track a little before our briefing for the press laps. Lamberty helped give the presentation, and not long after he finished his part, he vanished. We suspect he slipped back out to the pit road to keep watching the race car. We don’t blame him in the slightest.
Making a memory
Once the presentation was over, and the endurance car class had wrapped up its race, it was time for us to hit the track. Audi had a pair of R8s for the press to drive, one a standard R8 V10 Performance Quattro, and the other a rear-drive variant. And in probably the most fitting way, our R8s would follow the future of Audi, the RS E-Tron GT driven by the man who helped make Audi a competition monster, Tom Kristensen. Each group would go out for two laps, and that was it.
My particular R8 was the Quattro version, which seemed fitting as I had never actually driven an R8 before. Best to experience the most representative one possible. I also figured a little extra traction wouldn’t be bad if I got into trouble.
We were told to move fast when getting into the cars to make sure everyone got their time in before the actual racers had to take to the track. Thankfully, it was quite easy to get comfortable in the R8. The low seating position, lots of legroom, driver-centric layout and solid forward visibility all helped me feel right at home quickly. Good if we were cruising slowly; good for feeling comfortable and confident when moving fast.
And we were moving fast in no time at all. The V10 with 602 horsepower and 413 pound-feet of torque has an amazing howl, and in classic naturally-aspirated fashion, it pulls harder and harder right up to its 8,700-rpm red line. Audi says it will hit 60 mph in 3.2 seconds and hit 206 mph. I couldn’t tell you how close I got to that top speed (looking at the track ahead is generally wiser than at the speedometer), but it was definitely a huge increase over the last, and first, time I’d been around Laguna Seca in Fiat Abarth models (funny enough, the last year of the 500 Abarth in America). No matter the car, though, I find the first turn on the front straight to be the scariest since you’re going about the fastest on the track, it’s a blind turn, and it’s downhill. The Corkscrew might be a bigger drop, but at least you’re slowing way down for it, and part of it is on-camber.
Rushing down to the first hairpin, the brakes hauled the car down confidently and easily. The pedal is firm, but not heavy. The car did feel a little wiggly, and a much better driver could probably have a ball drifting this around. Not being that driver and having traction control firmly in the “on” setting, I did not. Turning in, the R8’s light and accurate steering made it quite easy to aim.
And that’s one of the themes that came across during my brief stint. The R8 is actually quite friendly. It can bite you if you’re not respectful, but it doesn’t want to. The brakes and steering don’t wear you out, the naturally-aspirated engine is smooth and progressive, and with all-wheel drive (and the traction control flashing at my probably rough throttle inputs) it’s not too likely you’ll wipe out. It all lets you focus on getting around the track, and not so much just keeping everything together and away from the walls and gravel pits. But it was also clear that someone with much more skill – I refer to the fact that Kristensen was easily staying ahead of us in the much heavier RS E-Tron GT and the aforementioned furious traction light – could get so much more out of the car.
Two laps in a fast car that you’re unfamiliar with is always over incredibly fast. It’s easy to be so focused on not becoming a viral internet video it can be hard to take everything in. I made sure after I was out of the car to stop and try to remember everything, both for my personal memory and so that I could share this experience. It’s a real shame that it couldn’t have been longer, but beggars, choosers, etc.
The forgotten supercar
The R8 still feels like something special. It’s engaging, but friendly. I feel like it may have been a bit forgotten, too, as newer supercars boasted fresher, flashier looks and ever more performance, while it soldiered on with a powertrain from a dying era. But that’s what makes it as good as it is. Though I didn’t get to drive it on public roads, its fantastic-sounding and predictable engine would assuredly keep it fun and usable in the real world, whereas many new supercars are hard to enjoy. I’ve also heard it’s quite civilized, another thing many new supercars can struggle with. It should be pretty obvious that I’m sad it’s going away and that this will have been only a taste of it. But I am glad I got a taste.
With the R8 leaving, the obvious question is, will there be another? Audi doesn’t have an answer yet. Nothing has been set in stone. But it seems like the folks at Audi are certainly open to some sort of follow-up. Going by the development of the R8, it’s likely that anything to follow would take something from motorsports, be it technologically or merely inspiration, to get the ball rolling. Regardless, we hope to see something rise up, and that it’s as fun and memorable as the R8.
