Audi R8 With Gated Manual Hits the Autobahn for Top Speed Run
Listen to the sweet sounds of this N/A V8-powered Audi R8 and the satisfying clicks of its gated manual before they’re gone.
The Audi R8 is a special and arguably underrated machine, a more reasonable Lamborghini for those that don’t care for audacious styling or simply being stared at everywhere they go. At the same time, the R8 serves up the same exciting driving experience as its more exotic brethren, making it the perfect everyman’s supercar. To us, there’s nothing better than listening to a car like this sing its siren song, and that’s precisely what we’re treated to in this new video from AutoTopNL.
As is typically the case with videos from this YouTube channel, the Audi R8 featured here heads out to Germany’s famous Autobahn for a bit of a top speed rip, or at least as fast as its driver can go in a safe manner. Unfortunately, this example isn’t a V10 model, but it is a V8 with a gated manual, which is a combination that has essentially gone extinct in the last few years, so we’ll certainly allow it.
Driving all four wheels, the car’s naturally-aspirated V8 churns out 424 horsepower and 317 pound-feet of torque in this guise, and it sounds simply amazing revving to 8,000 rpm, even if it isn’t exactly the quickest thing on the roads today. It winds up hitting 263 kilometers per hour – or around 163 mph – without breaking a sweat, but perhaps more importantly, it sounds awesome doing so.
Sadly, these types of experiences won’t be around much longer, as the Audi R8 is destined to leave this world – at least temporarily – with the GT RWD limited-edition serving as its last gasp. If the R8 does return one day, it will do so as an EV – like all Audi models – which is something of a shame for those of us that adore N/A V8 and V10 engines, not to mention gated manual transmissions, or row-your-own gearboxes of any kind. However, there are still some fine machines out there such as this one that can still provide us with simple driving pleasure, at least for now.
Click HERE to join the AudiWorld forums!
