Audi R8 GT Review: A Fitting But Sad Goodbye To A Legend

With this review, we’re effectively concluding a trilogy of sorrow. First, we tested the TT RS Iconic Edition, an expensive but wonderful run-out special for Audi’s compact five-pot beast, and then the TT S Final Edition, which does what it says on the tin. Yes, the TT name will probably live on, but the car to wear those two letters on its rump will be something very different to a small, combustion-powered coupe.

The third and final instalment in this less-than-cheery series concerns the R8. After two generations and the best part of 20 years in production, Audi’s supercar is no more, with the last one rolling off the production line in March 2024. Again, we may not have seen the last of the name, but it’s a fair assumption that whatever comes next won’t feature a screaming, naturally aspirated V10 sitting in the middle.

As with the TT, though, Audi hasn’t let the occasion go unmarked. The model’s last hurrah is the R8 GT, and as won't have escaped your attention, it comes with a whole heap of aerodynamic additions, making it the lairiest production R8 ever, if not quite as bananas as the Porsche 911 GT3 RS.

There's the most conspicuous bit, the swan-neck rear wing, along with an enlarged rear diffuser, a chunky front splitter, sizable sills, gurneys on the front bumper, and some angry-looking blades behind the rear wheels. All of this comes together to generate 300kg of downforce, while also knocking a few MPH off the R8’s top speed owing to the extra drag - the new figure is 199mph. You might still be able to crack 200 with a tailwind.

Thanks to a set of KW manually adjustable coilovers, it sits 10mm lower to the ground than other R8s, and some tinkering with the adjusters will sit it a further 10mm down. Best save that for the track, unless you’re happy grinding that fancy new splitter to bits on every speed bump you come across.

A new Torque Rear mode has been added to help turn you into a drifting pro (think of it as Audi’s answer to Ferrari’s drift-tastic Slip Side Control), while the engine, has, erm, had nothing done to it. But if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, and broke this 5.2-litre naturally aspirated V10 certainly isn’t. You do, at least, get the Quattro spec version of the engine, which puts out 611bhp to the Performance RWD’s 562.

 

Who cares if 611bhp sounds a bit pedestrian compared to something like the 740bhp belted out by the McLaren 750S when it’s delivered in this way? We’re talking crisp throttle response, an 8,700rpm redline and a soundtrack to die for. There’s nowhere in the rev range this thing doesn’t sound good, from the throaty bottom end to the howling mid-range and the screaming top end. 

Ensuring the most is made of this wonderful engine, the seven-speed S Tronic dual-clutch gearbox is present and correct, dutifully and efficiently swapping cogs. Still, though, we’re left wanting for some nicer shift paddles than the flimsy plastic tabs Audi fits even to this GT. 

 

That’s about our only cabin complaint, though. All these years on, the R8’s cabin is a superb place to spend time in. It’s clever, minimalistic and as special feeling as it should be for a supercar.

Although the engine still dominates proceedings, the chassis deserves a lot of praise. Yes, the firmer setup does rob low-speed comfort, but around the national speed limit, the ride settles nicely, and there’s a real fluidity to the way the car tracks the road. The R8 wasn’t exactly crying out for more stiffness, but now it’s here, the car is keener to change direction, and its steering more natural feeling than ever.

I’ve always had mixed feelings about versions of the R8 that have ditched drive to the front axle, as this one has. Quattro all-wheel drive and the ability to drive in a spirited manner whatever the weather has long been the R8’s thing, so taking it away seems like the Audi is losing a key character trait. Then again, since it makes the whole experience so much more involving, you can’t be mad.

You now have to be just a little wary of the throttle pedal. Driving the GT requires a touch of finesse - you can’t just mash your foot on the pedal and expect everything to be OK. At the same time, it’s still an approachable car to drive, and the feeling of more movement at the rear heightens the excitement noticeably.

And if it wasn’t already clear you were in something special, you need only look in the rear-view mirror and see the swan-neck rear wing looming large. No, we didn’t do quite the right kind of speeds to see how well the aero worked, this being an exclusively on-road test, but it’s nice to know it’s there, making the car look suitably silly.

As the R8’s final form, the GT does a brilliant job of signing off this story that started with a far simpler car intended to pinch Porsche 911 Carrera sales. It should come as no surprise at all that, £200k price tag or not, all 333 were quickly snapped up. Just 15 came to the UK, so you may never see one out in the wild.

Like so many drives we’ve had lately, particularly in fast Audi stuff, the GT proves a bittersweet experience. Yes, we’re sad to see the R8 go, but it’s pleasing to see Audi go all out in giving its seminal supercar the send-off it deserves.