Porsche 911 vs Audi R8

What's the difference?

Personally (and I’m expecting some hate from the fans in the comments), I hope Marvel slows down on the superhero movies and shows, but Porsche can keep doing its thing if cars like the 911 Dakar are the result.

It’s certainly a very niche offering, and one that will almost certainly go to collectors in this instance. But even that didn’t stop Porsche from investing in proper off-road upgrades to ensure the 911 Dakar is just as capable in its element as the 911 GT3 is in its and every other member of the range. 

There’s been no official word from Porsche, but my hope is the 911 Dakar follows the same scenario we saw the the previous-generation 911 R. That was another strictly limited special edition, basically a GT3 without the big wing, and it was so popular it spawned the 911 GT3 with Touring Package for this latest generation.

It may be unusual and unlikely, but the 911 Dakar is also unquestionably a great addition to the already extensive 911 range.

The Audi R8 V10 RWD and V10 Performance Quattro have their own personalities. I'm a big fan of the lower-powered rear-wheel drive car, but the Performance is the ultimate here with better brakes and that 330km/h top speed. Either way the R8 is a true supercar, but one that doesn't have to be driven gingerly as though something may break off.

As you can see in these images, our test car was fitted with the optional 'Rallye Design Package'. It adds another $54,730 to the cost but brings with it this head-turning paint scheme inspired by the racing livery from the 1984 winner. It’s actually a two-tone paint job with a wrap, the first time Porsche has produced such a finish on any of its production cars.

The ‘Roughroads’ is a substitute for the original cigarette brand that sponsored the car, while the white and blue scheme, with red and gold highlights is almost identical to the ‘84 car. Owners could pick any racing number between one and 999, our test car had #176 because that’s the number carried by the winning car.

The Rallye Design Package isn’t just a fresh look, too, it also adds the white wheels, a half roll cage, six-point racing-style harnesses and a fire extinguisher, so you can enter motorsport competitions and really push your Dakar to its limits.

Lamborghini styling can look over the top, McLarens can sometimes appear delicate and fragile, and Ferraris seem to be everywhere, and even for me, begin to blend into one.

The R8, though, looks exactly how an Audi supercar should look – understated, tough and serious. Have you seen that Audi advert with the R8 on a dyno not wearing any pants? That sounds ridiculous but Google it because it sums up what the R8 is – a real car with a raw race car underneath, that's meant to be driven comfortably on the road and hard on a race track and the styling indicates that intent with little in the way of fanfare.

Well, there is that big window at the back which shows off the engine and the 'side blades' that surround the large vents carved into the side of the car to cool the engine.

The latest update has taken the design from the second-gen car which arrived in 2016 and added a new grille, front bumper, door sills and vents in the rear bumper. It's a more angular, sharper, and busier design with more vents and winglets than ever.

The R8 V10 RWD and R8 V10 Performance are close to identical in their styling. You can pick the Performance by its gloss carbon front spoiler, side sills, mirror caps and rear diffuser. The RWD has gloss black elements instead.

Which looks best: the Coupe or Spyder? That's a personal thing, but I reckon race cars need to have a hardtop roof, so it's the coupe for me, please.

Built using the 'Audi Space Frame' which weighs only 200kg, the R8 is 4426mm long and just 1240mm tall, but at 1940mm across it has a wide, planted stance.

The interior is probably the most ‘normal’ 911 element of the Dakar. Yes, it’s strictly a two-seater (even without the optional roll cage), but it doesn’t feel much different to a GT3, especially as the brand’s 'Race-Tex' synthetic suede is the standard trim material. The only exception is the unique ‘911 Dakar’ badge on the passenger side of the dashboard, which tells you exactly which one of the 2500 examples yours is.

While Race-Tex is the primary trim, there’s plenty of leather elements and contrasting stitching to give a premium look and feel. The standard seats in the Dakar are the lightweight full bucket sports seats, made from carbon-fibre reinforced plastic and also trimmed in Race-Tex. This adds to that sporty, GT3-like feeling. They’re comfortable when you’re in them, but as they’re quite deep they make getting in and out a bit trickier than the standard Porsche chairs.

The rest of the technology is standard Porsche. The multimedia system is as simple and intuitive as ever, one of the better examples on the market today, which is something you typically think of with Porsche but it shows the company’s attention to all the details.

The Dakar comes equipped with a Bose surround sound system and full smartphone integration, with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

However, it’s worth noting if you add the Rallye Design Package and get the roll cage it will cut down on the amount of usable storage space. Without it, you can use the now-carpeted space where the rear seats would go for extra storage, but with the cage you can only squeeze a few soft items in. The rest has to go under the bonnet in the relatively deep but narrow front storage space, which measures 132 litres. 

So, if you do want to take an extended road trip in your 911 Dakar, springing for the roof storage system would be a helpful idea.

The R8 is a two-seater supercar and practicality isn't high on its 'to do' list with limited cabin storage in the form door pockets almost as small as my jeans pockets, two cupholders hiding under a trapdoor in the centre armrest, a hidey hole in front of the shifter containing a wireless charger and two USB ports and the glove box.

As for the boot – there are two: one in the nose with a 112-litre cargo capacity and another behind the mid-mounted engine with 226 litres.

Room for people, well you and a friend, is excellent. I'm 191cm (6'3") tall with a 2.0m wingspan and found the footwell deep and spacious, while head and shoulder room is also good.

The entry level R8 RWD Coupe lists for $295,000, while the Spyder version is $316,500. The R8 V10 Performance Coupe is $395,000 and the Spyder is $416,500.

It's in my view the best value supercar on the market. The Lamborghini Huracán Evo shares the same 5.2-litre V10, the transmission and the chassis (like Audi it's part of the Volkswagen family) and starts at $460K.

A Ferrari 488 Pista is pushing $600K, but the McLaren 570S is closer in price at $395,000 – although I find the R8 much less stressful and completely different to drive – read about that below.

Let's talk features. Coming standard on the R8 RWD Coupe and Spyder are laser LED headlights (new to the R8 for this update), 20-inch cast aluminum wheels (also new), a full leather interior (new) with heated and power adjustable RS sports seats, 12.3-inch instrument cluster, Bang & Olufsen 13-speaker stereo (new, too), sat nav, digital radio, proximity key and wireless device charging (new).

The R8 V10 Performance Coupe gets all of the features above but swaps the wheels for lighter, milled alloy rims, ditches the steel brakes for ceramic (pricey to replace, though), and adds other mechanical extras over the entry car such as Audi's magnetic dampers, plus a carbon-fibre reinforced polymer front swaybar.

What's missing? A central media screen would be good so your passenger can pick the music or follow the sat nav. Audi calls it a 'driver-focused cabin', but the Huracán has a media screen in the centre console.

I think there's a bit of advanced safety equipment missing, too – but that's in the section down further.

While it has elements of the 911 GT3, the 911 Dakar is based on the Carrera 4 GTS Coupe, at least from a powertrain point of view. Both models share the same 3.0-litre twin-turbo flat-six engine tuned to make 353kW/570Nm, paired with Porsche’s eight-speed dual-clutch transmission as standard. Naturally, it’s also fitted with Porsche’s all-wheel drive system, but the Dakar gets some unique features.

For starters, it’s equipped with the same trick engine mounts as the 911 GT3, which are stiffer to cope with extra off-road driving.

The all-wheel drive system features two unique modes - 'Rallye' and 'Off-Road', designed for improved loose surface performance. The former sets the all-wheel drive with a rear-bias and primes the powertrain for sporty driving, while the latter actives the differential lock for better slippery surface traction, also setting the engine and transmission for maximum low-speed response. 

One major difference between the Dakar and the Carrera 4 GTS (owing to the former's off-road changes) is a much lower top speed; 240km/h compared to 309km/h for the GTS. The 0-100km/h times are almost identical, though, with the Dakar taking just 3.4 seconds and the GTS 3.3 seconds.

There are two grades in the Audi R8 range – the entry-point R8 V10 RWD which has rear-wheel drive (RWD), and the R8 V10 Performance Quattro which has all-wheel drive (AWD).

Both obviously have V10 engines, it's a naturally aspirated 5.2-litre petrol unit (so no turbos here), but the RWD makes less power and torque at 397kW and 540Nm, while the Performance produces 449kW and 560Nm.

The V10 is mounted behind the driver's seat but ahead of the rear axle making it mid-engined car. The engine even has its own window and you can see it in there with its face pressed up against the glass.

There are two body styles as well – the Coupe and Spyder (convertible, roadster, just another word for a retractable soft roof). We'll get to the prices in the next section, but let's talk about the more interesting numbers such as top speeds.

The V10 RWD in coupe form can reach 324km/h and the Spyder can hit 322km/h while the V10 Performance Coupe and Spyder are both a smidge quicker at 330km/h.

Those are all go-straight-to-jail speeds in Australia, so if you're tempted to fact check my numbers then do it on a racetrack. Audi holds excellent track days – I've done them and you'll not only get to drive the R8 as fast as you can, the instructors will help you improve your advanced driving skills, too. Do it, it could save your life.

Acceleration from 0-100km/h is rapid – 3.7 seconds and 3.8 seconds for the V10 RWD Coupe and Spyder respectively, while the V10 Performance Coupe and Spyder can nail it in 3.2 seconds and 3.3 seconds.

The V10 engine has a cylinder-on-demand feature which can shut down five of the cylinders while cruising on a motorway, say at 110km/h. It's a fuel-saving system, but keep in mind this V10 loves petrol and lots of it – I've hidden that all the way down the bottom of this review.

Shifting gears in all R8s is a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

Despite the knobby tyres and extra weight (which is only 10kg in standard form, but will obviously blow out if you get the roof basket and load it up) fuel economy for the 911 Dakar is only fractionally heavier than the GTS. Its official rating is 10.5L/100km and on test, which included spirited driving on- and off-road, plus a mixture of motorway and urban running, we returned 12.6L/100km, which is solid for a sports car.

Coupled with the 67-litre tank, you’ll have a theoretical range of 638km on a full tank, which won’t get you across the outback but is respectable for this type of car. It isn’t a Toyota LandCruiser so obviously it won’t get you quite as far on a single fill.

That's like asking how many calories are in this pavlova that I'm about to push into my mouth? Seriously if you're asking then you shouldn't be eating it – or driving the R8.

But just for the record, according to Audi the RWD R8 uses 12.0L/100km in Coupe form and 12.2L/100km in Spyder guise after a combination of urban and open roads, while the AWD R8 of course will use more at 13.4L/100km for both Coupe and Spyder.

Porsche isn’t known for doing things in half-measures, so it should come as no surprise that the 911 Dakar has some serious off-road potential. Thanks to the extra ride height, underbody protection and the new tyres the Dakar has some strong off-road credentials.

It has 161mm of ground clearance, which is only 26mm less than a Macan. Porsche also claims an approach angle of 14.2 degrees, a breakover angle of 16.2 degrees and a departure angle of 16.4 degrees.

Even so, the idea of taking a Porsche 911 off-roading still feels unusual, especially when you get gravel under the tyres… and yet, the Dakar feels at home. With the drive mode set to Off-Road and maximum ride height engaged, the Dakar is more than capable of navigating some very rough terrain.

We headed down some rugged trails in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, and after some heavy rain the previous weeks, the surface was extremely rutted, chopped up and littered with large gravel. While you wouldn’t put it in the same off-road capability class as a 70 Series LandCruiser, the Dakar had no trouble navigating roads that would normally break a sports car. Even when we came across a water crossing the Porsche just powered through it without any issue.

Back on sealed roads, and despite the knobby Pirellis, the 911 Dakar handles just as well as you’d expect a Porsche sports car to. It doesn’t feel significantly slower or dulled by its off-road elements and instead has the same smooth, effortless performance that has made this model a sports car icon. It's obviously not quite as precise and poised as a 911 GTS on road tyres would be, but it's not far off.

The everyday added bonus of the Dakar’s off-road upgrades is, unlike any other sports car (except maybe Lamborghini's Huracan Sterrato), you never need to worry about speed bumps or potholes, so it would actually make for a surprisingly liveable daily driver.

A race circuit is the best place to test the performance of an Audi R8. I've been lucky enough to have done this in the past, but for this update of the R8 the Australian launch was held on public roads and included a convoy of RS models such as the RS 6 Avant, RS 7, RS Q3 and TT RS.

Even then I think I was 'stitched up' because I began the day in the R8 V10 Performance Coupe but spent almost the entirety of my allocated time in roadworks at 40km/h before swapping to an RS Q3.

So, while I can't honesty comment about the dynamics on this updated R8 V10 Performance Coupe I can tell you that having driven every iteration of the R8 since 2012 that it's a weapon, with helicopter-like visibility out of that large front window.

If, like me, you think turbos are 'cheating' (superchargers are fine), then you'll love the linear power delivery of the R8's naturally aspirated V10, and while I love front-engined sportscars, nothing beats a mid-engined car for the feeling of balance and lightness in the nose while having the sound of thousands of explosions going off just behind your back.

Having AWD is not just great for acceleration and perfect traction from Audi's quattro system, I think it's a good safety feature in a supercar, and while only your judgements can stop things going pear shaped, the system will be there to help on slippery roads.

The following day was different. I was in the R8 V10 RWD, the country roads were superb and while it wasn't a racetrack it was enough to get a hint of the capabilities of the RWD R8.

While the R8 V10 RWD feels the same to sit in with the same great view, it feels different to drive than its faster sibling, in a good way. First there's the noticeable power difference – more than 50kW and 20Nm less – but also the lack of AWD makes the front end feel more pointable, and the car feel more like a traditional sportscar that pushes from behind rather than pulling from the front. Less power, but more fun.

The RS cars in our test convoy were all awesome machines, but stepping out of even the RS6 Avant and slipping down into the R8 cockpit was like getting into a UFO – it's so far ahead dynamically of any other Audi that all I could do was laugh like an idiot. Corners which were making an RS 7 really struggle, were handled effortlessly by the R8. And in a straight line it's a bullet in a barrel.

The Performance has the better brakes: 380mm ceramic discs with six piston calipers up front and 356mm discs with four piston calipers at the rear. The RWD has steel discs – 365mm with eight piston calipers up front and 356mm discs with four piston calipers in the rear.

Keep in mind if you are planning on track days, you'll find the ceramic discs costly to replace, and beside the stopping power of the steel ones is excellent.

And yet, on pot holed course bitumen the ride is a lot more comfortable than you might think and having driven the Performance in traffic it's a much nicer place to sit than the claustrophobic cabin of a McLaren 570S. You could honestly use the R8 daily.

ANCAP has not tested the Audi R8 so there's no star rating available. What we can tell you is that the R8 has a low level of advanced safety technology – there's no AEB, no adaptive cruise control, no rear cross traffic alert, nor blind spot warning, nor lane keeping assistance. That's the reason why the score is so low here.

The R8 does have electronic stability control and ABS, and active roll over protection, plus six airbags, although the Spyder doesn't have curtain airbags.

While most car brands, even the premium ones, have moved to at least a five-year warranty, Porsche is sticking with three years (and unlimited kilometres). But you can extend the warranty, for a price, through your local dealer.

Porsche has also bucked the common trend for capped price servicing, with costs varying from model to model and across states and each dealership, so you’ll need to consult with your local showroom to get a clearer picture. Service intervals are every 12-months or 15,000km, whichever comes first.

The R8 is covered by Audi's three-year, unlimited kilometre warranty which not only falls behind in duration compared to mainstream brands but also its direct rival Mercedes-Benz which now has five-year, unlimited kilometre coverage.

Service intervals are every 12 months or 15,000km but unlike other Audi models there isn't a three-year or five-year plan available.