Test report by CoMod Lotus on the Carrera Evolution Audi R8
(27240/27241)
: Does the 911 look outdated now?
Alarm bells in the left lane: Audi is breathing down Porsche’s neck. With an aggressively styled R8 designed to outpace the iconic 911. That was the headline in AUTOBILD in June 2007. And indeed: never before has Audi come so close to dethroning the classic sports car from Zuffenhausen.
The 420 PS mid-engine beast is the most powerful weapon Audi currently has in its lineup (let’s just leave the RS4 aside for now) :-). The 2008 Allrad-Auto in the sports car class captivates with its aggressive exterior, featuring the inimitable front end with its two LED headlights, the 19-inch wheels, the color-contrasting unit behind the driver’s doors, and, of course, the mid-engine visible through the rear window—which, on the original model, can be illuminated with LEDs upon request.
In the test in question , the Porsche 911 wins the showdown because, after evaluating all the criteria, it is the better car overall. On the Eurospeedway racetrack, however, the 911 was literally blown away by the Audi—a 2-second gap per lap is a world of difference there. And now, the car-loving dad and his son canCarrera reenact this showdown on their home
track.
AfterCarrera launching the facelifted Porsche 997 in both analog and digital formats earlier this year, the worthy rival to the 911 is now hitting the market: the Audi R8 for Carrera EVOLUTION and DIGITAL 132
. For DIG132, the car is currently available in red (Item No. 30436); for EVO, it comes in ice silver metallic (Item No. 27240) and Mugello blue (Item No. 27241).
I’ve tested all three—here
are the results: The body is neatly finished, with no mold lines that detract from the appearance. The paint job is clean, and the Audi rings and the R8 logo are printed with great detail. The V8 engine, which is visible in the model, is also beautifully executed—after all, they could have taken the easy way out here and simply installed the carbon fiber covers that are also available on the real car. I really like the driver figure; I think it’s great when a racetrack model manufacturer keeps producing different driver figures—otherwise, the cockpit gets really boring over time. As with the latest models from [manufacturer]Carrera , the rims here are
also two-piece, and the tires, of course, feature tread patterns.
The model disassembles easily, but when reassembling, care should be taken to carefully thread the light units/LEDs back into the body so that nothing gets pinched. By the way, the lighting works perfectly. On one of the three cars, two tires were stuck to the rim due to superglue residue, but this was easy to fix. On the plus side, the rims no longer fall apart. The entire Audi weighs 107 gr (no difference between the digital and analog models), making it 7 gr heavier than its direct competitor from Swabia.
The removable axle assembly is familiar from the other models, as is the large keel unit with the dual sliders. The guide fin is positioned in front of the front axle, and the distance between the guide fin and the rear axle is just right—something you’ll notice later when driving. The guide fin sits neatly in the slot.
And how does the Audi drive now?
Smooth and responsive! Others might say neutral; I think you can’t go far wrong with this car. It gets off to a lively start, handles very smoothly, holds its line well in corners, and can even be drifted in a controlled manner using magnets. Without magnets, the Audi is even more fun. Overall, the R8 handles similarly to the 911, making it a worthy rival in this regard as well.
Conclusion:
For me, the Audi is a great addition to the track. If I still prefer the Porsche, it’s not because of the model but because of the brand. ;-)
CoMod Lotus ---------------------------------------------------------------------
Test report by CoMod JoergW on theCarrera Evolution Audi
R8
(27240/27241)
Appearance:
Above the 100,000-euro mark for a full-size car, the field is pretty thin, and Audi has launched a promotional campaign—certainly not a cheap one—to position its super sports car, produced by quattro GmbH, on par with its successful R8 race car, both in name and appearance. I can't say for sure whether they've really succeeded, but at the very least, they may have sparked the belief in some people that they own a street-legal race car. Technically, the street-legal R8 is more closely related to the Audi RS Sportsline than to the factory’s own racing division—which probably isn’t the worst thing for street use.
The Carrea models produced so far—in silver, dark blue, and red—hold their own visually alongside the Porsche 911. The only thing is that the areas behind the doors could have been more distinctly contrasted, as on the original. Certainly a shortcoming, but the overall visual quality is very high. The dark blue Audi R8 isn’t quite as easy to spot on larger tracks. Overall, the printing is very good and detailed. It’s nice that they paid attention to the different license plates.
The area in front of the windshield and the engine compartment with the underbody are beautifully
sculpted and realistic.
Technical Details:
I think the rear axle mounting—or rather, the ability to remove it—which was already introduced at the start of the 2008 model series, is fine. In the case of the Audi R8, special attention must be paid to the taillights when removing and reinstalling the chassis. Due to the design, the installation work is not entirely straightforward. Prototype-accurate lighting was hinted at but certainly cannot be achieved within the bounds of normal—and thus affordable—standards. Since the LEDs had to be positioned quite far inside the very narrow lamp housing to avoid looking too toy-like, the light output is lower than on other vehicles.
Workmanship:
The workmanship, including the attached parts and the printing, is flawless and
Evolution
executed to the usual
high standard.
Handling:
Among the Audi models, I didn’t notice any significant differences in performance, but on average, the R8 is slightly slower than the Porsche 911 models from the same model year. I think there’s plenty of room here for experimenting with tire spin, body roll, oil can use, and so on… the kind of things a home track tuner loves to do… even on a 1:32 scale.
Conclusion:
I’m curious to see if the Audi R8 from Privatiers will compete in a tuned version in the VLN or similar series against the 911 and others, which would mean real race versions are in the works. It’s always good toCarrera have a foot in the door ;-)
CoMod JoergW
(27240/27241)
: Does the 911 look outdated now?
Alarm bells in the left lane: Audi is breathing down Porsche’s neck. With an aggressively styled R8 designed to outpace the iconic 911. That was the headline in AUTOBILD in June 2007. And indeed: never before has Audi come so close to dethroning the classic sports car from Zuffenhausen.
The 420 PS mid-engine beast is the most powerful weapon Audi currently has in its lineup (let’s just leave the RS4 aside for now) :-). The 2008 Allrad-Auto in the sports car class captivates with its aggressive exterior, featuring the inimitable front end with its two LED headlights, the 19-inch wheels, the color-contrasting unit behind the driver’s doors, and, of course, the mid-engine visible through the rear window—which, on the original model, can be illuminated with LEDs upon request.
In the test in question , the Porsche 911 wins the showdown because, after evaluating all the criteria, it is the better car overall. On the Eurospeedway racetrack, however, the 911 was literally blown away by the Audi—a 2-second gap per lap is a world of difference there. And now, the car-loving dad and his son can
After
I’ve tested all three—here
are the results: The body is neatly finished, with no mold lines that detract from the appearance. The paint job is clean, and the Audi rings and the R8 logo are printed with great detail. The V8 engine, which is visible in the model, is also beautifully executed—after all, they could have taken the easy way out here and simply installed the carbon fiber covers that are also available on the real car. I really like the driver figure; I think it’s great when a racetrack model manufacturer keeps producing different driver figures—otherwise, the cockpit gets really boring over time. As with the latest models from [manufacturer]
The model disassembles easily, but when reassembling, care should be taken to carefully thread the light units/LEDs back into the body so that nothing gets pinched. By the way, the lighting works perfectly. On one of the three cars, two tires were stuck to the rim due to superglue residue, but this was easy to fix. On the plus side, the rims no longer fall apart. The entire Audi weighs 107 gr (no difference between the digital and analog models), making it 7 gr heavier than its direct competitor from Swabia.
The removable axle assembly is familiar from the other models, as is the large keel unit with the dual sliders. The guide fin is positioned in front of the front axle, and the distance between the guide fin and the rear axle is just right—something you’ll notice later when driving. The guide fin sits neatly in the slot.
And how does the Audi drive now?
Smooth and responsive! Others might say neutral; I think you can’t go far wrong with this car. It gets off to a lively start, handles very smoothly, holds its line well in corners, and can even be drifted in a controlled manner using magnets. Without magnets, the Audi is even more fun. Overall, the R8 handles similarly to the 911, making it a worthy rival in this regard as well.
Conclusion:
For me, the Audi is a great addition to the track. If I still prefer the Porsche, it’s not because of the model but because of the brand. ;-)
CoMod Lotus ---------------------------------------------------------------------
Test report by CoMod JoergW on the
(27240/27241)
Appearance:
Above the 100,000-euro mark for a full-size car, the field is pretty thin, and Audi has launched a promotional campaign—certainly not a cheap one—to position its super sports car, produced by quattro GmbH, on par with its successful R8 race car, both in name and appearance. I can't say for sure whether they've really succeeded, but at the very least, they may have sparked the belief in some people that they own a street-legal race car. Technically, the street-legal R8 is more closely related to the Audi RS Sportsline than to the factory’s own racing division—which probably isn’t the worst thing for street use.
The Carrea models produced so far—in silver, dark blue, and red—hold their own visually alongside the Porsche 911. The only thing is that the areas behind the doors could have been more distinctly contrasted, as on the original. Certainly a shortcoming, but the overall visual quality is very high. The dark blue Audi R8 isn’t quite as easy to spot on larger tracks. Overall, the printing is very good and detailed. It’s nice that they paid attention to the different license plates.
The area in front of the windshield and the engine compartment with the underbody are beautifully
sculpted and realistic.
Technical Details:
I think the rear axle mounting—or rather, the ability to remove it—which was already introduced at the start of the 2008 model series, is fine. In the case of the Audi R8, special attention must be paid to the taillights when removing and reinstalling the chassis. Due to the design, the installation work is not entirely straightforward. Prototype-accurate lighting was hinted at but certainly cannot be achieved within the bounds of normal—and thus affordable—standards. Since the LEDs had to be positioned quite far inside the very narrow lamp housing to avoid looking too toy-like, the light output is lower than on other vehicles.
Workmanship:
The workmanship, including the attached parts and the printing, is flawless and
Handling:
Among the Audi models, I didn’t notice any significant differences in performance, but on average, the R8 is slightly slower than the Porsche 911 models from the same model year. I think there’s plenty of room here for experimenting with tire spin, body roll, oil can use, and so on… the kind of things a home track tuner loves to do… even on a 1:32 scale.
Conclusion:
I’m curious to see if the Audi R8 from Privatiers will compete in a tuned version in the VLN or similar series against the 911 and others, which would mean real race versions are in the works. It’s always good to
CoMod JoergW
