Test report by CoMod Lotus on Carrera Evolution the 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Does the 911 look outdated now?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 overtake the iconic 911. That was the headline in AUTOBILD in June 2007. And indeed: never before has Audi been this close to dethroning the classic sports car from Zuffenhausen.
The 420-hp 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 impresses with its aggressive exterior, featuring the distinctive 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 beneath the rear window, which can optionally be illuminated with LEDs in the original version.
In the test in question , the Porsche 911 wins the showdown because, after evaluating all factors, it is the better car overall. On the track at the Eurospeedway, however, the 911 was completely outpaced 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 Carrera 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 in ice silver metallic (Item No. 27240) and Mugello blue (Item No. 27241).
I tested all three; here are the results:
The bodywork is cleanly finished; there are no casting flash that detract from the appearance. The paint job is cleanly executed, and the Audi rings and R8 logo are printed with great detail. The V8 engine, which is visible in the model, is also superbly rendered; after all, they could have taken the easy way out here and simply installed the carbon fiber covers found in the actual car. I really like the driver; I think it’s great when a racetrack manufacturer keeps producing different driver figures—otherwise, the cockpit gets really boring over time. As with the latest models from [Carrera brand], the rims are Carrera two-piece here as well, and the tires naturally feature tread.
The model is easy to take apart, but when reassembling, care should be taken to carefully reinsert the light units/LEDs 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 can be easily removed. But now there are no more rims that fall apart. The entire Audi weighs 107 grams (no difference between the digital and analog models), making it 7 grams heavier than its direct competitor from Swabia.
The removable axle unit is familiar from other models, as is the large guide fin unit with the double skids. The guide fin sits in front of the front axle; the distance between the guide fin and the rear axle is just right, which you’ll notice later while driving. The guide fin sits neatly in the slot.
And how does the Audi drive now?
Smoothly! Others might say neutral; I think you can’t go far wrong with this car. It gets going with a lively burst of speed, drives very smoothly, handles corners well, and can even be drifted in a controlled manner with 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:
Beyond 100,000 euros for the 1:1 car, the competition is pretty thin, and Audi has launched a certainly not cheap promotional campaign to place its super sports car—produced by quattro GmbH—on the same level as its successful R8 race car, both in name and appearance. Whether they’ve truly succeeded, I can’t say, but at the very least, the belief that one is driving a street-legal race car may have been sparked in some people. Technically speaking, the civilian R8 is more closely related to the Audi RS Sportsline than to the factory’s racing division, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing for street use.
The Carrea models produced so far in silver, dark blue, and red hold their own visually alongside the Porsche 911. Only the areas behind the doors could have been more distinctly contoured, 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 make out on larger layouts. Overall, the printing is very good and detailed. It’s nice that attention was paid to different license plates.
The area in front of the windshield and the engine compartment with the underbody are very nicely
shaped and realistic.
Technology:
I think the rear axle mounting and removal option, which was already introduced at the start of the 2008 model series, is fine. When removing and reinstalling the chassis on the Audi R8, special attention must be paid to the taillights. Due to the design, the installation work is not entirely straightforward. Prototype-accurate lighting was hinted at but certainly cannot be achieved within normal—and thus affordable—scale 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 add-on parts and the printing, is flawless and
Evolution executed
to
the usualEvolution high standard.
Driving performance:
Within the Audi lineup, I could not detect any significant differences in performance; however, the R8 is, on average, slightly slower than the Porsche 911 models from the same model year. I think there’s plenty of room here for experimenting with tire grinding, sander bending, 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 Privatiers Audi R8 will compete in a tuned version in the VLN or similar series against the 911 and others, and if real racing 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 overtake the iconic 911. That was the headline in AUTOBILD in June 2007. And indeed: never before has Audi been this close to dethroning the classic sports car from Zuffenhausen.
The 420-hp 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 impresses with its aggressive exterior, featuring the distinctive 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 beneath the rear window, which can optionally be illuminated with LEDs in the original version.
In the test in question , the Porsche 911 wins the showdown because, after evaluating all factors, it is the better car overall. On the track at the Eurospeedway, however, the 911 was completely outpaced 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 tested all three; here are the results:
The bodywork is cleanly finished; there are no casting flash that detract from the appearance. The paint job is cleanly executed, and the Audi rings and R8 logo are printed with great detail. The V8 engine, which is visible in the model, is also superbly rendered; after all, they could have taken the easy way out here and simply installed the carbon fiber covers found in the actual car. I really like the driver; I think it’s great when a racetrack manufacturer keeps producing different driver figures—otherwise, the cockpit gets really boring over time. As with the latest models from [
The model is easy to take apart, but when reassembling, care should be taken to carefully reinsert the light units/LEDs 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 can be easily removed. But now there are no more rims that fall apart. The entire Audi weighs 107 grams (no difference between the digital and analog models), making it 7 grams heavier than its direct competitor from Swabia.
The removable axle unit is familiar from other models, as is the large guide fin unit with the double skids. The guide fin sits in front of the front axle; the distance between the guide fin and the rear axle is just right, which you’ll notice later while driving. The guide fin sits neatly in the slot.
And how does the Audi drive now?
Smoothly! Others might say neutral; I think you can’t go far wrong with this car. It gets going with a lively burst of speed, drives very smoothly, handles corners well, and can even be drifted in a controlled manner with 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:
Beyond 100,000 euros for the 1:1 car, the competition is pretty thin, and Audi has launched a certainly not cheap promotional campaign to place its super sports car—produced by quattro GmbH—on the same level as its successful R8 race car, both in name and appearance. Whether they’ve truly succeeded, I can’t say, but at the very least, the belief that one is driving a street-legal race car may have been sparked in some people. Technically speaking, the civilian R8 is more closely related to the Audi RS Sportsline than to the factory’s racing division, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing for street use.
The Carrea models produced so far in silver, dark blue, and red hold their own visually alongside the Porsche 911. Only the areas behind the doors could have been more distinctly contoured, 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 make out on larger layouts. Overall, the printing is very good and detailed. It’s nice that attention was paid to different license plates.
The area in front of the windshield and the engine compartment with the underbody are very nicely
shaped and realistic.
Technology:
I think the rear axle mounting and removal option, which was already introduced at the start of the 2008 model series, is fine. When removing and reinstalling the chassis on the Audi R8, special attention must be paid to the taillights. Due to the design, the installation work is not entirely straightforward. Prototype-accurate lighting was hinted at but certainly cannot be achieved within normal—and thus affordable—scale 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 add-on parts and the printing, is flawless and
the usual
Driving performance:
Within the Audi lineup, I could not detect any significant differences in performance; however, the R8 is, on average, slightly slower than the Porsche 911 models from the same model year. I think there’s plenty of room here for experimenting with tire grinding, sander bending, 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 Privatiers Audi R8 will compete in a tuned version in the VLN or similar series against the 911 and others, and if real racing versions are in the works. It’s always good to
CoMod JoergW
