Watch this Audi R8 take on a Nissan GT-R and then a tuned Toyota Supra in quarter-mile action.
Last year, Audi rebranded their venerable R8 supercar a bit. No longer called the V10 Plus, the top of the line R8 was renamed the V10 Performance. It also got an extra 9 horsepower, bringing the total output of its 5.2-L V10 to 602 hp, and shaved off a tenth of a second from its 0-60 time, bringing it down to 3.2 seconds.
It also got larger ceramic brakes, a carbon fiber anti-roll bar, as well as Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 Tires.
Its opponent is an equally venerable car, the Nissan GT-R. Also all-wheel drive, the latest GT-R gets 565 horsepower from its 3.8-L twin-turbo V6 as well as 467 lb-ft of torque. Zero to sixty is said to be accomplished in as little as 2.7 seconds on its way to a top speed of 196 mph.
The GT-R does weigh much more than the R8, coming in at 3,840 lbs to the R8’s 3,428 lbs. The GT-R is geared for faster starts, but the R8 is geared for better top speed.
And it shows in this drag race. The R8 driver seems asleep at the wheel as the GT-R takes the early lead, but then the R8 manages to catch back up halfway down the track. It’s not quite enough to take the race, but had the driver been paying attention the R8 would have been the clear winner.
Final time for the R8 was 10.76 seconds at 129.34 mph, while the GT-R finished in 11.24 seconds at 127.53 mph.
The next race sees the R8 take on a tuned A80 Toyota Supra. This car was the poster child of the Japanese tuner era, with all manner of upgrades being done to garage Supras. We have no idea what was done to this particular Toyota, but it looks like it’s got bigger brakes, drag radials, an aftermarket roof spoiler, and likely some sort of turbocharger upgrade under the hood judging by the sound.
There’s no telling how much power the Supra’s twin-turbo inline 6-cylinder engine is making now. Check out the video above to see how well it compares to the Audi R8.