Literally bought one 2 days ago. Can't stop smiling.

Took my V10 Manual Spyder on a 3 week, 8k mile trip across the western US from Dallas, to San Diego, to Seattle and back through Montana and Colorado. Best vacation ever. Not a single problem the entire way through every weather condition except snow. The experience of driving this through the 2 lane redwood forest highways north of Fort Bragg California is something I’ll never forget. Despite what Jay says, frunk space was big enough for me to fit 2 large duffle bags and my hiking bag in the passenger seat. In fact I over packed and sent one bag home via UPS from San Diego. 26k miles and two years later and I’m still loving it mire and more every day. Best car purchase I ever made.

I always like that Jay can change his opinion and actually thinks about why something is his opinion

They'll always remind me of the film I-Robot...I think they've got better with age....

Bought a 2009 3 days ago… absolute stunner

I just picked up a 2015 V10 Manual, two days ago. I love it.

As a manual V10 R8 owner--- I'm here for this! #FutureClassic

I'll buy it immediately with the money I don't have!

'...Early 20s, the sort of person who'd be buying this car' *Looks at £1500 320ci on the driveway*

Another manual Gen1 V10 owner with a Top Gear exhaust checking in 👋🏼

I like the fact Jay has an opinion full stop. Too many reviews do not give any idea what the car is actually like. Keep up the good work sir!

I bought a 2008 v8 manual 3 months ago...absolutely love the car.

I've just bought 3 to go next to my lambos, thanks for the advice JayEmm!

The R8, was always underrated! A great design & not fragile like the Italian makers! Long live V10 FSI!

I still can't even fathom how he was able to talk with himself for 18 minutes straight with (I think) hardly any script

I love these. I think they’ve aged fantastically and they make the newer version look rather fussy. I do agree re the interior though, especially the seats. It really needs the wing backs from an RS4 to lift it a bit. A last near where we used to live used to use a V8 manual as her daily. Looked good in silver and made a lovely noise too. A chap on PH managed to pack enough stuff in his for two to tour around Europe for a reasonable amount of time. He seems to think that they’re pretty practical (well, for a super car).

Could listen to Jayemm all day and never get bored, proper informative and intelligent journalism.

Dammit jay, im still saving up, stop increasing demand 😅

As far as a review goes that's one of the best I've seen in quite a while.

Awesome video. I’ve had my Gen 1 V10 for 3 years and I love it more and more every time I drive it...

Hi from Canada. Thanks for this review. I just purchased a 2014 R8 manual with 20,000km in Sepang Blue. Didn't get to drive it much because of winter. But looking forward to summer to take it out. It's absolutely gorgeous. It has the extended leather with diamond stitching and alcantara roof liner. Cheers

I really love your " it is really not good enough!".

Great car, affordable supercar it’s on my bucket list love the exhaust sound 👍🏻

Great review. Very enjoyable.

I’m currently saving up for one of these, I’m undecided as to go for the Spyder or coupe. I love track days and road trips and I normally hate convertibles, but the R8 looks fantastic with the roof down. You are bang on, the manual is the only car to buy! Hopefully they won’t have gone up to much by the time I have the money. Great video!

Thanks James. This is a good and useful review. Thumbsup!

I bought the Audi R8 V10 Plus model (2014) with the S-Tronic box. Bloody love it :).

Oooooo I love the outro! I think I need this retro outro in my life for my next business project.

Great review 💯👍

To me. A beautiful car when launched and just as so now. 2nd gen ruined by angular body & deletion of side blades

Jay, you are one of the more intelligent car journalists. Great video as always. Gated gearbox + high revs + v10 = heaven

Can't beat a high-revving V10

I bought a dark blue s tronic v10 plus earlier in the month and bizarrely saw you pass me on the m3 towards london in your 550. I was on the way back from collecting mine! Wanted a face lift v10 but manual far too rare so settled on the double clutch box. It’s epic. Keep up the excellent production work 👍

Very nice review

Excellent buy jay.... Congratulations an Audi v10 and Ferrari in the garage wow 😮

Great video, classic car👍

I love the R8, always had. I actually came close to buying one two years ago, but I only like convertible/roadster bodies and it was too wobbly for my taste. I ended up buying an R231 SL63 AMG, which is incredibly rigid even with the top down. Plus, the ABC suspension in the SL is amazing.

This is a proper supercar not many manuals on the market

Know what you mean about seeing cars in London I used to work there and see 458s every day. Nice honest video it is a great car and with all fast cars going auto on their gearboxes even the latest gen sporty audis ican only think these will appreciate very much in the near future.

Yay! Thanks James. Another great review and I agree with your perspective. RE: downsides: I agree the interior isn't as special as it could be. Whilst I don't agree with the 'carbon everything' trend, but I found the few carbon extras help here, along with some contrast stitching. I also agree with the space issue. My wife and I did a week in Europe in a Spyder and it was... a challenge. But worth it. Putting that aside: V10, Manual, great chassis, brakes and decent steering makes it very special, as you say. I went for a Sepang Blue Manual Spyder, also with the Top Gear exhaust, and I absolutely love it. I hope to never sell it. Thanks again and I look forward to the next video.

997’s will go the same way. Very under-appreciated today, but wait a few years. Great video as always, James continuing to knock it out of the park (the shirt alone could do that) :-)

My wife and I did a week around the NC500 in my manual V10 R8 (with the buckets!) 2 soft bags and a rucksack.....no problem! Got the same exhaust as this one too. Had mine 3 years and just cannot see me selling it, Also, there are not as many manuals as Jay implies when you do some digging, its counted in the hundreds I think.

Great review. You really has to push your shirt game to overcome the drabness of that interior but you pulled it off.

I never thought much of the R8 until I reviewed one. I sold my Mclaren 570s shortly after and was going to buy a 2014 manual V10. The manual transmission and the V10 sound sold me and it handles much better than I expected. Unfortunately the seller changed his mind about selling. I can’t blame him, I would have done the same thing.

Nice review.. love the shirt

Good review 👍👌😎

One of your best scripts imo. I enjoyed the fact you talked money

I have a vicarious smile and butterflies from just watching this car in a video!

This my dream car!

Great video. Now I want one...

We once borrowed a V10 Spyder and what struck me most of all was just how excellent the ride was. Certainly far better than the A8 we were driving and by far the most comfortable Audi I've ever experienced.

Still loving the outro.

Always loved the R8, and that V10 has probably my favourite engine sound ever. The V8 is irrelevent just because of that sound.

R8 V10 Spyder 6-speed is the closest thing to a budget Carrera GT you can buy.

Glad you came to your senses. Very special car.

Got a Topgear exhaust on my M6. Pleasantly surprised with it. V10 sounds great.

now if only you could get your hands on the v12 tdi that would be interesting to watch. great video glad to see you appreciating the car

Hi James, thanks for this review. Apologies for the very wordy (+weird) question - if we forget for a moment that the 1st generation R8 can be had with a "clank-clank" gated manual unlike the 2nd generation R8, would you still say that the S-tronic or R -Tronic of the 1st generation R8 is more engaging (or fun) to drive than the red RWD 2nd generation R8 you had recently? I'm intrigued because you pointed out that the 1st generation R8 comes with hydraulic power steering and torsen diffs unlike the 2nd generation. Thank you.

Jay I suspect the 9 unlikes arise in homage to that stunning, literally stunning shirt you have on! Jokes aside great video as always!

When the first R8 came out in V8 form Wi-fi the a manual gearbox I remember seeing one in Audley Square, London and I nearly wet myself ! As a slightly more expensive at to a 911 when new the sale was sensational. The glass showing the engine was a stunning feature and the noise. Remember this was cheaper than any a Ferrari at the time. Even if it drove like a pig - I still wanted one ! Personally I would love an original mint and unmolested version of this car !

Uncle has a v10 paddle shifter. The engine is very special. It sounds so good. Too bad he didnt get manual.

I shall, thanks Jay!

RIP open-gate shifter. You died when this car went out of production. :'-(

A beautiful sound!

The R8 is a car I have grown to appreciate.

The R8 never actually had a true Quattro system. The Quattro system is actually a Viscous coupling center diff. Not Torsen.

Great video, again... thanks Jay. I was thinking about R8 V8 manual but chose 997.2 S2 manual instead. Not regretting anything. I think it's a better driver's car. But still. These R8s are great cars. And they already started their climb in prices (the same case as with 997 manuals). So, it is actually a bit of investment with a lot of smiles instead of dividends... :)

this one i can see will be a future classic

That shirt is truly next level

You've got thinking about buying a newish R8 now. I'd love a manual but tight parking in and around London means the automatic is probably the one I'd choose. Very informative video though. I had been looking at Porsches and Jags

Amazing, stunning ❤

proper drivers car, can see this becoming a expensive classic very soon

First & foremost, Thank-You for not having music playing & allowing that beautiful V10 sing instead...as car videos should All do!!! Manual V10 would be my 1st choice, but regardless, a manual is the only transmission I would have. I have 4 cars, All 2 door manuals!!! Thank-You for a gr8 video, if I can ever get a chance to buy one, I will!!! Thanks from the USA 🇺🇸

As a 911 Turbo driver the R8 V10 is one of the only other cars I’d consider based on cost and value. I drove a friends R8 and when going through town it still gets a lot more looks and thumbs up than the 911 Turbo.

Just bought a ‘14 v8 S-tronic live in New York major traffic everywhere so at 70 years of age and having a manual 911 choose the lazy way around but ,car is a wonder. Classy comfortable and plenty fast I’m thrilled to have it….

Can you do a video on previous cars you’ve owned, current ones, near term goals(less than 5 years away), and long term goals(over 5 years away)?

I think the R8 V10 Manual is a great car that divides opinion by coming from a mainstream manufacturer, but these are really good cars and represent great value for money right now - like the 550 was the last true manual v12 Ferrari the Audi R8 V10 Gen 1 is also the last of a line - both great cars in their own ways

Great review! Slightly envious of the manual but at the same time, I quite like the flappy paddle experience in a supercar too 🤔 Torn!!

One of the best sounding V10's ever made. Great video Jay, currently the best motoring show on any media platform IMO. You magnificent bugger 👍

Amazing shirt

Love this Car!

eagerly waiting for the next S2K video...

At long last! It’s great to see this car (both V8 and V10 manual) starting to be appreciated as the incredible special car they truly are.

Love it. Simples.

That shirt is amazing.

I agree on the base interior being a little poor for type of car the R8 is, but you can spec a non GT/LMX to have a beautiful interior. My 2011 V10 has Carbon interior pack, extended leather, alcantara roof lining, illuminated door sills. The only thing it's missing is the Recaro Wingbacks (which is a massive shame!)

This is the only Audi I would ever buy. Great car.

Being one of the lucky, or should I say very lucky few to own an LP 570 with a manual gearbox, I am now presented the opportunity to purchase a manual R8 plus, one of the very last cars produced before going to .the new body style. What do you think, should I ???

The first-gen V10 R8’s Lamborghini Gallardo-derived V10 was detuned to 525 hp instead of the Gallardo’s 552hp, in order to prevent it from stealing sales from the more expensive Gallardo, because what would be the point of paying more for the Gallardo if it wasn’t any faster than the cheaper R8 V10 if the two cars had the same power as each other? They wouldn’t, so Gallardo sales would have plummeted as a result!

Yes! I want to buy one soso bad but I‘m quite afraid that anything could go wrong. On top of that I have a mint TTRS with a 6 speed manual which I don‘t want to get rid of, as it‘s a perfect car and the last of its kind. I hope one day in the near I‘ll be able to at least afford a manual V8 R8 and my TTRS at the same time.

Nice shirt !

Pretty good for an Audi. As long as it's a manual.

It's funny, all this KZfaq fascination with manual cars.. If anyone has driven a paddle shift hard - pedal to the metal hard, either on the track or road, I don't think many would go back to the manual. You have such a greater focus on the active "drive" - the road surface, the revs, the apex of a corner, the perception of grip under your seat.. You simply do not want to be distracted by gear shifting, or achieving the perfect heel toe. When you are in the moment, you simply do not want any distractions, and paddle shifts (obviously I mean an extremely well set up single clutch or dual - although my preference is the single, there's a reason the Aventador is still a single clutch..) offer that. And frankly, the feeling of belting through gears and achieving perfect downshift and belting up shifts.. It's a great feeling. I would admit for more leisurely pursuits the manual is more fun, and more involving. At the limit, give me paddles and perfect shifts, anytime.

Been saying this for over a year now - one of the best investments you can make. V10 check. Manual check. Understated check. Drives well check. Underpriced? Check! In fact, it's almost as if you took this video from my comment on your previous video 😉 Ps - don't buy a house as investment.

You're killing it with the like/dislike ratio

Hey James, love your channel mate, been watching since the Evora days! But first time posting. How do you think this R8 v10 compares with a Ferrari F430 manual?

This to me looks so so much better than the modern r8s

I think my mk2 tts has the same seats, sat nav and climate controls and likely lights plus window switches

Gallardo = the KZfaq fucc boi screaming at the camera R8 V10 = the understated gentleman whos actual name is Chad

Dang, it has the Torsen diff ?. Sweet!.