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The looks and stares....

748K views 2K replies 507 participants last post by  Tupper 
#1 ·
Everyone on this forum knows the reactions an R8 elicits. Ive had my car about 2 months and have driven it a dozen times or so. When driving through a small town, all eyes on the sidewalk are transfixed my way with mouths agape and fingers pointing. In parking lots, the questions, the camera's, the wide eyed gazes. Kids in SUV's climbing over backseats to look at the car behind them, open windows with fists pumping out... the whole nine yeards. You really do feel like a rock and roll star. Given the rarity of the car, those reactions are unlikely to wane.

Perhaps this is a stupid question but... are these reactions beginning to, in some way, take away from the experience? The joy of driving the car is undeniable but I find myself not wanting to drive it to certain places and in certain situations because I find the reactions to be, at times, unnerving. Sometimes, its a bit uncomfortable. People have actually pulled into my office parking lot, parked their car and gotten out to circle the R8. Another guy stopped his car as he finished a left turn while I was at the light.... put his car in park, rolled down his window and started asking questions while others honked. Many of you have or had other exotics and have become accustomed to similar reactions but for me, its a somewhat new experience.

Any comments?
 
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#2 ·
Russman,
I agree with you. I have not had experiences like this before. Yesterday someone drove into my office complex, parked next to my car and started taking pictures. My cohorts could not believe it. They came to my office and said "people are taking pictures of your car."

On Sunday I had someone in a BMW follow me home and he pulled into my driveway. I stopped after 100 feet and got out of my car to see what was up. He backed out and left as I approached him. That is the third time people have follow me home.

Geez...its a car! A really fun car to drive and I love the way it looks, but it makes me self-conscious. I did not realize that the R8 would cause this much interest. Maybe this will make our cars hold their value longer. :eek:)
 
#3 ·
I'm not sure one could ever get use to it. Sometimes I do feel a bit "un-nerved". For the most part I enjoy talking about the car. And some kids are just too dam cute! The other day while driving past the high school, group of guys came out of the parking lot, caught up to me and one kid hanging out the window yells: " I think I love you"...LOL...forget about the part I'm old enough to be your mother! They continued to take pictures with their cells...and that part does make me nervous...a driver taking a picture...Not good!:eek:
 
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#4 ·
It's certainly new to me too and I would never have believed the extent and how frequent the reactions are..

for those that drive by and give a thumbs up, I give them a small hand acknowlegement to say 'thanks for the compliment'..

at this point I'm not unnerved by them although I'm sure I will be at some point if this does continue - I would think that slowly the population will increase and novelty will wear off..
 
#6 ·
I would think that slowly the population will increase and novelty will wear off..
I don't think that's gonna happen. the R8 is such a low production model with maybe a couple of thousand on Earth. I have heard it said and seen it written that the R8 may be one of the most visually stunning vehicles produced in quite some time. Most people will never see one in the flesh in their lives. I don't see its allure waning any time soon. I know when I saw it on the floor of the Audi Forum for the first time... it nearly took my breath away. seeing it everyday, I've become desenitized to its looks just a bit. the things that happen to us in our travels with the car will always remind us its profound effect on those who see it. They actually followed someone to their home!! that level of awe doesn't wear out
 
#5 ·
All of the attention is new to me as well. I have had porsche and other audi products and nothing has come close to drawing as much attention as this car. When I purchased the R8 I expected some attention but nothing to the extent that it is occuring. There are certain times I do not drive the car because I don't want the attention. Sometimes the attention is fun, other times it can be a bit much. It is a bit uncomfortable to come out of a store and find 5 or 6 people surrounding your car with camera phones. Unfortuneatly you can't pick and choose.
 
#7 ·
I hear everything you're saying, but personally I LOVE IT :D I can't see the interest falling off at all, as there are so few of these cars around, and they are stunning to look at. I agree with the de-sensitized comment when you own one, but I saw another one coming the other way a few weeks ago, and it took my breath away, and I was staring at it until I realised that I was actually sat in the same **** car I was drooling at!!

At the end of the day, we all know how we felt when we first ever saw an R8, and we all would stare and point if we didn't own one. We knew what we were buying from day 1, and we should take the compliments and stares etc... and be thankful that we are driving the R8 and not the one doing the pointing/staring/taking photos/walking around it/fist pumping etc...

As for the question "are these reactions beginning to, in some way, take away from the experience?" the answer is a firm NO WAY :D :D :D
 
#8 ·
I absolutely love the attention the R8 gets :D

I haven't found it the slightest bit worrying and I really enjoy the way it allows you to somehow connect or communicate with complete strangers :)

I'm so used to it now that my concern is that if I ever have to sell it I won't be able to handle it and I'll be like some has-been old Celebrity ; sad , embittered ,desperate for attention and people pointing in pity instead :(

"See that poor old down-and-out over there" they'll say "You won't believe it but he was once that famous bloke in the R8" :eek:
 
#9 ·
It is something you need to get used to. I have experienced all of the same including having people get out of their cars at red lights to run up to the car and give me a thumbs up and then run back to their cars to beat the light! I am not a thumbs up kind of guy so I have had to develop an appropriate wave so as not to seem aloof or snobish.

Kids are, of course, the best. I was at a soccer match recently and there was a young boy in an Ironman costume who almost fell over when he saw my car in the parking lot.

One thing that I have found is that all the attention is positive. Driving the car is like a public service; it brings smiles to people's faces which is always nice to see.

There are, of course, times when I am returning to my car to find it surrounded by admirers but when I am not in the mood to chit chat so I simply walk on and return a bit later.
 
#12 · (Edited)
I love everything I am hearing! Thanks for sharing some of the experiences and its nice to see the reactions are not regional or age specific. I forgot to mention the woman that proposed to me at a red light... its a good thing I had my wedding ring on because she the furthest thing from a MILF!:eek: Had she looked a bit different, however... ;)
 
#14 ·
It's a mixed bag for me. Some days I am fine with all the attention, and there are other days that I would prefer to be left alone. Overall though, I would say that the rock star treatment is positive. Especially when kids are involved - I never get tired of seeing them go nuts.

One of my best experiences was crossing the U.S. border from Canada. It was on a Saturday and there was two lines open. Both of them long. I get to the window and the customs/immigration lady looks at the car. She asks me a few questions, but then decided to come out of her booth.

She told me I needed to open the trunk and started walking to the back. So I told that the trunk was in the front. Then she says "you need to get out here and open it - I'm not touching this thing" She looked in the trunk, and made me close it. Then she goes to the back, and says "now I need you to open this". So I did, and then she proceeds to ask exactly what kind of car it was, how many HP, etc. She was oblivious to the people waiting in line to cross the border.

Then the guy who is supposed to be working the other line leaves his post and says to me "have you heard about our mandatory test drive program sir?". The he proceeds to ask me a bunch of questions, and tells me that mine is the first one he had ever seen. These people see a lot of cars. So now, I have both lines trying to cross the border at a standstill.

Anyway, I finally got on my way, but I suspect there was a lot of irate people in line behind me.
 
#15 · (Edited)
;)I have long used the term SBRF for interesting cars I've driven (Small Boy Recognition Factor). I'm still waiting for my R8 (but I hear it's getting close!), but clearly it sounds like its SBRF will be off the charts. Older pre-teen and teen aged boys are a prime appreciation group for "hot" looking cars, and they LOVE IT when you talk to them about the car! Don't pass up that pleasure!

I'm revealing my age by telling this story, but I still remember clearly when, at age 13, a neighbor girl's father came home with a brand new '55 Ford T-bird. She was kind of cute, but I was absolutely smitten with her dad's car and positively drooled everytime he drove by. A '55 T-bird may sound pretty mundane in today's world, but if you were car aware in the US in 1955, it was like NOTHING you'd ever seem or even imagined (though I had had a previous fling with loving another neighbor's '48 MG TC at about age 10!).

I definitely will not ignore the SB's who are interested in my R8.
 
#16 ·
Wow. I have never seen the crowds of people around the car that people on here have talked about. Sometimes there are a few kids or a curious parent/son looking at the engine in the back.


The other day I had to run some errands and stopped at REI for a quick look. There were a couple of teenagers taking a pretty close look at the car when I returned. I surprised them a little bit by clicking the unlock button. They just commented on how "cool" the car looked. I made them play rock/paper/scissors then took the winner for a quick ride around the block. That made his day... :)
 
#18 ·
My lady had FUN,FUN, FUN, 'till daddy took the R 8 away!!:)
 
#20 ·
I don't know what you're all talking about! :confused: I live in central London and use my R8 every day but the car rarely attracts a second glance. :( There are even three R8s in the underground car park of my apartment block! To add insult to injury, I picked up a girl for a date recently and she didn't even notice I'd switched cars from my previous BMW Z4!!

Head out of town though and it's a different matter...! And the roads are better too! :)
 
#21 ·
Boy, that is SO not the case in the States. There is a better than average chance that I may not see another R8 unless I travel to a gathering or something. Three R8's in your parking garage... that's amazing.
 
#23 ·
There are only 3 in Israel... and when i stop for shopping its funny to walk back with grocery bags and see 6 people around your car taking pictures. A5's tailgating me all the time... my 25 year old cousin said she could pick up a guy a minute in this car. the funny thing is that my dates get a bit upset when men are staring at the car and ignore them.
 
#24 ·
Today's my 1 year anniversary... 26,842 miles as of this morning! I've driven up and down the west coast, across the continent, and have found that the wow factor is the same where ever I am. I've also found that there's two kinds of wow: the first is great, it's the little kid [4,14, or 44 years old] who knows the car and is in awe of the engineering and just wants to check it out. I find that it's not hard at all to answer questions, and have even let dads put their kid in the car to take a pic. the grins are worth the time three times over. And there are enough guys with exotic cars who act like a#$holes that give us all a bad name; it doesn't take much to make a kid's day that way.
Then there are the stalkers: the guys in ricers or M3s who drive right up next to you on the rear quarter and sit there at 65, then 75, or whatever... those guys really give me the creeps, and are dangerous to boot. I find that I"ll move over two lanes to make it obvious that I'm getting away from them. Some of them get it, some of them don't...
But in all of it, the best thing to remember is that it's the car, not you....if Quasimodo drove an R8, he'd get the thumbs up, and "Nice hump, dude!" every time....
 
#26 ·
Today's my 1 year anniversary... 26,842 miles as of this morning! I've driven up and down the west coast, across the continent, and have found that the wow factor is the same where ever I am. I've also found that there's two kinds of wow: the first is great, it's the little kid [4,14, or 44 years old] who knows the car and is in awe of the engineering and just wants to check it out. I find that it's not hard at all to answer questions, and have even let dads put their kid in the car to take a pic. the grins are worth the time three times over. And there are enough guys with exotic cars who act like a# that give us all a bad name; it doesn't take much to make a kid's day that way.
Then there are the stalkers: the guys in ricers or M3s who drive right up next to you on the rear quarter and sit there at 65, then 75, or whatever... those guys really give me the creeps, and are dangerous to boot. I find that I"ll move over two lanes to make it obvious that I'm getting away from them. Some of them get it, some of them don't...
But in all of it, the best thing to remember is that it's the car, not you....if Quasimodo drove an R8, he'd get the thumbs up, and "Nice hump, dude!" every time....
LOL...great post! And your 100% right...it is those "stalkers" that un-nerve me.
Quasi driving an R8....great visual!:cool:

(Welcome to the forum):)
 
#29 ·
A 20+ years old girl ask if I can adopt her yesterday. I told her I already have three daughters. Talked to 4 group of younger kids and young dude at the gas station last night. Two asked for permission to take pictures, one guy asked if he can have a ride, he is an big Audi fan. So I gave him a ride.
 
#30 · (Edited)
Same story, daily for the past year. I have to agree with kthacher. Sometimes it's cool, but sometimes when I'm in a grouchy mood and people are all smiling and waving, it gets a bit annoying. It's like, leave me and my bad mood alone.

My worse story is this lady next to me kept looking, and the light turned green, the car in front of her moved a few feet and she went slamming into the car in front of her. I felt bad.

But still, every single day is the same thing. I guess it's still rare and will be rare.
 
#35 ·
I think the entire US production run for 07, 08, 09 is about 2500. The value will fall but they're going to be rare (rarely seen) for a long time to come at that volume. You just don't see than many on the street, which is why people fall all over themselves when they do see one. It's okay, enjoy it while you have it!
 
#33 ·
So many stares that I may just have to put my emblems back on.I have almost passed a Highway Patroll Car, and even he was nice--NO ticket. ALMOST passed the cop...R8s' brakes are just to good to let that happen. EVERYONE on the roads have been nice so far,or maybe I just don't see the haters since I try to get away from everyone and find my own space...but I was vandalised while visiting Tuscon Az. A subhuman of some sort ,(a hater)scratched a headlite and keyed or diamond ringed, a small scratch into rear fender.Hardly unnoticeable to most people . Easily fixed...I learned the hard way. Don't even trust the valet's judgement,or leave the car out of sight....The cigarrette flinger wouldn't HAVE any fingers if my buddies got a hold of him!!! Peace out.:)
 
#34 ·
but I was vandalised while visiting Tuscon Az.
At Buffalo Wild Wings - a Sports Bar? Harrison, what were you thinking? I don't even take my Prius there!

the cigarrette flinger wouldn't HAVE any fingers if my buddies got a hold of him!!! Peace out.:)
Yeah, there are times is would be nice to pull the PEACE OUT - the 9mm piece from the glove box! :D
 
#37 ·
Ive never had a true "exotic" before the R8... I had a BMW 850ci back in the day but not quite the same 'vibe' as an R8. For those of you who have had others in the same class... ferrari's, lambo's, aston's, maserati's, etc... are people's responses similar? Somehow, the "shock and awe" factor seems higher with the R8. :eek: Its almost as if an R8 owner seems more approachable and "regular guy'ish" than the other exotics. You'll see guy someone getting out of a Quattroporte and its like no one would dare approach, surround and ask questions. With the R8, it has a "cool" factor and the car and its presence seem to invite people to be more comfortable with the owner. For those who have other exotics, is it the "same old, same old" or is it different?:confused:
 
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