GT pre-facelift.
It’s the most special R8 that Audi ever made and is currently seriously undervalued.

 

100%. Unless you've actually been in a GT, and took the time to see just how many aspects make the GT truly unique, it's hard to appreciate. Def underrated as Osman mentioned.

There's a reason why the vast majority of mods for the 1st gen say "GT-style...."

 

If you can get a GT coupe for 15K more than a Plus I certainly would. The only GT coupe in the UK on the market is £35K more than than any Plus...

But if I saw a V10 manual then I'd also be tempted by that ... and if I saw I manual Plus then I think the geek in me wouldn't be able to say no... we have 11 Plus manuals in the UK and 68 GTs (33 coupe, 35 spyder)

 

Thank you everyone!

Pluses here are between 95 and 100k and GTs between 110 and 115k.

Although the GTs are older, I would have expected a bigger gap considering the limited production and significant upgrades that make this model much more exclusive, so I thought maybe there is some problem with this model keeping the value lower than expected.

Good to know, then!

A manual V10 is very tempting, but it costs madness (with a reason, but we are too far).

 

It’s that they are so rare that people do not know what they are. 333 in the world and only 90 in the US. I now have my third R8 but my ‘12 GT is the most visceral connected to the pavement car I have owned (over past 911S by far) and is special. I have 31k miles and a good number of track days on mine and has had zip issues. I have owned it since 2012 and it’s not leaving me. Wonderful car but still comfortable. Drove it across country even. It’s much different than any other R8. It should be worth much more and will be one day. My two.

 

It’s a tough call, I think the GT will be a better investment but for me personally I didn’t get on with the r-tronic box when looking. I’d advise trying both as the s-tronic swung it for me.

 

GT

 

R-Tronic (in my humble opinion) gets a bad rap cuz ppl are impressionable.

The R-Tronic is NOT a PDK-type trans. It's literally an automatically operated manual transmission. Meaning, it still shifts, rev matches, etc. It simply eliminates you needing to step on the clutch or shift gears manually. But the initial review of it was with the expectation of it being a PDK-type automatic trans. That means super crisp and lightning fast shifts etc. And once that article/review came out, most ppl jumped on that bandwagon, becrying the negatives of the R-Tronic.

But...those who have actually driven an R-tronic and esp those that own one, will tell you it actually still gives you a true manual feel, without worrying about the cluch. Put it in sports mode, and manually shift gears (shifter or paddles) and it gives you that back & forth surge that a true manual trans provides. It's almost like a throwback to manual transmissions in an era of them almost going extinct.

So if you enjoy the feel of a manual trans, but don't want the hassle and foot cramping from clutching in-and-out, the R-Tronic is visceral and fantastic.

If you wanna lay down some of the most amazing numbers with an artificial feeling trans that shifts faster than you can tell you even hit the shift point, yea, it's definitely not the trans for you.

In short, the R-Tronic is a perfect exemplification of how influenced you may be by others shaping your expectations (vs what the R-Tronic was originally meant to do). In my humble opinion

 

Having owned my GT for 11 years I fully agree with the above. The trans is fine.

 

R-Tronic (in my humble opinion) gets a bad rap cuz ppl are impressionable.

The R-Tronic is NOT a PDK-type trans. It's literally an automatically operated manual transmission. Meaning, it still shifts, rev matches, etc. It simply eliminates you needing to step on the clutch or shift gears manually. But the initial review of it was with the expectation of it being a PDK-type automatic trans. That means super crisp and lightning fast shifts etc. And once that article/review came out, most ppl jumped on that bandwagon, becrying the negatives of the R-Tronic.

But...those who have actually driven an R-tronic and esp those that own one, will tell you it actually still gives you a true manual feel, without worrying about the cluch. Put it in sports mode, and manually shift gears (shifter or paddles) and it gives you that back & forth surge that a true manual trans provides. It's almost like a throwback to manual transmissions in an era of them almost going extinct.

So if you enjoy the feel of a manual trans, but don't want the hassle and foot cramping from clutching in-and-out, the R-Tronic is visceral and fantastic.

If you wanna lay down some of the most amazing numbers with an artificial feeling trans that shifts faster than you can tell you even hit the shift point, yea, it's definitely not the trans for you.

In short, the R-Tronic is a perfect exemplification of how influenced you may be by others shaping your expectations (vs what the R-Tronic was originally meant to do). In my humble opinion

This is what I'm looking for.
I spent the last weekend driving a Ferrari 430 Scuderia, a Porsche 992 GT3 PDK and a Ferrari 812 GTS, and I found the PDK to be the least engaging of the three: it's lightning-fast and infallible, but totally lacks engagement, the shifts are seamless and you have no sense of the gear shifts, it's perfect in terms of performance, but rather poor in terms of engagement. In this respect, the 812's double-clutch gearbox was much better, both uphill and downhill, but here the monumental engine adds drama and makes every mile special.
On the other hand, the 430's gearbox was jerky and sluggish at low speeds, but tremendously visceral when driving at high speeds and the shifts were absolutely noticeable, the overall feel was that of driving a clutch-less manual gearbox car and the involvement was total.
I wouldn't choose it for an allrounder/everyday car, in traffic it should be a PITA, but for sporty driving it seems to be great.
Coming from a manual car, I'd probably be more satisfied with the R-Tronic gearbox, I'm only a bit scared of its reliability in a used car.

 

I'm only a bit scared of its reliability in a used car.

If you choose an R-Tronic car, be prepared to have some money saved up to rebuild the R-Tronic actuator. Seals and solenoids eventually fail along with the accumulator and pump associated with the R-Tronic system.

 

The GT is more collectible and unique of the two. It's also lighter, with a significant number of GT specific parts not found on the rest of the model years, including the Plus. That said, the Plus is a better driving car. The S-Tronic is so much better in every way than the R-Tronic. It makes the car significantly more driveable and the sport mode downshifts are awesome when you want to fool around. I've owned both V10 versions and while I loved my earlier R-Tronic, there is no way I'd go back. In addition, you get updated styling and headlights/taillights, better interior (diamond stitching).

If you plan to drive it a lot, you'll enjoy the Plus more. If its to occasionally take out on a weekend cruise and admire as a collectible in the garage, get the GT.

 

The Rtronic, F1 and SMGs in my opinion shift like a guy that kind drive stick. Too harsh. Like an on/off switch. Or too lazy causing the clutch to slip.
The PDK has been around since the 80s. I’m surprised it took this long to put them into street cars.