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Having owned both I was very interested as soon as I saw this thread.
I’m a previous M4 owner and current R8 owner. These are obviously two completely different cars but as the prices come down on the R8 it makes sense someone may be looking to make the jump. With experience in both I’ll offer my thoughts.
There are many but I’d boil it down to 5 primary differences:
- sports car vs exotic supercar
- front vs mid-engine
- factory modified vs purpose built
- forced induction vs NA
- usability
M4
The M car is a legend and it’s reputation is well deserved. Even people who may not know what it is know there’s something special about the car when they put eyes on it. However, it remains a factory modified performance car, not a purpose built supercar. Remember these cars start life as a normal 3 or 4 series. Killer looks and performance while retaining every day usability. It’s handling characteristics are outstanding but still limited by the front engine layout. Having forced induction dominates the engine’s character. It’s not linear in power delivery but the tradeoff is huge torque that’s ready to shove you in the back at a moments notice. I was often frustrated with its difficulty in putting the power down, though once underway it’s midrange pulling power was astonishing. Overtaking performance is on par with supercars. It revs relatively high but not as high as a great NA engine. There’s been plenty said about the way the S55 sounds so I won’t beat that horse but suffice to say while mods can definitely improve it, it won’t ever sound like a high revving NA motor. As for usability, you have a back seat that can accommodate adults and a large trunk out back. Road tripping and indeed even parking an exotic comes with challenges that a M3/4 doesn’t have to contend with. While I was always mindful of my M4 the R8 brings a totally different level of attention. That’s not always a good thing. You can daily an M car with no problem and it’ll road trip as well as most any similar sized car. You can literally drop the kids at school on your way to the track.
R8
Probably the most dominant difference is now you’ve moved to a true supercar. Looks, cost, attention, performance are all on another level. Every time you get in the car it’s an event. Mine is a V10 so I can’t speak to the V8 performance but the 10 cylinder is mighty. Being NA you have to get into the upper RPMs to get the most out of it which only adds to the occasion. Hitting 8700 rpm in a screaming V10 is something everyone should experience. Driving it you know the engine is something very special and will only become more rare in the future. You sit much lower, the car feels wider, you’re aware of the monster right behind your back. The sound is glory. You enjoy this engine and are thankful to live in a time just before NA engines, let alone a V10, really start to disappear. It’s a purpose built supercar and the mid-engine layout gives it incredible handling. When it came out the R8 shocked people. To my eyes the looks were way ahead of its time and I believe it will age incredibly well. I think the R8 is one of the greatest halo cars ever built and will always be special for that. The current R8 has evolved into a bit more fussy design and I don’t believe time will be as kind. The cons include the added costs and far less usability. While depreciation has brought the price down it’s still a supercar and that has inherent costs - parts, labor, insurance, etc. Adding to the costs is that (at least for me) this is a second car. I know there are those who have made a DD out of an R8 but I couldn’t do it. For me it’s a weekend car. I can’t imagine parking the R8 and leaving it unattended. It just draws too much attention. It’s an unfortunate part of owning it but for me it’s an A to A only car.
There’s a couple things others have mentioned that I’ll piggyback on.
- 2014-15 is the facelift gen 1. In addition to several other upgrades the biggest was moving from the R-tronic transmission to the S-tronic. The S-tronic is an outstanding double-clutch. The R-tronic gets a lot of hate, though many folks do very much enjoy it. Those two facelift years offer the best R8 IMO, gen 1 looks with the incredible S-tronic.
- Manual V10s are becoming difficult to get ahold of. Especially difficult finding a manual facelift V10, numbers are low, they don’t change hands often and only at a significant premium when they do. By all accounts the gated manuals are a thing of beauty but don’t discount the S-tronic. It’s lightening fast and as good as any double-clutch out there.
- Spec matters. If the car wasn’t spec’d well it can feel/look like it’s not that special inside. However, done right and it can look incredible. Mine has diamond stitched full leather, carbon (interior, sideblades, and eng compartment), alcantara headliner, and illuminated aluminum door sills. It feels like a very special place to sit.
I’ll caveat all this is only my 2 cents and not worth any more than that. Last thing I’ll say is both cars are incredible. They are very different and made for different purposes and anyone would be fortunate to drive either. To be completely honest I often think about selling my R8 and going to an F80 to have the backseat space for kiddos. First-world problems right. Apologies for the length but hope this helps!
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