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Audi R8: What It Costs to Live with a Supercar

By now, I'm sure you all know the story of Paul Wallace, the fellow petrolhead who started filming supercars around Britain with his mobile phone and eventually made enough money on Youtube to buy a £50,000 second-hand Audi R8.
Paul Wallace with Iron Man Audi R8 1 photo
Photo: screenshot from Youtube
He is a swell guy whom we had the pleasure of talking to on a number of occasions and he has an entrepreneurial mindset. The upside of him buying the R8 is that the whole world can now find out what it's actually like to live with a second-hand performance car on a day-to-day basis, thanks to his frequent Youtube video updates.

The latest has really caught our attention, since it's about the cost of living with the mid-engined Audi for six month. What's more, this isn't from the perspective of a rich businessman, but from that of a 23 year old who's always having to find creative ways to sponsor his V8 addiction.

Now, before we tell you anything else, let's get one thing clear: this R8 is not technically a supercar. Developed by quattro GmbH, it's powered by a V8 engine that's mechanically very similar to the one in the RS4 and RS5. A conventional six-speed manual gearbox is also offered, something no current supercar has.

Sorry to burst your bubble

According to Wallace, the R8 takes about 80 to 85 liters of fuel (the official number is 75). That's actually very impressive and it means longer journeys are possible, making this into somewhat of a gran turismo.

Even though the car isn't heavy and the engine is not turbocharged, the 4.2-liter drinks a whole lot of fuel. The supercar spotter says he uses it every day (it's his only car) and that a fill-up costs £110-120, which he has to pay one, maybe twice a week. That adds up to £500 per month, which is why he has a Shell membership card.

Since this is 2014 and not 1964, you can own a supercar and help with its running costs by using social media and sponsorship. We immediately spotted that on top of the Iron Man wrap, the R8 has a large sticker to promote Asphalt 8, which is a racing game.

The R8 was entered in the Gumball 3000 from Edinburgh to Paris. Paul made bunch of cool videos there, but the downside was that he had do a service on the brakes, which were gone. This was another huge cost for him to shoulder.

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About the author: Mihnea Radu
Mihnea Radu profile photo

Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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