Original Audi R8 Races First-Gen Audi RS 7 Sportback, Guess Who Won by a Hair?

While it’s not easy telling the first gen R8 apart from the newer version if all you’ve got to work with is a lateral angle and a blacked-out exterior (plus the distance factor), there are several indicators you can still follow. For example, the headlights are slimmer in the newer R8, and the side blade isn’t one continuous piece like on the original.

Therefore, all visual signs point to us looking at the older model. Of course, that’s just half the problem, because we still must figure out the specification. Judging by its quarter mile time, we should be dealing with a 5.2 FSI quattro model, which produced 542 hp (550 ps) and 391 lb-ft (530 nm) of torque following its mid-cycle update in 2012 – originally it had 518 hp (525 ps).

As for this RS 7, it’s based on the mid-cycle facelifted version of the A7 judging by the headlight design, which means one of two things. It’s either putting down 553 hp (560 ps) and 516 lb-ft (700 Nm) of torque, or 597 hp (605 ps) and 553 lb-ft (750 Nm) of torque if it’s the Performance variant. The former will hit 60 mph (97 kph) in just under 4 seconds, while the RS 7 Performance needs 3.6 seconds.

The two raced twice, with the RS 7 winning both times. On the first run, the larger and heavier car posted a time of 11.4 seconds to the R8’s 11.8 seconds. The second time around, the RS 7 needed 11.6 seconds to cover the quarter mile, while the R8 posted pretty much the same time as before.