If you have been following us over the years, you know I have a passion for anything Audi, so when iScale released the dealer edition Audi R8 V10 Plus Coupe, you know I had to have one!  The first batch came and went within a bat of an eyelash.  Months later I can present the second batch of the 1:18 Audi R8 V10 Plus Coupe in Vegas Yellow.  Let me preface this review with some tidbits about the car.  The second iteration of the R8 features a 540 horsepower  V10.  The V10 Plus makes 610, that’s 70 ponies more!  The new exterior design and some of the best, if not the best, interiors in the business today, makes this an all-around winner in the supercar class.

Let’s start with the exterior.  The Vegas Yellow paint is the thing that instantly attracted me to the model; being labelled a dealer edition sealed the deal.  This is the 6th R8 in my collection to date, I have basically all the variants of the design from Coupe to rag-top.  The execution of the paint is good, my model has no flaws to report.  Overall lines are pretty good, but I think the front section is slightly off from the 1:1 – there is more of a pronounced swoop/curve.  Shutlines and panel gaps are horrible on the model, especially where the door meets the front hood and hood resting in the closed position.  Photos don’t lie!  This was an issue with the first batch and it continues here.

I know for a fact that Audi AG wasn’t impressed with the execution of the first release, so that may explain the quick departure of inventory.  Exterior carbon fiber work is average at best and application in some areas is very poor.  One thing I did appreciate was the side cooling ducts, they are actually capped with metal grilles (sorry I did not take a photo).  Lastly, the door handles are separate bits.  The colour is off and the fitment is poor, but they do flow with the lines of the door.

The front fascia does not include any perforated grilles; this includes centre, left and right.  We have carved pieces of solid plastic here.  Headlight detail is good.  Storage area is fully carpeted and hood features struts left and right.

Rear is much like the front.  All grilles are solid pieces of plastic.  The exhaust tips are unpainted and left in bare plastic finish.  My passenger side taillight has some sort of residue or fingerprint-like artefact on it.  Poor quality control for sure.

The heart of the R8 Plus is powered by a V10.  Motor execution is above average, in my opinion just little too plain and too plastic looking for a model sporting the Audi badge.  The carbon fibre work surrounding is average at best.  And another nod to poor quality control, notice the broken hatch strut on the right.  Thankfully this wasn’t too difficult to fix, a simple dap of CA glue and done.  Also the lower surround cooling vents are solid pieces of plastic too.

There has been a lot of debate on the wheel execution, here’s my two cents…  First, the finish on the rims are good, maybe they could have used a better shade to mimic the original slightly better.  I do think the overall diameter is slightly off on the front and worse on the rear.  Also, the rear offset is wrong, wheels should be in more.  Obviously, in a perfect situation, the model should have been crafted with two different sizes for front and rear, iScale got lazy or put profit margin in front of execution.  Overall, I’m giving them a failing grade.

The interior is completed in all black, with the yellow exterior the package works well.  We have full carpeting throughout and fabric seat-belts to boot.  I actually like the execution of the interior.  Materials are good, detailing on all the interior bits is done well and the accenting carbon fibre pieces are crafted with care.  The big win over the first release is iScale did paint the upper window moulding black, looks much better eh!

For an Audi fan like me the addition of the Audi R8 V10 Plus Coupe is a must.  The overall execution here is average at best, there are many quality control issues that need to be addressed.  Audi AG definitely needs to find another supplier or implement stricter guidelines to their scale model assortment.  Hey I’m willing to take the job!  In all seriousness, this one is a pass unless you’re comfortable with putting her under the knife or want that missing piece in your supercar collection.  Enjoy the pics!