Audi R8 V8 vs C8 Corvette vs Toyota MR2 Spyder

It’s not everyday that you get to see a comparison test between three mid-engine cars such as these; the brand-new C8 Corvette, first-gen Audi R8 V8, and the Toyota MR2 Spyder. But that’s Car Throttle for you, always putting together quirky tests, just for the fun of it. In this new video, we get to see which mid-engine car is the most fun and the results are rather surprising.

First up is the brand-new C8 Corvette, which is an incredibly car. We drove one last year and really enjoyed it. In America, the new Vette is almost impossible to beat for the money. For around $65,000, you get a 500 horsepower, mid-engine, rear-wheel drive supercar with a naturally-aspirated V8 and dual-clutch transmission. It can also hit 60 mph in around 2.9 seconds, which is around the same time as the Audi R8 V10 Performance, but at a third of the price.

Next is the Audi R8 V8, the first-gen model. When Audi first launched the R8, it changed the game for daily supercars. It was as fast as anything else in its class, and just as fun to drive, but offered a comfortable ride, good visibility, and a great cabin. It was a supercar without any of the typical supercar drawbacks. When you drive it today, it still feels incredibly exciting and fresh and reminds you of why it was so revolutionary.

Lastly, we get to see the third-gen Toyota MR2 Spyder, a mid-engine, rear-wheel drive sports car that can be had for less than a top-end Macbook. It’s not very fast, with only a 1.8 liter four-cylinder engine, but it’s shockingly fun to drive, being that it only weighs around a ton. So you can really flick it around, use all of its power, and have a blast without ending up in a tree.

All three cars are incredible, to be honest, just at very different price points, for very different reasons. Whichever car you can afford is probably the best choice for you. Though, if it were our money, we’d probably still go for the R8. How can anyone turn down a 4.2 liter naturally-aspirated, mid-mounted V8, paired with an open-gate six-speed manual and all-wheel drive, all wrapped up in a package as gorgeous as the R8’s?