Essen 2007: Abt unfurls tuned Audi R8

Posted Nov 30th 2007 3:25PM by Drew Phillips

Abt Sportline has debuted its own version of the Audi R8 at the Essen Motor Show with a few changes from the tangerine-colored rendering that we first saw back in April. The front side grills now sport vertical slats instead of horizontal, and the hood is stock rather than a lightweight carbon fiber unit. Another visual difference is the 2-piece side blades, and there is no mention of the supercharger that Abt originally talked about. Still on the car is a carbon fiber rear fascia with quad exhaust, side skirts, rear wing, and front splitter. Abt also adds its own 20-inch wheels, sport suspension system, and massive 15-inch brakes.

[Source: Abt Sportline]

Gallery: Abt Sportline Audi R8

PRESS RELEASE

Design milestones of sports car construction do not only come from Sant' Agata Bolognese or Maranello but also from Kempten. Because there, in the picturesque Allgäu region, Abt Sportsline, the greatest tuner for vehicles from the Volkswagen group, is based. With the new Abt R8, the term "improvement" is set one level higher as this car combines technical competence and brilliant design from Abt and results in an automobile masterwork. Not more and not less. The Abt R8 is a fantastic super sports car, playing in the same league as Lamborghini Gallardo or Ferrari F430.

No doubt, even the basis model of the R8 is something special - and therefore a real challenge, emphasizes Hans-Jürgen Abt. "The fluently dynamic form of the car is unique, it looks like having a lot of power, even when standing still," admits the managing director and therewith he raises the bar for his engineers and designers. As it is usual for Abt, the result is quite respectable and can be driven with fascination. The light and sporty high-tech material Carbon well visibly shapes the rear skirt, the side blades and the side skirts. The exciting body kit of the two-seater was developed by the motor sports professionals from Kempten who also optimized the car in reducing weight and in distributing mass evenly. That optical features do not obviate technical sophistications but, on the contrary, lead to perfection clearly show the contours of the Abt R8. Front skirt, side skirts, and rear skirt form a unit in which the rear wing, the side blades and also the exhaust system are harmonically integrated. A special highlight is the front skirt partially made of sight carbon. It is a component of the equipment version "Extravagant". The customer is able to provide his Abt R8 with attachment parts, at his own option with elements of sight carbon. A two tone structure is also possible by request. Another alternative ist the equipment version "Exclusive", which offers the customer the possibility to beautify his R8 with an Abt body kit made of high-quality GRP (glass fibre reinforced plastic). Also the new BR wheel from Abt with its bi-colour paint perfectly fits the car. The front axis presents it in the size 9x20 inch, the rear axis in 11x20 inch. Thus the R8 appears much more dynamical. With Abt suspension springs and car lowering the team from Kempten improves the road holding even more as Christian Abt and his specialists exactly adjusted the suspension. With the Abt sports brake system (380 millimeters diameter), the fast super sports car from the Allgäu sets standards also in matters of delay.

The new Abt R8 is a car which makes hearts beat faster. It perfectly brings the magic of speed onto the road even when standing still.

Design milestones of sports car construction do not only come from Sant' Agata Bolognese or Maranello but also from Kempten. Because there, in the picturesque Allgäu region, Abt Sportsline, the greatest tuner for vehicles from the Volkswagen group, is based. With the new Abt R8, the term "improvement" is set one level higher as this car combines technical competence and brilliant design from Abt and results in an automobile masterwork. Not more and not less. The Abt R8 is a fantastic super sports car, playing in the same league as Lamborghini Gallardo or Ferrari F430.

No doubt, even the basis model of the R8 is something special - and therefore a real challenge, emphasizes Hans-Jürgen Abt. "The fluently dynamic form of the car is unique, it looks like having a lot of power, even when standing still," admits the managing director and therewith he raises the bar for his engineers and designers. As it is usual for Abt, the result is quite respectable and can be driven with fascination. The light and sporty high-tech material Carbon well visibly shapes the rear skirt, the side blades and the side skirts. The exciting body kit of the two-seater was developed by the motor sports professionals from Kempten who also optimized the car in reducing weight and in distributing mass evenly. That optical features do not obviate technical sophistications but, on the contrary, lead to perfection clearly show the contours of the Abt R8. Front skirt, side skirts, and rear skirt form a unit in which the rear wing, the side blades and also the exhaust system are harmonically integrated. A special highlight is the front skirt partially made of sight carbon. It is a component of the equipment version "Extravagant". The customer is able to provide his Abt R8 with attachment parts, at his own option with elements of sight carbon. A two tone structure is also possible by request. Another alternative ist the equipment version “Exclusive”, which offers the customer the possibility to beautify his R8 with an Abt body kit made of high-quality GRP (glass fibre reinforced plastic). Also the new BR wheel from Abt with its bi-colour paint perfectly fits the car. The front axis presents it in the size 9x20 inch, the rear axis in 11x20 inch. Thus the R8 appears much more dynamical. With Abt suspension springs and car lowering the team from Kempten improves the road holding even more as Christian Abt and his specialists exactly adjusted the suspension. With the Abt sports brake system (380 millimeters diameter), the fast super sports car from the Allgäu sets standards also in matters of delay.

The new Abt R8 is a car which makes hearts beat faster. It perfectly brings the magic of speed onto the road even when standing still.

The formula for supercar success is surprisngly simple: mid-engine, rear or all-wheel drive, 500-plus horsepower and any design that rises above the "only a mother could love" category. So Abt's take on the Audi R8 V-10 was almost guaranteed to be a hit from the get-go.

It doesn't hurt, of course, that the German tuning and motorsports company decided to add another 75 horsepower to the already brilliant R8 V-10. It also doesn't hurt to throw in almost as much carbon fiber as you'd find in your average modern-day fighter jet.

Both of which add to the base vehicle's appeal, though the body kit, like most aftermarket treatments, definitely pushes the look of the typically conservative R8 further into the Lamborghini-flash category. The huge alloy wheels also increase the neck-snap factor of the Abt R8 V-10.

So, aside from your own instant entourage, what does a highly-tuned Abt R8 get you? How about acceleration from 0-60 mph in 3.8 seconds, a top speed of 200 mph even and 600 horsepower at the crank? Best of all, the engine's power curve was designed to make that 600 horsepower accessible under normal driving conditions.

“The 600 HP is not just intended to exist on paper, but also be available on the road”, says Christian Abt, race car driver and one of the Abts behind the Abt Sportsline name.

Other additions included in the Abt package are a custom rear wing and a four-pipe exhaust system.

The R8 Spyder is not just a cabrio, it is a teasingly beautiful open-top sports car of the top class, a real dream car - in particular ABT Sportsline’s version. Their designers have contoured the lines of the open-top model athlete, and using the ABT R8 Spyder has redefined the word “roadster” with Bavarian thoroughness: the result is a vehicle whose power can be seen even when it is at a standstill. The front grill, front apron, side sills and rear apron with the rear spoiler as well as the dual-colour coated ABT BR alloys have been adjusted to the dynamic design of the car. As with the closed R8 versions from ABT, the team has designed all the components in order to achieve the sports car’s optimum distribution of weight; all the parts are therefore made from carbon. As a result the performance can be converted into a maximum of driving enjoyment. Anyone who wants to systematically reduce the weight of their Spyder should use the new ABT CR Superlight alloys, as they also excellently suit the character of the ABT R8.

The V10 with 5.2 litre cubic capacity is used in the ABT R8 Spyder: this provides 600 well-trained horses (441 kW) – while in the series version there are 525HP (386 kW). The Spyder is able to sprint from 0 to 100km/h in just 3.8 seconds and achieves a top speed of 320 km/h. The roadster is therefore a hurricane for the road, giving lovers of fresh-air a new "tangible” term. Suspension springs from ABT provide even better handling, which in particular has a positive effect in the threshold regions of the Spyder. In addition the lower centre of gravity gives the mid-engine sports car an even more aggressive appearance. When you take a look at the car you can see that it is one of the fastest of the fast - and is really ready for anything, as you would expect from an ABT R8.