Auto 2011: ABT Sportsline Cars

Abt Sportsline is a motor racing and auto tuning company based in Kempten im Allgäu, Germany. Abt mainly deals with Audi, and the related primary Volkswagen Group brands - Volkswagen, Škoda, and SEAT. Johann Abt (born December 1935), who continued a horseshoeing tradition of his family with motor cars, was a motorcycling and hillclimbing racer for Abarth factory team until 1970. He later entered cars with his own team, winning the "Trophée de l’Avenir“ and other series. Since the death of their father Johann in 2003, the company with 100 employees has been run by the brothers Hans-Jürgen Abt (born 1962, Managing Director) and Christian Abt who is also a race car driver. After Christian Abt won the German STW Supertouring championship title in 1999 with an Audi A4, a quick decision was made to join the new Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters. The new Abt-Audi TT-R initially showed their lack of development time, but in 2002 the team celebrated the biggest success in the company’s history with Laurent Aïello’s title in the DTM. In the 2003 DTM season, Abt Sportsline gave their 19-year-old apprentice Peter Terting the opportunity to drive one of their 470 hp (350 kW) cars, after the rookie had won the ADAC VW Lupo Cup series title in 2002. The young man could not really cope with the pressure in the professional competitions, though, but the move by Abt is remarkable anyway.

Abt has taken much of their racing knowledge and adapted it for the street, making the company a successful tuner for the full Volkswagen Group line of products (including Audi and SEAT).AS4-R - A highly modified B7 A4 Avant, the ASR-R makes use of the bi-turbo 2.7L V6 to produce 480 hp (358 kW) at 6800 rpm, and 417 ft·lbf (565 N·m) of torque at 3300 rpm! Modified Luxury & Exotics magazine called the AS4-R, "a grocery getter that delivers," and said it, "handles like a toy..." TT-R - A supercharged second generation V6 Audi TT. R8-R - Not yet released ABT's R8 will feature a supercharger mated to Audi's incredible 4.2L V8 for a total horsepower output of 530 hp (395 kW). R8 GT R - A highly modified version of the Audi R8 V10 turning it into what Abt Sportsline calls a "motorsport champion for the road." The Abt R8 GT R features a tuned version of the 5.2-liter V10 engine, boosting the power from 525 hp (391 kW) to 620 hp (462 kW). Many new exterior parts are made from carbon fiber, dropping the car's weight by 220 lb (100 kg). The interior features many modifications to make it more like a race car, including racing seats, a fire extinguisher, a 4-point seat belt, a rollover bar, and new steering wheel. Various other modifications make this a high performance road-legal race car.