Abt XGT turns Audi R8 into £519k DTM racer for the road

German tuner Abt has revealed the XGT, a road-going version of the Audi R8 DTM racer, as the “most exclusive car that has ever left [its] factory”.

Limited to a production run of 99 units, the XGT was spotted earlier in the year during dynamic testing at the Nürburgring – a process in which it covered “thousands of test kilometres”. 

It was designed to be as close as possible to a road-going version of the R8 GT2 racer that competed in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) and retains its “race-track feel”.

Abt worked on the project with Scherer Sport, a sub-brand of the Scherer Group, which sells race-ready Audis for competitive use.

Its unveiling follows a “two-year, extremely complex” development process that went “beyond the scope of conventional vehicle development”.

Power comes from the same 5.2-litre V10 engine as in the R8 GT, but it has been given a 20bhp boost to 640bhp, which, together with a 170kg weight drop to 1400kg, gives a top speed of 200mph and no doubt a sub-3.4sec 0-62mph time.

Company boss Hans-Jürgen Abt said: “It was the challenge itself that spurred us on to develop this unique complete vehicle. The XGT is the quintessence of our heritage.”

DTM drivers Kelvin van der Linde and Ricardo Feller have test driven the XGT and said its “road handling, steering behaviour and acceleration cannot be compared with any road car”. 

It’s billed as a road-legal racer and not a regular R8 with racing garnish. Therefore it features the same heat management and vehicle diagnostics system as the DTM racer but incorporates some of the features from the regular car, such as the fuelling system, handbrake, central locking and reversing camera. 

Underneath, it features dual-adjustable suspension, bespoke springs and dampers, forged springs and Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R Tyres.

Race-inspired design cues include bronze front canards, a rear spoiler sitting nearly as high as the roofline, extra air intakes on the front wheel arches and roof and Perspex windows.

Inside, it keeps the racer’s control panel and steering wheel, with certain switches adapted for road use to be able to control the exterior mirrors, air conditioning and indicators.

The instrument cluster has also been simplified to include an enlarged rev counter, speed readout, traction control setting and anti-lock braking setting.

Customers are able to choose between four paint colours to be applied by hand. 

Sales haven’t been confirmed for the UK, but customers in Germany can expect to pay €598,000 – equivalent to £519,720.