ABT is a well known German tuner that does impressive things with Volkswagens and Audis. So what happens when they turn themselves loose on Audi’s top of the line R8? Well officially they call it the ABT R8 GT R, and they did some noticeable, and impressive improvements.

First up is what ABT did under the hood. They took the stock Audi 5.2l FSI plant that puts out 386 kW (525 hp) and 530 Nm of torque and boosted that to 447 kW (620 hp) and 550 Nm of grunt. That counts as a substantial increase in my book. The increase pays dividends in both all out velocity and acceleration. The top speed was raised from 316 km/h to 325 km/h, and 0-100 km/h acceleration dropped from 3.9 seconds down to 3.2 seconds.

They also went all out on the exterior of the R8 as well. And by all out, I mean lots and lots of carbon fiber bits and pieces. Using carbon fiber dropped approximately 110 kg of weight from the car. Which, again, is a substantial amount. The carbon fiber goodies include ABT front and rear skirt, ABT side skirts, ABT front hood, ABT rear wing, which is adjustable, and an adjustable ABT front splitter.

ABT also added lots of race parts as well. The rear hatch including the rear window is made from polycarbonate and the side windows are made from polycarbonate as well. The mirrors are right off of a racing model and they even did a special paint job too: ABT Titanium Exterieur.

The suspension mods include a full ABT sport suspension that has dampers that are adjustable for bump and rebound. They’ve also mounted a set of ABT sport wheels. CR 19“, forged aluminum/Superlight at the front axle weighing only 8.2 kg, and mounted at the rear axle they tip the scales at only 10.2 kg. The wheels come mounted with Michelin Sportcup tires, front axle: 235/35 ZR, rear axle: 305/30 ZR

On the inside, the door interior trim in real carbon fiber, and there is lots of the lightweight material liberally distributed throughout. There are also Recaro sport seats in carbon fiber, a polished stainless steel roll cage, 4-point seat belts, a Chasecamsystem (video system) fixed inside the cockpit, and integral lap timer, and a handheld fire extinguisher.

You also get a custom fit set of ABT race overalls, an ABT race helmet

Price? A paltry 289.000,00 € excl. 19% VAT

Photos: ABT

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For some reason, doing the tuning thing to a ride like the Volkswagen Golf R makes more sense to me than doing it to something like a huge Mercedes S Class or a Ferrari Anything. It kind of holds true to the tuner roots in a lot of ways. And making a kind of fast car much faster seems more interesting than making an already very fast car kind of a little bit faster. For example, note the Volkswagen Golf R that German tuner Abt Sportsline has just given a once over.

ABT Sportsline says that what they’ve done to the VW Golf makes it “a compact super sports car.” Sure, tuners are given to hyperbole, but they sure seem to get the numbers right with this little box.

Instead of the standard 270HP from the Golf R the ABT Sportsline massaged plant now puts out 310HP and tops out at a rather notable 261 km/h. ABT Sportsline officially refers to their Golf R as the ABT R20, and they are quick to note that it blats from a standstill to a speed of 100 km/h in 5.2 seconds. That’s certainly quick.

“The compact car is really good fun, particularly on corners”, says Hans-Juergen Abt, head dude and General Manager of ABT Sportsline) so THAT’S where they get the name). “VW gave the Golf dynamism when it was in the cradle – it defines sportiness in its class. And the Golf R is the champion of fast Golfs,” Hans-Juergen continued.

In addition to working over das mill, ABT also gave the ABT R20 daytime running lights, a new front apron and front lip to “make the Bavarian car seem even more powerful.” They also attached a set of new CR alloy 19 inch wheels. Of course they’re wrapped in high-performance tires.

ABT also goes out of their (his?) way to say that “The newcomer to the Golf family is, of course, absolutely suitable for everyday driving and is good-natured and not touchy in heavy traffic.” Good.

Source: TopSpeed

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See, I TOLD you it cold be done. I’ve been waiting for some tuning outfit or another to have a go at building up a high performance diesel, and ABT, a group that usually does high horsepower Audis, just got their hands and parts bin on Volkswagens latest Golf diesel.

The bottom line seems to be more power but still the ability to return diesel MPG figures. OK, let’s go.

German tuning specialist ABT’s version of VW’s new Golf GTD sure looks like a tuner ride, doesn’t it? And everything about the specs sounds like a typical tuner ride. And then you realize it’s a diesel, and it takes on a whole new meaning.

The stock GTD’s 2.0-liter turbocharged diesel plant gets a modest boost in horsepower, gaining another 20 ponies, bumping the final output to 190 horsepower. It also gets a 40 Nm increase in the grunt department, bringing that total to a very respectable 390 Nm, or 288 lb-ft, of maximum torque. Not bad in a car of this size and weight.

All that modifying gives the ABT Volkswagen Golf GTD Diesel a new 0-100km/h of 7.1 seconds, down from the stock acceleration time of 8.1 seconds. This is according to ABT just in case you want to be all suspicious and stuff. The top speed gets a slight bump from 222 km/h up to 230 km/h or 143mph.

ABT also added a sport suspension that drops the oil burner’s ride height by about 30mm, and they also threw in a new exhaust system with a throatier sound, and I like the quad exhausts too. Yes, this is a tuner, so there’s also a full body kit. The kit looks a lot like ABT’s add ons for the current GTI. You get a front spoiler, side sills, front grille, rear spoiler and a rather handsome rear apron with an integral diffuser that shows off the quad tailpipes. Wheels? Either 18- or 19-inch alloys wrapped in high-performance tires complete the package.

No word on what the MPG figures are, but you know it would be fun to run on bio-D, and have the last laugh on a Prius driver or two.

Source: CarScoop

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