With 23 years of DTM racing experience, dozens of race wins, and over 250 podium finishes, German tuner and race shop ABT Sportsline knows a thing or two about a thing or two. For its latest project, ABT spent over two years developing Audi’s R8 GT2 race car into a street-legal car capable of negotiating road traffic. Called the ABT XGT, only 99 examples will be produced at a cost of around $653,800 each. If you’re looking for the raw race car experience without actually getting a racing license, this might be your best bet.
Compared to the R8 GT2 on which it’s based, the ABT XGT is modified only slightly. For daily use and practicality the XGT swaps the GT2’s racing fueling system for a conventional Audi R8 V10 fuel injection setup. Likewise, some creature comforts like a handbrake, door locks, a back-up camera and a security system were added back in from the production car. Electrically adjustable exterior mirrors, air conditioning, turn signals, and an emissions-legal exhaust system are naturally also included.
Everything that makes a race car a race car are typically prohibitive for running on the street. Things like crash safety, seat belts, exterior noise requirements, and street-useable brakes are vastly different between the race track and the road, and ABT had to take all of that into account, compromising a bit of the XGT’s lap times in order to hit street legal targets. Even still, racing drivers Kelvin van der Linde, Ricardo Feller, Martin Tomczyk, and Frank Stippler all pounded out laps in the XGT at the Hockenheimring, the Sachsenring, and the Nürburgring Nordschleife to find the perfect setup for the car.
When the Audi R8 GT2 first arrived in 2019, it looked like it was mad about something. The ABT XGT looks almost identical, carrying the same sharp angles and wild intakes, giant scoops and reverse-neck rear wing.
The GT2 category of racing was dreamed up by the Stephane Ratel Organization for the 2020 season, and was never really intended for audiences to enjoy. Despite its wild looks, the cars aren’t quite as quick as the more popular GT3 category. The point was to deliver a fast car that privateers could drive without worrying about the tricky downforce of real racing. The racing world has experienced a bit of turmoil since 2020, for obvious reasons, but GT2 has been fairly well subscribed.
As more automakers build cars for the class – which now includes the KTM X-Bow GT2, Porsche 911 GT2 RS Clubsport, Mercedes-AMG GT2, and Maserati MC20 GT2 – the Audi R8 GT2 became less popular. With Audi pulling its support of privateer racing, surely the rest of the GT2 chassis were available to ABT for a significant discount. It’s an interesting way to make something cool from a pretty much dead racing car chassis. Good work, ABT.