German ABT XGT is a ‘Road-Legal Racing Car’
Ready for the street or track, it was born as a thoroughbred GT2 vehicle…
German auto tuning and motor racing company ABT Sportsline introduces the XGT, equally at home on the street or the track.
The XGT combines two worlds—born as a thoroughbred GT2 vehicle, the DTM racing team and vehicle tuner created the most exclusive vehicle that has ever left the ABT factory in Kempten in a two-year, extremely complex development process.
With 640 hp, a limited run of 99 units and the look and stance of a racing machine, the road-legal racer is aimed at sporty drivers, motorsports enthusiasts and collectors, the company noted.
“Two highly intensive years have passed from the idea to completion,” said Thomas Biermaier, ABT Sportsline managing director, who came up with the idea for the XGT together with Ernst Christian Scherer, managing director of Scherer Sport, after an exciting and successful race.
They had been harboring the dream of tackling such a project for some time, and as a traditional racing team, ABT Sportsline has contested more than 300 races in the DTM since 2000, achieving dozens of individual victories and more than 250 podium finishes.
Still, ABT engineers and mechanics had tough challenges to overcome, Biermaier stated.
With around 40 individual approvals, the months-long process went beyond the scope of conventional vehicle development. While visually the road-going version differs only marginally from the Audi R8 LMS GT2 racing car, the company explained that the XGT is not a super-sports car with a racing look; it is a road-legal racing car.
The technical modifications in the areas of thermal management, software and the highly complex vehicle diagnostics system have been carefully implemented to preserve the character of the car, officials said. For everyday usability, the fueling system from the series was integrated, the instrument cluster was modified for civilian use, and the handbrake, central locking and even a reversing camera and immobilizer were added.
The control panel was adapted to road use and controls the electrically adjustable exterior mirrors, air conditioning and indicators.
