The ABT XGT Is A £520,000 Goodbye To The R8 Audi Couldn’t Say

Audi has already said goodbye to the R8 with the rather special GT, a rear-driven, track-oriented version of the V10 supercar. For some though, that 612bhp sports car may not be a fitting enough farewell - which is where this, the ABT XGT, steps in.

Rather than taking a regular Audi R8, shedding some weight and adding some aero, German tuner ABT has relentlessly worked on the purpose-built R8 GT2 racer to make it road-legal. As it says, it’s not a ”sports car with a racing look, it is a road-legal racing car.”

What exactly differs compared with the road car, then? For a start, there’s the extreme aerodynamic package, all of it functional, including a gigantic roof-mounted intake feeding air directly the the race-prepped 5.2-litre V10.

Power rises to 631bhp, with weight-saving measures shedding its heft to 1,400kg - making the 1,570kg GT seem rather portly - resulting in a power-to-weight ratio of almost 0.45bhp per kilo.

Such are GT2 regulations, the XGT is rear-driven too, with power sent to the rear wheels through a seven-speed S-tronic dual-clutch gearbox. ABT has fit its own set of centre-locking wheels, wrapped in Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R tyres.

There’s no 0-62mph time published, though we’d expect it to be a bit of a tricky thing to launch, although top speed is down from the GT’s 199mph to 193mph (depending on how you’ve got the rear wing setup) as a result of the aero.

Some compromises have been made on the GT2 to make the ABT XGT a little more user-friendly, mind. A more concise instrument cluster, a new fuelling system, central locking, a reversing camera and - get this - a handbrake have all been added.

Want one? ABT are only making 99 of them, so you may want to act fast. Including VAT, it’ll set you back €598,000 (approx. £520,000).