Motor racing company
An Audi A4 DTM entered by Abt Sportsline team.
Mattias Ekstrom
is pictured driving the car in the
2009 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters
Company founder Johann Baptist Abt, 1932
Abt Audi RS4-R Avant
Abt Audi RS5-R
Abt Sportsline
is a
motor racing
and auto tuning company based in
Kempten im Allgau
,
Germany
. Abt mainly deals with
Audi
and the related primary
Volkswagen Group
brands?
Volkswagen
,
?koda
, and
SEAT
?modifying them by using sports-type suspensions, engine power upgrades, lightweight wheels, aerodynamic components and more. It has been active in
DTM
for more than a decade. After the death of their father Johann in 2003, the company with 170 employees in their headquarters in Kempten was run by the brothers Hans-Jurgen Abt (born 1962, Managing Director) and
Christian Abt
. Since 2011, Hans-Jurgen Abt has run the company.
From 2014 to 2021, they ran a team under the
Audi Sport
banner in the
FIA Formula E World Championship
for drivers
Lucas di Grassi
,
Daniel Abt
and
Rene Rast
. At the
2014 Beijing ePrix
, di Grassi became the first driver to win an open-wheel motorsport race in an all-electric car. Ultimately, the team finished third in the first teams' championship. After leaving the championship in 2022, they returned without the Audi partnership for the
2022?23 season
.
History
[
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]
Johann Abt
(20 December 1935 ? 11 October 2003) continued a horseshoeing and blacksmithing tradition of his family, started by his father Johann Baptist Abt, with motor cars. He was a motorcycling and
hillclimbing
racer for the
Abarth
factory team until 1970. He is the father of Hans-Jurgen Abt and
Christian Abt
. He later entered cars with his own team, winning the "Trophee de l'Avenir" and many other series. Johann Abt's father founded the first Abt company in 1896.
In 1991 Abt Sportsline GmbH was founded following "Auto-Abt". The headquarters moved to Daimlerstrasse in Kempten-Leubas and first offered about 3,500 square metres (38,000 sq ft) of space. In October 2002 an extension building was opened offering about 3,000 square metres (32,000 sq ft) extra of work space. Since November 2013 there is a third building giving the Abt Motorsports Department a new home.
In summer of 2011 Abt celebrated their 115th anniversary since the first formation of the company in 1896. About 170 employees are working in the company's headquarters in Kempten, Germany, the products are sold in more than 50 countries worldwide. Since 2011 the Abt Lifestyle GmbH, run by
Daniel Abt
, organizes events for private or business customers.
Motorsport
[
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]
Rene Rast
driving the Audi e-tron FE07 at the
2021 Puebla ePrix
, the final Audi Sport ABT Formula E car.
After participating in a motorcycle race the company's founder Johann Abt started his racing career and the motorsports career of the company in general. Today Abt Sportsline is one of the most successful motorsports teams and has won several championships in the most important German racing series, like the Super Touring Car Cup (1999), the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM; titles in 2002, 2004, 2007, 2008 and 2009) and the ADAC GT Masters (titles in 2009 and 2010). Since 2004, Abt Sportsline is one of the official factory teams of
Audi
under the name of
Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline
.
[3]
The most successful year in motorsports for Abt Sportsline was 2009, receiving honors in three racing series at once: the DTM with Timo Scheider, the ADAC GT Masters with Christian Abt and the ADAC Formel Masters with Daniel Abt. In 2013, Daniel Abt was active in the GP2 Series and ? beginning in September 2014 ? he joined
Lucas di Grassi
as the second driver in the
FIA Formula E Championship
, where Abt participated.
The German squad left
Formula E
after the
2020?21 season
. In May 2022, Abt announced they would be returning to Formula E for the
2022?23 season
with
Cupra
as
Abt Cupra Formula E Team
after a season away,
[4]
[5]
sourcing powertrains from
Mahindra Racing
.
[6]
[7]
In April 2024, it was reported that Abt Cupra's powertrain deal with Mahindra will end at the conclusion of the
2023?24 season
and will be using
Lola
-
Yamaha
powertrains for the 2024?25 season onwards.
[8]
Abt partnered with Cupra to enter the electric off-road racing series
Extreme E
as
Abt Cupra XE
in
2021
.
[9]
[10]
The team left the sport at the end of
2023
but are open to entering the new
hydrogen
-based off-road racing series Extreme H in 2025.
[11]
[12]
Aftermarket
[
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]
Abt has taken much of their racing knowledge and adapted it for the street, making the company a successful tuner for the full
Volkswagen Group
line of products.
Abt Sportsline has announced in 2015 that they are going to introduce their new tuning program for the European Volkswagen Passat at the
Geneva Motor Show
.
[
when?
]
While hosting the new Passat, their goal is to showcase a more aggressive kit that includes a front lip spoiler, revised side skirts, a tailgate-mounted spoiler, Abt-branded floor mats, 20- or 21-inch alloy wheels with
Continental
"sport-type" tires, optional mirror caps, sport springs and sports exhaust system, and a body kit that is more aerodynamic than the standard model.
Aesthetics aside, changes in the Passat's performance include limited yet different 2.0-liter TDI four-cylinder engine with the capacity to be tuned to produce 280 PS (206 kW; 276 hp) ? an increase of 40 PS (29 kW; 39 hp) over the previous model.
[13]
[14]
Notable cars
[
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]
- AS4-R
? A highly modified B7
A4
Avant, the ASR-R makes use of the
bi-turbo
2.7L
V6
to produce 480 hp (358 kW) at 6800 rpm, and 417 lb?ft (565 N?m) of torque at 3300 rpm.
Modified Luxury & Exotics
magazine called the AS4-R, "a grocery getter that delivers," and said it, "handles like a toy..."
[15]
- TT-R
? A supercharged second generation V6
Audi TT
.
- R8-R
? Not yet released Abt's
R8
will feature a
supercharger
mated to Audi's 4.2L
V8
for a total horsepower output of 530 hp (395 kW; 537 PS).
- R8 GT R
? A highly modified version of the Audi R8 V10 turning it into what Abt Sportsline calls a "motorsport champion for the road." The Abt R8 GT R features a tuned version of the 5.2-liter V10 engine, boosting the power from 525 hp (391 kW; 532 PS) to 620 hp (462 kW; 629 PS). Many new exterior parts are made from carbon fiber, dropping the car's weight by 220 lb (100 kg). The interior features many modifications to make it more like a race car, including racing seats, a fire extinguisher, a 4-point seat belt, a rollover bar, and new steering wheel. Various other modifications make this a high performance road-legal race car.
[16]
Racing results
[
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]
Formula E
[
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]
- Notes
- ^1
? In the inaugural season, all teams were supplied with a
spec
powertrain by
McLaren
.
- G
? Driver was fastest in group qualifying stage and was given one championship point.
- † ? Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.
Other teams supplied by Audi Sport Abt
[
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]
Extreme E results
[
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]
Racing overview
[
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Racing summary
[
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]
Complete Extreme E results
[
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]
(Races in
bold
indicate best qualifiers; races in
italics
indicate fastest super sector)
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Impressum"
.
Abt Sportsline
. Sportsline GmbH
. Retrieved
26 March
2016
.
- ^
"Impressum"
.
Abt Sportsline
. Sportsline GmbH
. Retrieved
26 March
2016
.
- ^
"ABT Sportsline"
. ITR e.V. Archived from
the original
on 2013-11-05
. Retrieved
2013-11-02
.
- ^
"ABT Sportsline confirms return to Formula E"
.
The Official Home of Formula E
. Retrieved
2023-02-26
.
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
"CUPRA Partners with ABT for Formula E 2023 | CUPRA"
.
www.cupraofficial.com
. Archived from
the original
on 2023-03-08
. Retrieved
2023-03-08
.
- ^
"ABT secures Mahindra power for Formula E return"
.
The Official Home of Formula E
. Retrieved
2023-02-26
.
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
"ABT CUPRA signs Lucas di Grassi alongside Nico Mueller"
.
The Official Home of Formula E
. 2023-09-29
. Retrieved
2023-09-30
.
- ^
"ABT will partner with Lola and Yamaha from Season 11"
.
Formula E
. April 11, 2024
. Retrieved
April 11,
2024
.
- ^
"EXTREME E ANNOUNCES ABT SPORTSLINE ENTRY"
.
Extreme E - The Electric Odyssey
. 2019-07-10.
- ^
"ABT confirms Mattias Ekstrom as male driver and CUPRA as main partner"
.
Extreme E - The Electric Odyssey
. 2020-09-14.
- ^
"ABT CUPRA to focus entirely on Formula E in 2024"
.
ABT Sportsline
. 2023-12-06
. Retrieved
2024-01-30
.
- ^
Nguyen, Justin (2023-12-07).
"ABT CUPRA departing Extreme E"
.
The Checkered Flag
. Retrieved
2024-01-30
.
- ^
Gauthier, Michael.
"ABT Sportsline tunes the Volkswagen Passat"
.
worldcarfans
. World Car Fans
. Retrieved
21 March
2015
.
- ^
Mihalascu, Dan (2 March 2015).
"ABT Sportsline Boosts VW Passat Biturbo Diesel to 280PS, Adds Sharper Body Kit"
.
carscoops.com
. Car Scoops
. Retrieved
21 March
2015
.
- ^
Modified Luxury & Exotics
RS4 Renaissance, PP. 88 to 94, By Colum Wood. Photos by Joost Demuynck. May 2007
- ^
"ABT R8 GT R ? A Racecar for the Road"
. AudiSite.com. Archived from
the original
on 2010-04-08
. Retrieved
2010-04-06
.
- ^
Kilshaw, Jake (5 October 2018).
"Frijns Confirmed Alongside Bird at Envision Virgin"
.
e-racing365.com
. Retrieved
23 November
2019
.
- ^
Smith, Sam (11 June 2019).
"Bird, Frijns to Remain at Envision Virgin for 2019?20"
.
e-racing365.com
. Retrieved
23 November
2019
.
- ^
Smith, Sam (1 December 2020).
"What does Audi's Formula E exit mean for its customer team?"
.
The Race
. Retrieved
13 March
2021
.
- ^
Smith, Sam (1 November 2021).
"Virgin name exits Formula E as Envision team reveals new look"
.
The Race
. Retrieved
1 November
2021
.
External links
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]