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Abt Sportsline

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Abt Sportsline
Company typePrivately held company
IndustryAutomotive industry, Motorsport
Founded1896; 128 years ago (1896) as Auto-Abt
1991; 33 years ago (1991) as Abt Sportsline GmbH
FounderJohann Abt
HeadquartersKempten im Allgäu, Germany
Area served
Worldwide, with European main emphasis
Key people
Hans-Jürgen Abt (Managing Director)[1]
ProductsSpecialist car body styling parts, engine tuning
ServicesMotor racing activities
WebsiteAbt-Sportsline.de
Audi A4 Abt Sportsline
Abt Audi Q7
An Abt-run Audi A4, driven by Heinz-Harald Frentzen in the 2006 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters

ABT Sportsline is a motor racing and auto tuning company based in Kempten im Allgäu, Germany. ABT mainly deals with Audi and the related primary Volkswagen Group brands—Volkswagen, Škoda, 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-Jürgen Abt (born 1962, Managing Director) and Christian Abt. Since 2011, Hans-Jürgen Abt has run the company.

Starting in 2014, they run a team under the Audi Sport banner in the FIA Formula E Championship for drivers Lucas di Grassi and Daniel Abt. 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.

History

Johann Abt (20 December 1935 – 11 October 2003), who continued a horseshoeing tradition of his family with motor cars, was a motorcycling and hillclimbing racer for the Abarth factory team until 1970. He is the father of Hans-Jürgen Abt and Christian Abt. He later entered cars with his own team, winning the "Trophée de l'Avenir" and many other series. Johann Abt's father founded the first ABT company in 1896.

In 1991 the 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

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.[2]

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 Racing Series and – beginning in September 2014 – he joined Lucas di Grassi as the second driver in the FIA Formula E Championship, where ABT participates as the only German team so far.

Aftermarket

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.

Notable cars

  • 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..."[3]
  • 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).
  • 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) to 620 hp (462 kW). 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.[4]

Results

Formula E

Year Chassis Tyres No. Drivers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Points T.C.
2014–15 Spark-Renault SRT 01E M BEI PUT PDE BNA MIA LBH MON BER MSC LON 165 3rd
11 Brazil Lucas di Grassi 1 2 3 Ret 9 3 2 DSQ 2 4 6
66 Germany Daniel Abt 10 10 15 13† 3 15 Ret 14 5 Ret 11
2015–16 Spark-ABT Schaeffler FE01 M BEI PUT PDE BNA MEX LBH PAR BER MSC LON 158* 2nd*
11 Brazil Lucas di Grassi 2 1 2 3 DSQ 1 1
66 Germany Daniel Abt 11 7 8 13 7 3 10
Notes

* Season still in progress.
† – Drivers did not finish the race, but were classified as they completed ~90% of the race distance.

Geneva Motor Show

ABT Sportsline has announced that they are going to introduce their new tuning program for the European Volkswagen Passat at the Geneva Motor Show. 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 the body kit 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) – an increase of 40 PS (29 kW) over the previous model.[5][6]

References

  1. ^ "Impressum". Abt Sportsline. Sportsline GmbH. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
  2. ^ "ABT Sportsline". ITR e.V. Retrieved 2013-11-02.
  3. ^ Modified Luxury & Exotics RS4 Renaissance, PP. 88 to 94, By Colum Wood. Photos by Joost Demuynck. May 2007
  4. ^ "ABT R8 GT R – A Racecar for the Road". AudiSite.com.
  5. ^ Gauthier, Michael. "ABT Sportsline tunes the Volkswagen Passat". worldcarfans. World Car Fans. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  6. ^ Mihalascu, Dan. "ABT Sportsline Boosts VW Passat Biturbo Diesel to 280PS, Adds Sharper Body Kit". carscoops.com. Car Scoops. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
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