Amit Saraswat 
Audi R8 is nearing the end of its lifecycle and the replacement is deemed to be electric only. Seems like folks at ABT were not convinced with the mundane goodbye from Audi in the form of a limited edition, hence the tuner company went ahead to develop the R8 XGT.
Starting with its looks, it’s hard to comprehend how this car, which features a gazillion wings, ducts and aero elements, is road-legal. ABT took over two years to develop the R8 XGT and unlike other projects where a road car is shaped as a racecar, ABT has turned an actual R8 LMS GT2 racecar into a road-going licensed supercar.
Since it is based on the R8 RWD, the naturally-aspirated engine of the R8 XGT also channels its power to the rear wheels only. The engine produces 640PS of power, which is a boost of 20PS over the road-going R8 RWD. However, since ABT downgraded a racecar for road use, a lot of modifications needed to be done.
To begin with, ABT added central locking, a reversing camera, a handbrake, air conditioning, a digital instrument cluster and electronically adjustable outside rear view mirrors. Furthermore, tweaks to the thermal management, software, braking and fuel system were made along with the addition of a different exhaust system to meet the legal sound regulations.
Underneath its heavily modified and aero-optimised body, it packs a roll cage, dual-adjustable suspension, bespoke springs and dampers, forged springs and Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R tyres shodded on 19-inch wheels at the front and 20-inch wheels at the rear. In addition, the R8 XGT also features a large rear wing, the angle of which determines the top speed of the car, which in the most optimal setting could reach to 310kmph.
ABT offers the R8 XGT in four standard colour options but if you fancy, you can ask them to paint your exclusive road-going racecar in any colour you want. Of course, this high-performance bespoke model doesn’t come cheap; we are looking at a price north of GBP 5,98,000.
