Abt Sportsline

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.

Abt Sportsline
TypePrivately held company
IndustryAutomotive industry, Motorsport
Founded1896 (1896) as Auto-Abt
1991 (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]
Thomas Biermaier (managing director)[2]
Daniel Abt (managing director of Abt Lifestyle)
ProductsSpecialist car body styling parts, engine tuning
ServicesMotor racing activities
ParentVolkswagen Group
WebsiteAbt-Sportsline.de
Johann Abt, 1932
An Audi A4 DTM entered by Abt Sportsline team. Mattias Ekström is pictured driving the car in the 2009 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters
Abt Audi RS4-R Avant
Abt Audi RS5-R

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 René 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

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 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
René 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]

Abt partnered with Cupra to enter the electric off-road racing series Extreme E as ABT CUPRA XE in 2021.[7][8]

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.

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. 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.[9][10]

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..."[11]
  • 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.[12]

Racing Results

Formula E
Year Chassis Powertrain Tyres No. Drivers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Points T.C.
Audi Sport ABT Formula E Team
2014–15 Spark SRT01-e SRT01-e1 M BEI PUT PDE BUE MIA LBH MCO BER MSC LDN 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
ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport
2015–16 Spark SRT01-e ABT Schaeffler FE01 M BEI PUT PDE BUE MEX LBH PAR BER LDN 221 2nd
11 Brazil Lucas di Grassi 2 1 2 3 DSQ 1 1 3 4 Ret
66 Germany Daniel Abt 11 7 8 13 7 3 10 2 Ret 2
2016–17 Spark SRT01-e ABT Schaeffler FE02 M HKG MRK BUE MEX MCO PAR BER NYC MTL 248 2nd
11 Brazil Lucas di Grassi 2 5 3 1 2 Ret 2 3 4 5 1 7
66 Germany Daniel Abt Ret 6 7 7 7 13 6 4 14 Ret 4 6
Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler
2017–18 Spark SRT01-e Audi e-tron FE04 M HKG MRK SCL MEX PDE RME PAR BER ZUR NYC 264 1st
1 Brazil Lucas di Grassi 17 14 Ret Ret 9 2 2 2 2 1 1 2
66 Germany Daniel Abt 5 DSQ 10 Ret 1 14 4 7 1 13 2 3
2018–19 Spark SRT05e Audi e-tron FE05 M ADR MRK SCL MEX HKG SYX RME PAR MCO BER BRN NYC 203 2nd
11 Brazil Lucas di Grassi 9 7 12 1 2 15† 7 4 Ret 1 9 5 18†
66 Germany Daniel Abt 8 10 3 10 4 5 18† 3 15 6 6 6 5
2019–20 Spark SRT05e Audi e-tron FE06 M DIR SCL MEX MRK BER BER BER 114 6th
11 Brazil Lucas di Grassi 13 2 7 6 7 8 3 8 6 21 6
66 Germany Daniel Abt Ret 6 14 Ret 14
Germany René Rast 10 13 Ret 16 3G 4
2020–21 Spark SRT05e Audi e-tron FE07 M DIR RME VLC MCO PUE NYC LDN BER BER 165 4th
11 Brazil Lucas di Grassi 9 8 Ret Ret 7 10 10 1 18 3 14 6 DSQ 1 20
33 Germany René Rast 4 17 6 Ret 5 6 Ret 2 10 10 20 5 Ret 9 9
ABT CUPRA Formula E Team
2022–23 Formula E Gen3 Mahindra M9Electro H MEX DRH HYD CAP SAP BER MCO JAK POR RME LDN 21 11th
4 Netherlands Robin Frijns Ret 14 14 17 13 9 13 10 Ret Ret Ret 17
South Africa Kelvin van der Linde 16 18 Ret WD
51 Switzerland Nico Müller 14 Ret Ret 11 WD Ret 15 9 Ret 11 12 Ret 6 10 Ret 8
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
Year Team Chassis Powertrain Tyres No. Drivers Points T.C. Source
2018–19 United Kingdom Envision Virgin Racing Spark SRT05e Audi e-tron FE05 M 191 3rd [13]
2 United Kingdom Sam Bird
4 Netherlands Robin Frijns
2019–20 United Kingdom Envision Virgin Racing Spark SRT05e Audi e-tron FE06 M 2 United Kingdom Sam Bird 121 4th [14]
4 Netherlands Robin Frijns
2020–21 United Kingdom Envision Virgin Racing Spark SRT05e Audi e-tron FE07 M 4 Netherlands Robin Frijns 165 5th [15]
37 New Zealand Nick Cassidy
2021–22 United Kingdom Envision Racing Spark SRT05e Audi e-tron FE07 M 4 Netherlands Robin Frijns 194 5th [16]
37 New Zealand Nick Cassidy

Racing overview
Year Name Car Tyres No. G. Drivers Rounds Pts. Pos.
2021 Germany ABT CUPRA XE Spark Odyssey 21 C 125. F Germany Claudia Hürtgen
Germany Jutta Kleinschmidt		 (1–2)
(2–5)		 100 5th
M Sweden Mattias Ekström (1–5)
2022 Germany ABT CUPRA XE Spark Odyssey 21 C 125. F Germany Jutta Kleinschmidt
Sweden Klara Andersson		 (1–4)
(4–5)		 46 6th
M Qatar Nasser Al-Attiyah (1–5)
2023 Germany ABT CUPRA XE Spark Odyssey 21 C 125. F Sweden Klara Andersson (1–6) 40* 8th*
M Qatar Nasser Al-Attiyah
France Sébastien Loeb		 (1–4)
(5–6)

Racing summary
Year Series Races Wins Pod. B/Qual. S/S Pts. Pos.
2021 Extreme E 5 0 1 0 0 100 5th
2022 Extreme E 5 0 1 0 1 46 6th
2023 Extreme E 6 0 0 0 0 40* 8th*

Complete Extreme E results

(Races in bold indicate best qualifiers; races in italics indicate fastest super sector)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Pts. Pos.
2021 ABT CUPRA XE DES
Saudi Arabia
7		 OCE
Senegal
5		 ARC
Greenland
7		 ISL
Italy
2		 JUR
United Kingdom
7		 100 5th
2022 ABT CUPRA XE DES
Saudi Arabia
8		 ISL1
Italy
9		 ISL2
Italy
DSQ		 COP
Chile
3		 ENE
Uruguay
1		 46 6th
2023 ABT CUPRA XE DES1
Saudi Arabia
9		 DES2
Saudi Arabia
4		 HYD1
United Kingdom
10		 HYD2
United Kingdom
8		 ISL1
Italy
4		 ISL2
Italy
6		 TBC1

 TBC2

 COP1
Chile
 COP2
Chile
 40* 8th*

References
  1. "Impressum". Abt Sportsline. Sportsline GmbH. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
  2. "Impressum". Abt Sportsline. Sportsline GmbH. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
  3. "ABT Sportsline". ITR e.V. Archived from the original on 2013-11-05. Retrieved 2013-11-02.
  4. "ABT Sportsline confirms return to Formula E". The Official Home of Formula E. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
  5. "CUPRA Partners with ABT for Formula E 2023 | CUPRA". www.cupraofficial.com. Archived from the original on 2023-03-08. Retrieved 2023-03-08.
  6. "ABT secures Mahindra power for Formula E return". The Official Home of Formula E. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
  7. "EXTREME E ANNOUNCES ABT SPORTSLINE ENTRY". Extreme E - The Electric Odyssey. 2019-07-10.
  8. "ABT confirms Mattias Ekström as male driver and CUPRA as main partner". Extreme E - The Electric Odyssey. 2020-09-14.
  9. Gauthier, Michael. "ABT Sportsline tunes the Volkswagen Passat". worldcarfans. World Car Fans. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  10. 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.
  11. Modified Luxury & Exotics RS4 Renaissance, PP. 88 to 94, By Colum Wood. Photos by Joost Demuynck. May 2007
  12. "ABT R8 GT R – A Racecar for the Road". AudiSite.com. Archived from the original on 2010-04-08. Retrieved 2010-04-06.
  13. Kilshaw, Jake (5 October 2018). "Frijns Confirmed Alongside Bird at Envision Virgin". e-racing365.com. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  14. Smith, Sam (11 June 2019). "Bird, Frijns to Remain at Envision Virgin for 2019–20". e-racing365.com. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  15. Smith, Sam (1 December 2020). "What does Audi's Formula E exit mean for its customer team?". The Race. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  16. Smith, Sam (1 November 2021). "Virgin name exits Formula E as Envision team reveals new look". The Race. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
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