Making an Audi R8 Angrier
The Audi R8 provides some of the finest raw material ever for a German tuner company to show off what its technicians really want to do for a living, so it's no surprise that the 2009 Audi R8 Abt Sportsline is destined to go down as one of the shining moments in premium tweaks from this German aftermarket operation. Sadly, we can't look forward to driving the supercharged Audi R8 Abt Sportsline in the U.S., as even the cosmetic and suspension tricks are hard to come by here.
Although the 2009 Audi R8 MTM Supercharged beat everyone to the punch with its high-strung, 553-horsepower interpretation of the midengine Audi, the supercharged 523-hp 2009 Audi R8 Sportsline is a sports car that you can drive every day.
Great Car Begging for More Power
As luck would have it, this journey to Kempten, Germany, to drive the Abt-modified R8 was immediately preceded by a trip to Wettstetten to see our friends at MTM. The supercharged MTM R8 produces 553 hp and 427 pound-feet of torque, while the supercharged Abt R8 delivers 523 hp and 406 lb-ft of torque.
On the test track, this means that both the MTM- and Abt-modified R8s accelerate to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds, hit 124 mph in just over 12 seconds and reach their maximum speed at 197 mph. This compares with the standard R8 with its 414-hp 4.2-liter V8, which reaches 60 mph in 4.4 seconds and then attains a top speed of 187 mph.
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