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.
 | |
| Company type | Privately held company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Automotive industry, Motorsport |
| Founded | 1896 as Auto-Abt 1991 as Abt Sportsline GmbH |
| Founder | Johann Abt |
| Headquarters | Kempten 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) |
| Products | Specialist car body styling parts, engine tuning |
| Services | Motor racing activities |
| Parent | Volkswagen Group |
| Website | Abt-Sportsline.de |
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
editJohann 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-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
edit
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, with the team entering the season as Lola Yamaha Abt Fomula E Team.[8][9] In November, it was announced that Lola has taken over Abt's Formula E entrants' licence. Abt will continue to run the team operationally.[10]
Abt partnered with Cupra to enter the electric off-road racing series Extreme E as Abt Cupra XE in 2021.[11][12] 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.[13][14]
Aftermarket
editAbt 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.[15][16]
Notable cars
edit- 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..."[17]
- 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.[18]
Racing results
editFormula E
edit| 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 |  Lucas di Grassi
|
1 | 2 | 3 | Ret | 9 | 3 | 2 | DSQ | 2 | 4 | 6 | |||||||||||
| 66 |  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 | Lucas di Grassi
|
2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | DSQ | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | Ret | ||||||||||||
| 66 | 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 | Lucas di Grassi
|
2 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2 | Ret | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 7 | ||||||||||
| 66 | 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 | Lucas di Grassi
|
17 | 14 | Ret | Ret | 9 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||
| 66 | 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 | Lucas di Grassi
|
9 | 7 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 15† | 7 | 4 | Ret | 1 | 9 | 5 | 18† | |||||||||
| 66 | 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 | Lucas di Grassi
|
13 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 21 | 6 | |||||||||||
| 66 | Daniel Abt
|
Ret | 6 | 14 | Ret | 14 | |||||||||||||||||
| 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 | Lucas di Grassi
|
9 | 8 | Ret | Ret | 7 | 10 | 10 | 1 | 18 | 3 | 14 | 6 | DSQ | 1 | 20 | |||||||
| 33 | 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 |  Robin Frijns
|
Ret | 14 | 14 | 17 | 13 | 9 | 13 | 10 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 17 | ||||||||||
 Kelvin van der Linde
|
16 | 18 | Ret | WD | |||||||||||||||||||
| 51 |  Nico Müller
|
14 | Ret | Ret | 11 | WD | Ret | 15 | 9 | Ret | 11 | 12 | Ret | 6 | 10 | Ret | 8 | ||||||
| 2023–24 | Formula E Gen3 | Mahindra M9Electro | H | MEX | DIR | SAP | TOK | MIS | MCO | BER | SHA | POR | LDN | 56 | 9th | ||||||||
| 11 | Lucas di Grassi
|
Ret | 19 | 18 | 13 | Ret | 10 | 11 | 11 | Ret | 11 | 10 | 19 | 11 | 17 | 11 | 9 | ||||||
| 51 | Nico Müller
|
17 | 18 | 13 | Ret | 7 | 11 | 4 | Ret | 15 | 15 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | ||||||||
| Kelvin van der Linde
|
11 | 15 | |||||||||||||||||||||
- 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
edit| Year | Team | Chassis | Powertrain | Tyres | No. | Drivers | Points | T.C. | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018–19 |  Envision Virgin Racing
|
Spark SRT05e | Audi e-tron FE05 | M | 191 | 3rd | [19] | ||
| 2 | Sam Bird
| ||||||||
| 4 | Robin Frijns
| ||||||||
| 2019–20 | Envision Virgin Racing
|
Spark SRT05e | Audi e-tron FE06 | M | 2 | Sam Bird
|
121 | 4th | [20] |
| 4 | Robin Frijns
| ||||||||
| 2020–21 | Envision Virgin Racing
|
Spark SRT05e | Audi e-tron FE07 | M | 4 | Robin Frijns
|
165 | 5th | [21] |
| 37 |  Nick Cassidy
| ||||||||
| 2021–22 | Envision Racing
|
Spark SRT05e | Audi e-tron FE07 | M | 4 | Robin Frijns
|
194 | 5th | [22] |
| 37 | Nick Cassidy
|
Extreme E results
editRacing overview
edit| Year | Name | Car | Tyres | No. | G. | Drivers | Rounds | Pts. | Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Abt Cupra XE
|
Spark Odyssey 21 | C | 125. | F | Claudia Hürtgen Jutta Kleinschmidt
|
(1–2) (2–5) |
100 | 5th |
| M |  Mattias Ekström
|
(1–5) | |||||||
| 2022 | Abt Cupra XE
|
Spark Odyssey 21 | C | 125. | F | Jutta Kleinschmidt Klara Andersson
|
(1–4) (4–5) |
46 | 6th |
| M |  Nasser Al-Attiyah
|
(1–5) | |||||||
| 2023 | Abt Cupra XE
|
Spark Odyssey 21 | C | 125. | F | Klara Andersson
|
(1–6) | 81 | 6th |
| M | Nasser Al-Attiyah Sébastien Loeb Adrien Tambay
|
(1–4) (5–8) (9–10) |
Racing summary
edit| 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 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 81 | 6th |
Complete Extreme E results
edit(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 7 |
OCE 5 |
ARC 7 |
ISL 2 |
JUR 7 |
100 | 5th | |||||
| 2022 | Abt Cupra XE | DES 8 |
ISL1 9 |
ISL2 DSQ |
COP 3 |
ENE 1 |
46 | 6th | |||||
| 2023 | Abt Cupra XE | DES1 9 |
DES2 4 |
HYD1 10 |
HYD2 8 |
ISL1 R1 4 |
ISL1 R2 6 |
ISL2 R1 2 |
ISL2 R2 3 |
COP1 DNS |
COP2 7 |
81 | 6th |
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 5 November 2013. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
- ^ "ABT Sportsline confirms return to Formula E". The Official Home of Formula E. Retrieved 26 February 2023.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "CUPRA Partners with ABT for Formula E 2023 | CUPRA". www.cupraofficial.com. Archived from the original on 8 March 2023. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
- ^ "ABT secures Mahindra power for Formula E return". The Official Home of Formula E. Retrieved 26 February 2023.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "ABT CUPRA signs Lucas di Grassi alongside Nico Mueller". The Official Home of Formula E. 29 September 2023. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
- ^ "ABT will partner with Lola and Yamaha from Season 11". Formula E. 11 April 2024. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
- ^ "Lola Yamaha ABT completes debut driver line-up with rookie Zane Maloney joining "Mr. Formula E" Lucas di Grassi". Formula E. 25 September 2024. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
- ^ "Lola takes on Formula E entry from ABT". Formula E. 7 November 2024. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
- ^ "EXTREME E ANNOUNCES ABT SPORTSLINE ENTRY". Extreme E - The Electric Odyssey. 10 July 2019.
- ^ "ABT confirms Mattias Ekström as male driver and CUPRA as main partner". Extreme E - The Electric Odyssey. 14 September 2020.
- ^ "ABT CUPRA to focus entirely on Formula E in 2024". ABT Sportsline. 6 December 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ Nguyen, Justin (7 December 2023). "ABT CUPRA departing Extreme E". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ 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 8 April 2010. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
- ^ 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
edit