Abt Sportsline Explained

Abt Sportsline
Type:	Privately held company
Founder:	Johann Abt
Location:	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)
Industry:	Automotive industry, Motorsport
Products:	Specialist car body styling parts, engine tuning
Services:	Motor racing activities
Parent:	Volkswagen Group
Homepage:	Abt-Sportsline.de

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.

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) 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 of space. In October 2002 an extension building was opened offering about 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.^[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.^[8]

Abt partnered with Cupra to enter the electric off-road racing series Extreme E as Abt Cupra XE in 2021.^[9] ^[10] 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.^[11] ^[12]

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 2800NaN0 – an increase of 400NaN0 over the previous model.^[13] ^[14]

Notable cars

AS4-R – A highly modified B7 A4 Avant, the ASR-R makes use of the bi-turbo 2.7L V6 to produce 4800NaN0 at 6800 rpm, and 417lb·ft 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..."^[15]
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 5300NaN0.
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 5250NaN0 to 6200NaN0. Many new exterior parts are made from carbon fiber, dropping the car's weight by 2200NaN0. 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.^[16]

Racing results

Formula E

Audi Sport Abt Formula E Team
valign=middle	Year	valign=middle	Chassis	Powertrain	Tyres	No.	Drivers	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Points
2014–15	Spark SRT01-e	SRT01-e				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				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				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				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				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				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
				66	René Rast						10	13	Ret	16	3^G	4
2020–21	Spark SRT05e	Audi e-tron FE07				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				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
				4	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				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
				51	Kelvin van der Linde									11	15

Notes:

– In the inaugural season, all teams were supplied with a spec powertrain by McLaren.
– 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	No.	Drivers	Points		Source
2018–19	Envision Virgin Racing	Spark SRT05e	Audi e-tron FE05	191	3rd	^[17]
				2	Sam Bird
				4	Robin Frijns
2019–20	Envision Virgin Racing	Spark SRT05e	Audi e-tron FE06	2	Sam Bird	121	4th	^[18]
2019–20	Envision Virgin Racing	Spark SRT05e	Audi e-tron FE06	4	Robin Frijns	121	4th	^[18]
2020–21	Envision Virgin Racing	Spark SRT05e	Audi e-tron FE07	4	Robin Frijns	165	5th	^[19]
2020–21	Envision Virgin Racing	Spark SRT05e	Audi e-tron FE07	37	Nick Cassidy	165	5th	^[19]
2021–22	Envision Racing	Spark SRT05e	Audi e-tron FE07	4	Robin Frijns	194	5th	^[20]
2021–22	Envision Racing	Spark SRT05e	Audi e-tron FE07	37	Nick Cassidy	194	5th	^[20]

Extreme E results

Racing overview

Year	Name	Car	No.		Drivers	Rounds	Pts.	Pos.
2021	Abt Cupra XE	Spark Odyssey 21	125.	F	Claudia Hürtgen Jutta Kleinschmidt	(1–2) (2–5)	100	5th
2021	Abt Cupra XE	Spark Odyssey 21	125.	M	Mattias Ekström	(1–5)	100	5th
2022	Abt Cupra XE	Spark Odyssey 21	125.	F	Jutta Kleinschmidt Klara Andersson	(1–4) (4–5)	46	6th
2022	Abt Cupra XE	Spark Odyssey 21	125.	M	Nasser Al-Attiyah	(1–5)	46	6th
2023	Abt Cupra XE	Spark Odyssey 21	125.	F	Klara Andersson	(1–6)	81	6th
2023	Abt Cupra XE	Spark Odyssey 21	125.	M	Nasser Al-Attiyah Sébastien Loeb Adrien Tambay	(1–4) (5–8) (9–10)	81	6th

Racing summary

Year	Series	Races	Pod.			Pts.	Pos.
2021	Extreme E	5	1	0	0	100	5th
2022	Extreme E	5	1	0	1	46	6th
2023	Extreme E	10	2	1	0	81	6th

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	OCE	ARC	ISL	JUR						100	5th
2022	Abt Cupra XE	DES	ISL1	ISL2	COP	ENE						46	6th
2023	Abt Cupra XE	DES1	DES2	HYD1	HYD2	ISL1 R1	ISL1 R2	ISL2 R1	ISL2 R2	COP1	COP2	81	6th

Notes and References

Web site: Impressum. 26 March 2016. Abt Sportsline. Sportsline GmbH.
Web site: Impressum. 26 March 2016. Abt Sportsline. Sportsline GmbH.
Web site: ABT Sportsline . ITR e.V. . 2 November 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131105081411/http://www.dtm.com/de/Teams/ABT-Sportsline.html . 5 November 2013 .
Web site: ABT Sportsline confirms return to Formula E . 26 February 2023 . The Official Home of Formula E . en .
Web site: CUPRA Partners with ABT for Formula E 2023 CUPRA . 8 March 2023 . www.cupraofficial.com . en . 8 March 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230308123925/https://www.cupraofficial.com/competitions/formula-e-championship.html . dead .
Web site: ABT secures Mahindra power for Formula E return . 26 February 2023 . The Official Home of Formula E . en .
Web site: 29 September 2023 . ABT CUPRA signs Lucas di Grassi alongside Nico Mueller . 30 September 2023 . The Official Home of Formula E . en.
Web site: 11 April 2024 . ABT will partner with Lola and Yamaha from Season 11 . 11 April 2024 . .
Web site: 10 July 2019 . EXTREME E ANNOUNCES ABT SPORTSLINE ENTRY . Extreme E - The Electric Odyssey . en.
Web site: 14 September 2020 . ABT confirms Mattias Ekström as male driver and CUPRA as main partner . Extreme E - The Electric Odyssey . en.
Web site: 6 December 2023 . ABT CUPRA to focus entirely on Formula E in 2024 . 30 January 2024 . ABT Sportsline . en.
Web site: Nguyen . Justin . 7 December 2023 . ABT CUPRA departing Extreme E . 30 January 2024 . The Checkered Flag . en-GB.
Web site: Gauthier. Michael. ABT Sportsline tunes the Volkswagen Passat. worldcarfans. World Car Fans. 21 March 2015.
Web site: Mihalascu. Dan. ABT Sportsline Boosts VW Passat Biturbo Diesel to 280PS, Adds Sharper Body Kit. carscoops.com. 2 March 2015. Car Scoops. 21 March 2015.
Modified Luxury & Exotics RS4 Renaissance, PP. 88 to 94, By Colum Wood. Photos by Joost Demuynck. May 2007
Web site: ABT R8 GT R – A Racecar for the Road. AudiSite.com. 6 April 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100408132527/http://www.audisite.com/1534/abt-r8-gt-r-a-racecar-for-the-road/. 8 April 2010. dead.
Web site: Frijns Confirmed Alongside Bird at Envision Virgin. Kilshaw. Jake. e-racing365.com. en-US. 5 October 2018. 23 November 2019.
Web site: Bird, Frijns to Remain at Envision Virgin for 2019–20. Smith. Sam. e-racing365.com. en-US. 11 June 2019. 23 November 2019.
Web site: What does Audi's Formula E exit mean for its customer team?. Smith. Sam. The Race. 1 December 2020. 13 March 2021.
Web site: Virgin name exits Formula E as Envision team reveals new look. Smith. Sam. The Race. 1 November 2021. 1 November 2021.