ABT XGT: The R8 Audi Didn’t Have The Guts To Make!

This collection of wings and carbonfibre might be the purest expression of a ‘race car for the road’ since the McLaren F1 LM. Why? Because it’s not a road car that does a decent job on a circuit, like an Aston Martin Valkyrie. Nor is it a road car turned track car, a la the Ferrari FXX-K. Instead, this is a proper race car with number plates. And it’s no one-off either, as ABT plan to build 99. At over £600k a pop… It is an ABT too, because the work done to legalise this R8 LMS GT2 is so extensive that it no longer wears an Audi VIN plate – ABT is certified as the manufacturer. Rightly so, because to jump through the strict hoops demanded for German TÜV certification took Abt two years. We’re not just talking indicators and number plates either – they’ve had to crash test one of these. Twice. Is it still a race car? Is it now any good on the road? TG’s Head of Car Testing, Ollie Marriage, is your guide… Subscribe to Top Gear for more videos: WATCH MORE TOP GEAR: First Looks:   First Drives: American Tuned ft. Rob Dahm: LISTEN to the Top Gear Magazine Podcast: Sign up for our newsletter: Chapters: 00:00 Intro 01:41 Walkaround 03:33 About Abt 04:57 Drive: on road 06:24 Drive: on track 09:25 Conclusion MORE ABOUT TOP GEAR: Welcome to the official home of Top Gear on YouTube. Here you’ll find all the best clips from your favourite episodes, whether that’s Ken Block drifting London in the Hoonicorn, Chris Harris in the latest Porsche 911 GT3 or classic Top Gear clips from Clarkson, Hammond and May. You’ll also find the latest performance car reviews from the crew, our brand new series American Tuned with Rob Dahm and the fastest power laps from our in house performance benchmark: The Stig. This is a commercial channel from BBC Studios. Service & Feedback