Car Moon

The 2012 VW Beetle tuning wars have began. Leaving aside the Beetle RS project with some very light styling modifications by the enthusiast website VWVortex that we showed you back in June, ABT Sportsline is the first mainstream tuning firm to take on the all-new 2012 Volkswagen Beetle, or as the company likes to call it, the Speedle.

The noted VW Group tuner said it is still working on the performance upgrades for the latest Beetle, which won’t arrive in customer hands until September, but it can give us an idea of what to expect based on its current offerings.

Just because Volkswagen’s Transporter can be used in a professional manner moving goods, people or even both, doesn’t mean that tuners aren’t paying attention to it. On the contrary, the Transporter has received a lot of tuning love over the many years it has been in production. The tuning proposal for the pre-facelift Transporter you see pictured here comes from German aftermarket specialist, MR Car Design. Read more »

Less than month after ABT announced its plans to unveil its tuning take on the new Audi A7 Sportback at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show, the Volkswagen Group specialist has shared the first photos and details on its available packages.

VW Group specialist ABT Sportsline will bring several Audi models to the 2011 Geneva Motor Show in March, including the eye-catching R8 GTR with a chrome finish pictured above, as well as its newest tuning proposals for the A7 Sportback and 2012MY A6 sedan.

Alongside the R8 GT-R, A7 Sportback and A6, the German tuner will also be presenting a fourth model, which is being kept a secret for now. “We will be bringing along a sports car which I personally like a lot. For it shows our technical capabilities and offers a maximum level of driving enjoyment. I am looking forward to seeing how it is received by the public in Geneva," said the ABT general manager, Hans-Jürgen.

According to ABT, the 2011 Volkswagen Touareg should be tuned without diluting its distinct character. As a result, the Bavarian specialist concentrated on increasing the power of the German SUV, while keeping the exterior changes to a minimum.

The largest tuner of vehicles from the VW group has set its eyes on Audi's smallest model, the all-new A1 supermini, with the release of performance and styling packages. ABT's design proposal for the A1 comes in three flavors "KLECKS" (translates to 'splash'), "ALOHA" and "HIGH-VOLTAGE".

Not quite the Audi S8-alternative we were expecting from ABT, but the diesel-powered AS8 appears to be a promising start. Using the 2011 A8 with the 4.2-liter V8 TDI as a base, ABT Sportsline tweaked the turbo diesel engine boosting output from 350HP and 800Nm to 385HP and 880Nm / 649 lb-ft of peak torque.

As no ABT conversion would be complete without the usual styling upgrades, the German tuner bundled a body kit comprising of a front spoiler, side skirt, a somewhat discreet boot lid spoiler and a new rear apron housing a diffuser and the new quad tail pipes.

Never satisfied with the stock products of the Volkswagen Group, ABT Sportline presented its take on the new Audi R8 Spyder 5.2 V10 at this week's Geneva Show. The German tuner's treatment revamps both the look and the performance of the two-seater roadster.

ABT Sportsline starts with the R8 Spyder's 5.2-liter V10 engine that receives a 75HP bump for a total output of 600HP allowing the car to make the run to 100 km/h (62 mph) in just 3.8 seconds and top out 320 km/h or 199 mph.

Volkswagen Group tuning specialist ABT has set its eyes on the new Golf GTD offering a range of power and styling treatments. The GTD's 2.0-liter turbocharged diesel engine receives a 20-pony and 40 Nm increase to 190-horsepower and 390 Nm (288 lb-ft) of maximum torque trimming 0-100km/h (62mph) acceleration from 8.1 seconds to 7.1 seconds - always according to ABT. Top speed increases from 222 km/h to 230 km/h (143mph).

We don't know when (or if, for that matter) Volkswagen will drop a high-output version of its 1.4-TSI along with a GTI badge on the fifth-generation Polo, but until then, buyers can head over to ABT as the German firm launched a new tuning programme for the supermini. Under the hood, ABT's power kit boosts the output of the base version of the 1.6-liter TDI turbo diesel from 75HP to 90HP, the 90HP version to 110HP and the 105HP variant of the same unit, to 130HP. For the 1.2-liter TSI gasoline engine, ABT's programme lifts output from 105HP to 130HP.

DUI as in 'designing under the influence'... You see, some things in this life, such as asking a German tuner to create a one-off special for a German brewery, are just not meant to be. We understand that this is a promotional vehicle with Radeberger Pilsner's traditional black and gold color scheme but, well, let's just say that the photos speak for themselves. Anyway, aside from the ABT two-tone bodykit, chunky alloy wheels and logos, the special A5 Cabrio gets a red leather interior with Radeberger's name embroidered on the headrests and the floor mats.

As well as backing up ABT Sportline's aftermarket performance kit for the X-BOW, KTM also released UK pricing for the upgrade that raises the 2.0-liter TFSI engine's output from 240HP to 300HP and maximum torque from 310Nm to 400Nm. The upgrade that is sold as an aftermarket package and can be retrofitted to all X-BOW models costs £5,300 (about €8,700) including VAT and fitting, and comes with a two year warranty.

You knew it was coming: ABT Sportline's take on the sixth-generation Volkswagen Golf GTI. Building on the basic GTI, the German firm's engineers first turned their motorsport-honed attention to the car's 2.0-liter turbocharged four-pot that delivers 210HP in standard form. The craftspeople at ABT developed two performance kits for the new GTI, with the first adding the usual ECU and exhaust system upgrades that lift output to 260 horsepower.

Volkswagen Group tuning specialist ABT is turning up the wick on the diesel powered Audi Q7 V12 TDI. In standard form, the 6.0-liter V12 turbo diesel delivers an output of 500 HP and a maximum torque of 1,000 Nm or 738-lb/ft launching the Q7 from zero to 100 km/h (62mph) in 5.5 seconds and on to an electronically limited top speed of 250 km/h or 155mph. After ABT's intervention, the Q7's V12 diesel cranks out 560HP and 1,200 Nm or 885-lbs/ft of torque for 0-100km/h sprint time of 5.3 seconds and a maximum speed of 258km/h or 160mph.

ABT Sportline, the German tuning house that has an appetite for VW Group products, has applied its tuning skills to the new Audi A5 Convertible. Similar to the A5 Coupe, ABT's AS5 tuning package offers power upgrades for most of the engines available in the A5 Convertible's engine range, with the 2.0-liter TFSIs producing 275HP instead of the factory models' 180HP and 211HP, the 2.7-liter TDI diesel 230HP, up from 190HP and the 3.0-liter, 282HP, or with a new ABT turbocharger, 310HP and 610Nm of torque, up from the stock engine's 240HP.

The competition is heating up for next month's 24-hours of Nurburgring as Audi has announced that it too will take part in the famed endurance race with four factory supported R8 LMS racecars, two for each of the ABT Sportsline and Phoenix Racing teams. The R8 LMS is a rear-wheel drive GT3 version of the German firm's mid-engined sportscar equipped with a 500HP-plus 5.2-liter FSI V10 that was developed by Audi's motorsport division for private customers and race teams alike.

"The 24 Hours is not only one of the biggest motorsport events in Germany," says Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. "The Nürburgring-Nordschleife is considered one of the world's toughest and most demanding race tracks. Similar to Sebring for the sports prototypes, it is superbly suited for revealing the final improvement potential of any new race car. This is exactly what we're planning to do at the 24-hour race before delivering the R8 LMS to customers, starting this fall."

The ABT Sportsline and Phoenix Racing teams will hit the 'Ring on May 23 with driver squads consisting of five current Audi "factory" drivers, four DTM Champions, four Le Mans winners and five drivers who have won the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring at least once.

Among others they include the reigning DTM Champion Timo Scheider, who – together with his DTM teammate Mattias Ekström and three-time Le Mans winner Marco Werner – will compete for Team ABT Sportsline, and three-times 24h Nurburgring winner Hans-Joachim Stuck, who will pilot one of the cars of the Team Phoenix Racing.

The Audi teams at the 24-hour race on the Nürburgring:

Audi R8 LMS #97 (ABT Sportsline)

• Christian Abt (D)
  
• Jean-François Hemroulle (B)
  
• Pierre Kaffer (D)
  
• Lucas Luhr (D)
  

Audi R8 LMS #98 (Phoenix Racing)

• Marc Basseng (D)
  
• Frank Stippler (D)
  
• Mike Rockenfeller (D)
  

Audi R8 LMS #99 (Phoenix Racing)

• Frank Biela (D)
  
• Marcel Fässler (CH)
  
• Emanuele Pirro (I)
  
• Hans-Joachim Stuck (A)
  

Audi R8 LMS #100 (ABT Sportsline)

• Mattias Ekström (S)
  
• Timo Scheider (D)
  
• Marco Werner (D)