Audi R8 LMS GT2, the most powerful Audi you can buy to race on the track

GT racing and the so-called Track Days are more alive than ever, especially the latter, which enjoy great popularity among the best customers of sports car brands, which is why these brands have special programmes for their customers, such as the one Audi Sport has been running with its customers for eleven years. It is precisely for them that its new creation is intended, the Audi R8 LMS GT2.

Oliver Hoffman, Director of Audi Sport GMBH, Chris Reinke, Director of the customer competition programme at Audi Sport, and Tom Kristensen, nine-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, have presented this vehicle, which made its debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. The Audi R8 LMS GT2 will not only be a vehicle for customers of this Audi Sport programme, but will also serve as a laboratory for laying the foundations of the vehicle that Audi is developing for the future GT2 class arriving in 2020, which will be characterised by high-performance vehicles.

The Audi R8 LMS GT2 is based on the production R8, in both its coupé and spyder versions: from the former it adopts elements such as the extruded roof profiles, while from the latter it takes others such as the chassis geometry and the door cut. Many other features have been added to the whole to make its competition participation possible, such as the roll cage made from a special steel which, despite having a thinner wall than the GT4 model, offers greater strength. Also, following the comparison with the GT4, the Audi R8 LMS GT2 is also around 100 kg lighter.

Aerodynamically it also differs from the GT3 and GT4 versions, for example in the front air intakes, which on the Audi R8 LMS GT2 are located on both sides so that air flows over the windscreen, thus avoiding thermal conflicts with the engine air intake on the roof. Even the radiator responsible for cooling the engine, which is quite large, has air channels designed using computational fluid dynamics techniques; and the elaborate rear wing, which improves aerodynamics and generates significant downforce on the rear axle, also deserves mention.

Turning now to the more mechanical side, the Audi R8 LMS GT2 features modified suspension in the control arms to reduce weight further; the steering is inherited from the GT4 thanks to the modular kit it uses; the electronics have also been updated compared with the GT4, and thanks to new software the anti-lock braking system, traction control and stability control can now be adjusted across four levels.

But the crown jewel lies under its bonnet: as with the GT3 and GT4 models, the GT2 also uses the naturally aspirated 5,200 cc V10 that the brand manufactures at its Győr plant in Hungary, which has received an electronics update to increase its power to 640 CV, combined with a seven-speed S Tronic dual-clutch transmission that the brand has already successfully tested in the GT4 category and other competitions.

The new Audi R8 LMS GT2 can now be ordered by the fortunate few who can afford it, with first deliveries starting in December, at a price of 338,000 euros before taxes.