RINGER; Star of the DTM, Abt gets the Audi 4.2 V8 to threaten the 6.0 W12 and 5.2 V10.(News)

Byline: MATT DAVIS

Back in 2002 as a private squad, Abt won the hotly contested German touring car masters series in scorching Audi TT-Rs. Together with Audi, Abt won the DTM title again in 2004. With all these street creds, Abt business is booming.

We've heard all about this from impassioned enthusiasts of the four rings and we finally took the dare and drove this AS8-R near Abt HQ in Kempten, Germany. Thank goodness the hard Allgauer winter had finally started to thaw and we found some dry, sunny roads.

When you can take a 4.2-liter 330-hp V8 that can get to 62 mph in just 6.3 seconds and presto, change it into a 443-hp V8 good for the same 62 mph in just 5.9 seconds, you have our attention. Torque also alters in the process, the stock V8 peaking at 317 lb-ft at 3500 rpm and the AS8-R stretching to 383 lb-ft between 4500 and 5600 rpm. The speed limiter was removed on our tester, so on the autobahn we saw 179 mph as opposed to the standard motor limited to 155 mph.

Chief culprit in the power/torque climb is the 6.5-psi supercharger and high-performance intercooler from ASA. With a centrifugal clutch mechanism that keeps things idle until the engine hits 1500 rpm, the unit isn't leeching power and wasting energy before it is needed. Where you really feel the benefits is in that 4500- to-5600-rpm span where all 383 lb-ft of torque is available. Overtaking traffic was simple.

Though AS8-R torque is just below that of the 6.0-liter W12 also in the A8 and 5.2-liter V10 for the new S8, horsepower is the same. Plus, with a V8 instead of a V10 or a W-anything, there's ...