Audi has revealed a second R8-based race car for its
customer racers, the R8 LMS GT4.
Built to worldwide GT4 spec like the Ford
Mustang GT4, Chevrolet
Camaro GT4.R, and McLaren 570 GT4,
among others, this racer is a step down from the R8 LMS GT3 (shown below) that
competes in higher levels of competition at the likes of the Rolex 24 at
Daytona and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The car made its debut on Wednesday at the 2017 New York
auto show and is, in fact, Audi's third turnkey customer race car, joining the RS 3 LMS.
Both the R8 GT3 and GT4 share components with the R8 street
car, but the GT4 is a bit closer to stock. Audi says the GT3 has 50 percent of
its parts in common with the street R8, while the GT4 has 60 percent of the
parts in common.
Among those components is the 5.2-liter V-10 engine. In the
GT4 it produces 495 horsepower, but it makes 550 horses in the GT3. Street car buyers
can get it with 540 or 610 horsepower.
The GT4 class originated in Europe and in 2017 it will
feature more international events in North America, Asia, and Australia, in
addition to Europe. “Thirteen racing series in which GT4 models can compete
worldwide already exist today worldwide,” said Audi Sport boss Stephan
Winkelmann.
The Audi R8 LMS GT4 will run for the first time in
competition at the Nürburgring 24 Hours from May 25 to 28, but the car won't be
in the final configuration that customers will receive. Audi is currently
developing the car before a final homologation level is achieved. Chris Reinke,
head of customer racing at Audi Sport, will be preparing production of the race
car during the second half of the year, and customers will be able to take
delivery before the end of the year.
Audi has not decided if it will sell the R8 LMS GT4 to
American customers yet. Pricing also hasn't been announced, but this car should
run in the $225,000 to $250,000 range, while the GT3 costs twice that. Buyers
will benefit from the parts, service, and support network Audi Sport has built
with the R8 LMS GT3 program to help maintain and service their cars.
source: http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1109872_audi-adds-a-second-r8-race-car-the-r8-lms-gt4
by Kirk Bell
http://www.boscheuropean.com
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