Production-Derived Audi R8 LMS Joins The GT4 Party

Audi has become the latest automaker to jump on the bandwagon of offering a GT4-spec race car and on the eve of the New York Auto Show, has unveiled the R8 LMS GT4.

The new racer is directly derived from a road-going R8 V10 Coupe and includes more than 60 per cent of the same components. It will be constructed at the same Böllinger Höfe production facility as the road car and follows on from the German marque unveiling the RS3 LMS for the TCR category last year.

Audi Sport is spearheading development of the model throughout the 2017 racing year and will debut the vehicle at the Nurburgring 24 Hours from May 25 to 28. Power from the naturally-aspirated V10 engine will sit at approximately 495 hp and production of customer-ordered examples will commence in the second half of the year.

Speaking about the car, Audi Sport boss Stephan Winkelmann said “Audi Sport GmbH is one of the leading manufacturers offering cars in the GT3 and TCR customer sport categories. Now we’re targeting the GT4 class at exactly the right time. These fast-growing business segments and the DNA shared by our race cars and production vehicles underscore our ambition to become a true global player in the high-performance league.”

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