Month: July 2021

RAVENOL and ABT Sportsline on 1 July 2021 launched a collaborative technology partnership in the field of engine oils, gearbox and limited-slip differential oils as well as brake fluids, combining first-rate areas of expertise in the high-performance segment. RAVENOL, the premium brand of Ravensberger Schmierstoffvertrieb GmbH, numbers among the most powerful lubricants in the automobile and motorcycle sector internationally. Effective immediately, RAVENOL, as an OEM supplier, delivers its performance-relevant products for the performance-enhanced cars from ABT Sportsline, the world’s largest automotive aftermarket and performance parts specialist for Audi and VW. In their collaboration the two partners draw on 200 years of experience in total. Ravensberger Schmierstoffvertrieb GmbH has been developing and producing high-performance lubricants under the brand name of RAVENOL since 1946 – hence for 75 years. ABT Sportsline from Kempten in Bavaria has existed since 1991, having emerged from Johann Baptist Abt’s horseshoe and wainwright’s shop founded in 1896 – 125 years ago – and the car dealerships and tuning businesses that evolved from it.

Moreover, RAVENOL and ABT Sportsline share a deeply rooted involvement in motorsport: RAVENOL has been active as a technical partner and consultant for decades in many national and international racing series with diverse sporting orientations up to and including Formula One. ABT has been celebrating successes in motorsport for six decades, having won countless races, as well as titles, in all relevant classes from single-seater to GT racing to the DTM high-class sports cars and, more recently, has been very successful in electrified motorsport too. The new partners have previously been active together as well: In the Volkswagen Scirocco R Cup held from 2010 to 2014 RAVENOL was the lubricant partner and 
ABT Sportsline the central fielding team of the one-make cup.

“We cordially welcome RAVENOL to our innovation hotbed that is now 125 years old,” says Hans-Jürgen Abt, who runs the Bavarian family business ABT in the fourth generation as Managing Partner. “With its comprehensive know-how and state-of-the-art in-house laboratory and manufacturing facilities, RAVENOL constantly guarantees the highest production standards while consistently and expertly driving the development of its high-performance products. This expertise supports us in being able to offer our customers top-quality standards up to and including the high-performance range.” – “We are delighted about this collaboration as an OEM supplier to ABT Sportsline,” says Martin Huning, the director at RAVENOL who is responsible for the collaboration. “Our companies share a commitment to offering top-quality products and services. Based on this, we intend to sustainably advance technological innovation together with ABT Sportsline and support each other in development projects.”

In 1982, ABT Sportsline created the legendary and iconic wide-body GTI. Almost 40 years later, the 8th generation of the Golf is offered as standard in a wide range of sporty models, way beyond the regular Gran Turismo Injection. Alongside the GTI (245 HP / 180 kW / 370 Nm) and GTI Clubsport (300 HP / 221 kW / 400 Nm), the GTD (200 HP / 147 kW / 400 Nm) is available for diesel fans and the Golf R (320 HP / 235 kW / 420 Nm) is the ultimate compact sports car. The most powerful beast of this bunch delivers as standard almost double the performance of the turbo-driven ABT Golf of the 80s (163 HP / 120 kW). However, the bar has been raised considerably over the last four decades – and as a result, many drivers still want more power. No problem. In the company’s 125th anniversary year, ABT Sportsline offers
a wide range of performance upgrades for the top models of the Golf family. The basis for each of these is the high-tech control unit ABT Engine Control (AEC).

The Golf GTI is boosted to unleash 290 HP (213 kW) and delivers a maximum torque of 410 Nm. The GTD delivers 440 Nm and 230 HP (169 kW). However, even the series GTI Clubsport has a few more horses under the hood than a performance-upgraded normal GTI. For this model, ABT Sportsline offers the option of 360 HP (265 kW), with a maximum torque of 450 Nm. But if the Clubsport unleashes so much power, what about the Golf R? This car, with a performance upgrade to 384 HP (282 kW) and 470 Nm, will certainly put a smile on your face. Furthermore, ABT Sportsline will soon offer sporty suspension springs and a tailor-made exhaust system for this version.

Regardless of the selected platform, ABT Sportsline offers three attractive rim designs for the Golf GTI, GTD, GTI Clubsport and R. For example, the 19-inch ER-C in matt black. If you want to pull out all the stops with a 20-inch rim, choose the ABT FR in mystic black or Sport GR in glossy or matt black. Both of the latter score highly with their diamond-machined accents. A comparison with the rims of a wide-body GTI from 1982 shows how much wheel dimensions have developed: Back then, it cruised along the autobahn, roads and boulevards on 13-inchers.

Team ABT Sportsline is seamlessly continuing its success story in the DTM: At the season opener at Monza (Italy), Kelvin van der Linde scored a commanding victory with the ABT Audi R8 LMS in Sunday’s race. The South African thus achieved the feat of not only celebrating a victory during his first DTM weekend, but also immediately taking the lead in the overall drivers’ standings of the popular racing series.

In his first DTM race, van der Linde fought his way up from ninth on the grid to fifth place on Saturday. The fast and perfectly timed pit stop also played a decisive role.

Until late in the evening, the ABT engineers pondered how they could improve the ABT Audi R8 LMS for the second race on Sunday. “I’m not used to this from other racing series like the ADAC GT Masters,” said van der Linde. “The level at which work is done in the DTM is extremely high. The days are incredibly long and hard. I was in bed very late on Saturday night.”

The overtime paid off: During the second qualifying session on Sunday morning, Kelvin van der Linde set the fastest lap in the field. “I was a bit lucky that Nico Müller gave me a good chance to slipstream behind him in the first sector, which definitely added two tenths of a second,” said van der Linde, who celebrated his 25th birthday on race day, which was duly celebrated by the team before qualifying.

In the race, the birthday boy then got himself the best present: With a clever manoeuvre in the first corner, he defended first place against Saturday’s winner Liam Lawson in the Ferrari. “That was the decisive moment in the race,” said van der Linde. “I knew I had to take maximum risk, because overtaking at Monza is extremely difficult, especially with our car.”

Van der Linde was then able to pull further and further away from his pursuers, extending his lead to over four seconds and subsequently maintaining it to the finish. After the triumph, the South African was celebrated even more euphorically than in the morning by his team.

The trophy for the winning team was accepted by ABT boss Hans-Jürgen Abt, who spent both race days at Monza seated at the pit wall and dedicated the victory to Volker Nossek. Nossek had long been responsible for Team ABT Sportsline at Audi Sport and passed away in May after a short, serious illness at the age of just 59. Nossek’s son Bastian is part of the ABT DTM team and had his first race event at Monza since his father’s death.

Mike Rockenfeller also scored points with tenth and eighth finishes on both days, despite difficult qualifying sessions. On Sunday, “Rocky” fought his way up from 17th on the grid to eighth with a strong recovery.

Sophia Flörsch finished in 16th place twice on her DTM debut. The 20-year-old’s ABT Audi R8 LMS is equipped with the revolutionary steer-by-wire Space Drive technology from Schaeffler Paravan Technologie GmbH & Co. KG, which was used for the first time in the DTM races at Monza.

Quotes after the DTM races at Monza

Thomas Biermaier (Team Principal Team ABT Sportsline): “It was a great start to the season for us. The last victory for ABT Sportsline as a private team in the DTM was with Laurent Aiello at the Nürburgring in 2003. Since then, we’ve celebrated many victories as a factory team, but now we’re back on our own in the DTM. I was hoping and also expecting that we’d manage well, because we’ve got a strong team. But, I wouldn’t have dared to dream that we’d win during the very first weekend and lead the championship. That makes us incredibly proud and happy. The whole team did a super job. The pit stops were great and the strategy was correct. We can celebrate tonight! On Tuesday, we’ll get straight back to preparing for the Lausitzring.”

Kelvin van der Linde (ABT Audi R8 LMS #3): “What a weekend! The trip to Monza was definitely worth it. We’re leading the championship and I immediately won a race during my first DTM weekend. What more could you want? The result shows that the team did a great job in the preparation. We had the best crew during the pit stops. I’m very proud of the whole team and overjoyed. I started my career at ABT and now also celebrated my first victory in the DTM with ABT. That is simply great!”

Mike Rockenfeller (ABT Audi R8 LMS #9): “As expected, it was super fun with the ABT team. Of course, my results were not the ones that I would have liked to score. I was only in the meager points twice here, but the year is still long. It’s great to have Kelvin as a teammate: He’s a good benchmark. I still need to get more comfortable with the GT3 car as a driver and we need to do a few things better on our side of the garage, but we’re taking the positives. The pole and Kelvin’s win give all of us a lot of motivation in the team. It shows that it can be done.”

Sophia Flörsch (ABT Audi R8 LMS #99): “I’m extremely happy for the ABT team and Kelvin: he really deserved the victory on Sunday. I myself went into my first DTM race weekend with a few more expectations, but we finished both races, collecting kilometres and laps in the process. Now we’ve got to keep working, the season continues at the Lausitzring in three weeks. It’s sure to be very tight, because we all tested there, but I’m already looking forward to it and am in a positive mood.”

Interest in the Johann Abt Signature Edition exceeds all expectations

ABT Sportsline, the world’s largest automotive aftermarket and performance parts specialist for Audi and VW, impresses its fans again and again with its limited-edition special models. For the company’s 125th anniversary in 2021, the Johann Abt Signature Edition represents a new benchmark. The special series is limited to 64 cars and is a homage to the company’s founder. In 1896, Johann Abt laid the foundation for today’s international company with his blacksmith’s workshop that became famous for innovative solutions. A highlight of each model of the elaborately reworked Audi RS6 is a time capsule with a piece of his original anvil. Johann Abt’s original signature is a central feature throughout the design of the collector’s piece: inside and out. The powerful vehicle delivers 800 HP (589 kW) and 980 Nm and is truly individual, with many unique solutions. “Customer interest exceeded all expectations”, explains CEO Hans-Jürgen Abt. All 64 cars were sold in record time – the first vehicles will be delivered in July. Due to the extremely complex manufacturing, only 6 cars per month will be built. “Each individual car’s conversion will be overseen by a motorsport mechanic – truly exceptional. One man, one vehicle – from start to finish”, Hans-Jürgen Abt enthuses.

The bodywork scores with the unique carbon structure Signature Carbon Red, featuring an integrated red metal thread. Alongside other components, the air inlets, front lip, rear skirt and even the 22-inch forged wheels have been specially developed for the Johann Abt Signature Edition. The ingenious ABT aero package is not just a spectacular eye-catcher, but also provides an extra 150 kg of downthrust at the rear axle. The aerodynamic setup provides the foundation for an amazing performance upgrade*, that unleashes a further 200 HP (148 kW) from the standard model. This is achieved by utilising specially developed turbochargers and the high-tech control unit ABT Engine Control (AEC). The Avant with a top speed of 330 km/h reaches 0-100 km/h in 2.91 seconds: 0.69 seconds faster than a standard RS 6.

You fall in love all over again every time you get into this collectors’ piece: Not only because of the ABT halo projection with watermark signature, the time capsule, the back-lit emblem strip with consecutive numbering and the hand-sewn sport seats, but also because of the countless small details. Many of these are in Signature carbon Red and feature the signature of Johann Abt. Because at the end of the 19th century, his name stood for innovative spirit and quality – values that continue to define ABT Sportsline.

It’s hard to believe, but it’s true: next weekend’s 2021 DTM season opener in the royal park of Monza (Saturday and Sunday live on SAT.1 from 1 PM CEST) will be the first races for Team ABT Sportsline on the high-speed circuit outside Milan. The trips across the Alps to the previous DTM guest races in “Bella Italia” were always crowned with success for the title defenders from Kempten.

So far, the DTM has visited Italy seven times: three times at Adria near Venice, twice at Mugello in Tuscany and most recently twice at Misano near Rimini. And each time, the team led by Hans-Jürgen Abt and Thomas Biermaier brought trophies back to Kempten and even the biggest one on three occasions.

Even before the DTM era, there was a legendary appearance for ABT in Italy: Christian Abt won the night race of the German Super Touring Car Championship (STW) in Misano with the Audi A4 quattro in 1999. In the heat of battle, his rival for the title at the time, Uwe Alzen in an Opel, accidentally let him pass shortly before the finish line without much resistance. The jubilation in the ABT pits was correspondingly exuberant and the party after the important victory was a lively one.

The first Italian guest appearance in Adria during the 2003 DTM season was also a battle against the high temperatures with over 60 degrees in the cockpits. Mattias Ekström and Laurent Aiello coped well with this and thrilled the spectators. They came from behind during the final laps and scored a double podium for ABT Sportsline. Afterwards, there was one of the first paddock parties by the ABT house band “Fire & Ice”, which was always on stand-by at the DTM races back then.

In 2004, Mattias Ekström achieved the Audi A4 DTM’s first victory in Adria, which also took place in sweltering heat. It was the beginning of ABT’s 17-year joint success story as an Audi factory team in the DTM with four drivers’ championships (2004, 2007, 2008, 2009), five teams’ titles (2004, 2007, 2011, 2016 and 2020) and 59 race victories. In addition, there is the drivers’ title in 2002 and a further eight victories as a private team from 2000 to 2003. With a total of 67 victories, ABT Sportsline is the most successful active DTM team and second in the all-time leaderboard.

In 2007, Mattias Ekström celebrated his 29th birthday at the DTM round in Mugello and of course he got the obligatory cake to the face in the pits. On race day, the air was scorching with 37 degrees in the shade and asphalt temperatures of 52 degrees. Mattias Ekström had to settle for second place, because Mika Häkkinen was the only driver who had already completed his mandatory pit stop when the safety car came onto the track, which was triggered by one of his team mates, which caused wild speculation at the time.

In 2008, Tom Kristensen clinched another trophy for ABT Sportsline with third place at Mugello. His team mate Timo Scheider squandered the victory when he rolled up short on pole position and consequently received a drive-through penalty that dropped him to 17th place. Scheider still ended up as the champion.

In 2010, the two-time DTM champion drove “the race of my life”, as he later called it, in the rain at Adria. Starting from 15th place on the grid, today’s SAT.1 expert overtook one car after the other and finally crossed the finish line as the winner. Mattias Ekström was equally fast, but lost half a minute in the pits due to a loose cotter pin on the gear lever.

In the supporting program, Hans-Jürgen Abt took part in the Volkswagen Scirocco Cup’s “Wings for Life Charity Race”, where he only just missed the podium. However, “HJ” was very upset that his then ITR board colleague Walter Mertes finished third.

Speaking of Hans-Jürgen Abt: In 2002, the ABT boss last drove a DTM car himself during a rainy test in Misano. The outing did not end well in view of the difficult conditions and the mechanics had some extra work …

In 2018 and 2019, Misano was also the venue for the last DTM races in Italy so far, which included the first night races in DTM history in 2018. Robin Frijns took his first DTM podium with his typical spectacular overtaking manoeuvres.

Nico Müller won Sunday’s race in Misano in 2020, but was “under investigation” until late in the evening. The subsequent party in the Audi hospitality after the confirmation of his victory lasted until the early hours of the morning.

Daniel Abt, who won the GP3 finale in Monza in 2012, also has good memories of Italy.

Now it is up to Sophia Flörsch (Germany), Mike Rockenfeller (Germany/Switzerland) and Kelvin van der Linde (South Africa) to continue ABT Sportsline’s successful DTM tradition at Monza.

Just like Kelvin van der Linde, Sophia Flörsch will be making her DTM debut at Monza. Her ABT Audi R8 LMS features the revolutionary “Space Drive” steer-by-wire system from Schaeffler Paravan Technologie GmbH & Co KG, which will be used for the first time in a DTM race at Monza.

Alongside Gary Paffett and Marco Wittmann, Mike Rockenfeller is one of three DTM champions on the grid. He celebrated his first DTM victory with ABT Sportsline at Zandvoort in 2011 and had a good chance of winning the championship at the time. His serious accident at Le Mans in June 2011 put a spanner in the works for “Rocky”. Two years later, he won the DTM drivers’ title.

As a long-standing Audi Sport driver, Kelvin van der Linde knows the Audi R8 LMS better than almost anyone else.

For its 125th anniversary, vehicle tuner ABT Sportsline has dedicated the most exclusive masterpiece in its history to the company’s founder: The unique homage, named the Johann Abt Signature Edition, comprises just 64 cars using the RS 6 as its platform – one for each year of the legendary Bavarian blacksmith’s life. The small workshop was set up in 1896 and became the world’s largest automotive aftermarket and performance parts specialist for Audi and VW. “A motorsport mechanic will be responsible for the conversion of each individual example – a unique and exceptional event. One man, one vehicle – from start to finish”, enthuses CEO Hans-Jürgen Abt: “Six cars per month will be hand-built.”

Johann Abt’s original signature pervades throughout the design of the collector’s piece as a central feature. The historic spelling with the single “n” and the doubling line represents the utmost in authenticity. The reference to the founding story is not merely a philosophical question, but is underpinned by a unique relic. Hans-Jürgen Abt explains: “Johann Abt’s first anvil provided many years’ loyal service. On this anvil, my great grandfather transformed his vision into innovation. It is an irreplaceable piece of history, that has now earned a worthy place for eternity: not in the museum, but in the most exclusive ABT of all time.” Each of the 64 cars contains a time capsule with a fragment of the original anvil. An additional highlight: The elaborately manufactured and back-lit emblem strip with consecutive numbering # xx of 64.

“The successor to our sold-out ABT RS6 R 1/125 is defined not only by the connection to our history and the myriad attractive details. Its performance, which was measured on the high-speed track at Papenburg, is revolutionary”, Hans-Jürgen Abt continues. A single statistic says it all: From 0 to 100 km/h in 2.91 seconds – a whole 0.69 seconds faster than a standard RS 6. The asphalt athlete achieves 200 km/h in just 9.79 seconds after the start. In less than half a minute – 28.35 seconds – it accelerates from 0 to 300 km/h. “The anniversary model has shortened this time by over 20 seconds compared to the production model”, the CEO enthuses. Furthermore, the maximum speed is 330 km/h. Behind these figures is an engine that unleashes the brute force of a forging hammer: 800 HP (589 kW) means 200 HP (148 kW) more than the standard model. The maximum torque is 980 Nm, whereby a peak of 1000 Nm is possible. To achieve these figures, the performance upgrade* utilises in-house developed turbochargers and the high-tech control unit ABT Engine Control (AEC). In addition, new, larger intercoolers provide cooler air. And to maintain a healthy engine temperature even at top speed, an additional oil cooling system has been installed.

Working closely together with the AEC, and making its debut in the Johann Abt Signature Edition, the new ABT App displays live parameters such as current increased performance, additional torque and a range of engine data. Three different driving modes – ECO, POWER and RACE – control the intensity of the performance upgrade and can adapt to lower-octane fuel in the short term.

Performance alone was far from enough for tuning specialists ABT Sportsline. ABT height-adjustable suspension springs and anti-roll bars ensure significantly reduced roll and lean tendency. The ingenious aero package also contributes to the handling. It was tested extensively in a high-tech windtunnel in Stuttgart and its additional turbulence inducer provides 150 kg of extra downthrust on the rear axle. At the front, the sophisticated air routing provides optimal airflow to cooling system and brakes.

“High-performance was essential, as was the design of the anniversary model, which had to be as powerful as the will of our ancestor and founder”, explains Hans-Jürgen Abt. The bodywork scores here with its unique carbon structure Signature Carbon Red, which features a red metallic thread throughout the entire vehicle. Alongside other components, the air inlets, front lip, rear skirt and even the 22-inch forged wheels were developed especially for the Johann Abt Signature Edition: The latter are distinguished by their spoke gaps, the protruding hub cover and the machined signature. “Technically, we have pulled out all the stops and have been able to make a weight saving of an incredible 3.5 kg per wheel, compared to the standard wheels”, explains Abt. The acoustic finale is provided by the ABT exhaust system, which features four 102-mm matt black stainless steel endpipes.

You fall in love all over again every time you get into this collectors’ piece: Not only because of the ABT halo projection with watermark signature, the elaborately manufactured matt black anodised aluminium time capsule, the hand-sewn sport seats, the leather-trimmed doors, the refined central armrest and the door sills displaying the “Since 1896” lettering, but also because of the countless small details. And of course, the stylistic element of the brand-new Signature Carbon Red also features here. It lends the carbon fibre a hint of the unrestrained creative glow, which was a constant feature of Johann Abt’s forge.

Jutta Kleinschmidt will compete for ABT CUPRA XE in Extreme E. The first and so far only female winner of the legendary Dakar Rally will share the cockpit with Mattias Ekström with immediate effect and for the remaining three races of the season in the all-electric off-road series. “I’m really looking forward to this new challenge, the preparation with the ABT team and of course to work with Mattias,” says the German.

Kleinschmidt, who won the Dakar Rally in 2001, takes over the wheel in the e-CUPRA ABT XE1 from Claudia Hürtgen. “Top performance in off-road events like Extreme E requires intensive preparation, including testing and rally participation. This high time commitment is unfortunately not compatible at the moment with my professional work at BMW, which I live for with the same passion,” says Hürtgen. “But, a change also offers new opportunities for each of us, so I’m happy for the team that the constellation from Senegal will remain until the end of the season. I’m very grateful for the experiences that I’ve had within the Extreme E family and wish ABT, CUPRA and Jutta only the very best for the next races.”

Extreme E is familiar territory for Jutta Kleinschmidt: in her role as Championship Driver and Advisor, she attended the first two events and supported the organizers with her in-depth knowledge from 17 Dakar participations. In Senegal, she stepped in at short notice for Hürtgen, who was absent due to illness, and impressed with a strong performance. “At first, I followed the series from the organizers’ point of view, then I got a spontaneous drive and now, together with Mattias, I’m actually a permanent member of the family of drivers. I’m very happy for the chance to compete at the highest level again,” says Kleinschmidt.

Her race overall and team clothing are already being produced, appointments for the first meetings have been made and the countdown to the Arctic X Prix is on. “We had a really turbulent start to our Extreme E adventure. Hopefully, calm will return in the second half of the year and we’ll start competing for trophies,” says ABT CEO Thomas Biermaier. “My heartfelt thanks go to Claudia, who has given everything for our joint project from day one. Off of the track we remain good friends. In the cockpit, we are repositioning ourselves with Jutta. We are proud that she will be part of our team from now on.”

While Kleinschmidt will already be making her first appearance for the team at PR appointments for partner CUPRA next week, the sporting focus will be entirely on the race in Greenland, which will be held during the last weekend in August. “Accidents in Saudi Arabia, a spontaneous driver change in Senegal – it’s time for us to now have a smooth weekend,” says Mattias Ekström. “We will thoroughly review the season so far, prepare more intensively than ever and try to make a fresh start in Greenland.” After his debut in a buggy in 2021, the Swede will contest the 2022 Dakar Rally for Audi. “Jutta is the ‘Queen of Dakar’ and I’m still almost a rookie. Having her in the team is also something special for me. I’m looking forward to the collaboration and her cumulative experience, which will serve us well in Extreme E.”

The Arctic X Prix around Kangerlussuaq will be held on August 28 and 29.

Spectacular motorsport in the dunes of Senegal: At the second appearance of the Extreme E, this time on the West African Atlantic, the ABT CUPRA XE team collected further valuable championship points with a fifth place and caused more than one sensation on the track: The team from Germany missed the final of the top four by only nine tenths of a second in an exciting semi-final.

After a difficult start to the new all-electric racing series during the season opener in Saudi Arabia in April, the next challenge awaited the team at the famous Lac Rose: Claudia Hürtgen, the regular driver at Mattias Ekström’s side, had to pull out due to illness. She had already not felt well after waking up on Friday morning, but still fought her way through the day, completed the shakedown and the free practice, but was then no longer able to take part in the weekend.

The team sent best wishes for recovery and at the same time welcomed a prominent substitute driver: Jutta Kleinschmidt, who exactly 20 years ago crossed the finish line of the legendary Dakar Rally, just 300 metres away from the paddock, as the first and so far only female winner. “I’m really happy to get this chance in this team and to compete in a real race again after many years,” said Kleinschmidt, who was doing her seat test in the e-CUPRA ABT XE1 on Friday evening. “I have a lot to learn and I am grateful for the support of Mattias and the whole team.”

Too much of modesty. From the first lap of qualifying on Saturday morning, Jutta Kleinschmidt was one of the fastest women in the field, earning the utmost respect from fans, media and competitors within hours. “I’m impressed how quickly Jutta got used to our car and all the procedures – that’s a lot of fun,” said Mattias Ekström. The Swede delivered another stellar performance in Senegal and led ABT CUPRA XE all the way to the first, strongly contested semi-final. There, too, Ekström handed over the race car in the lead to Jutta Kleinschmidt, who lost a few seconds during the driver change due to a problem with the radio. Although the German fought her way back on the six-kilometre circuit and even set the fastest lap time of the female rivals, she still had to admit defeat at the finish by just nine tenths of a second.

“At the moment I am terribly annoyed, because we would have had the best chances for the final and thus also for a podium place,” said Jutta Kleinschmidt. “But it’s outweighed by gratitude for the surprise of having been part of this team and this championship this weekend.”

“This weekend Extreme E showed its true colours for the first time with spectacular wheel-to-wheel duels,” said Mattias Ekström, who showed all his experience and coolness especially in the direct semi-final duel with nine-time World Rally Champion Sébastien Loeb and three-time World Rallycross Champion Johan Kristoffersson. “We can be disappointed today because much more would have been possible. But we also know about the real strength of our car by now at the latest – that makes us very keen on the next race.”

The next Extreme E event is scheduled in exactly three months, the so-called Arctic X Prix in Greenland. Around Kangerlussuaq, where the effects of climate change on the world’s glaciers can be observed in a particularly impressive way, ABT CUPRA XE will then fight for the first trophy of the premiere season.

The current Mercedes E-Class is not only fun in the AMG versions. That is particularly true when Sportservice Lorinser adds a few extra horses. For this purpose, the tuner offers its PowerModule “made in Germany” for a fair price of 1,499 euros. And these are available for a number of diesel and gasoline engines from many different model years. The E 400 d 4MATIC is an interesting example. This engine is also installed in the vehicle in the picture, which also shows type LM2R alloy wheels as a “little premiere”. Until now, Sportservice Lorinser had presented this design to the public exclusively on the Mercedes S-Class. Another option are the side mirror covers made of real matte carbon at a price of 799 euros. But let’s switch back to what’s happening under the bonnet.

With 340 hp (250 kW), the E 400 d 4MATIC is a wholly convincing car. But that is definitely not the end of the line, as Sportservice Lorinser coaxes an impressive 373 hp (274 kW) and 768 instead of 700 Nm from the engine. The software of the innovative auxiliary control module was meticulously configured for the E 400 d. And the hardware will also convince even the toughest critics with its highly heat-resistant and sturdy housing as well as the high-quality CPU and plug connections in OEM quality. And, by the way: Even when the original vehicle has become obsolete, the PowerModule can be re-used in a different Mercedes after reprogramming (300 euros). The product also includes an app that allows the owner to configure the power boost or to watch it work its magic.

Lorinser LM2R

The LM2R alloy wheels allow car owners to add visual accents in two different colors. The Lorinser rims are available in black or “hyper silver” and feature large surfaces and organic shapes. The central area appears to be suspended from the mock double spikes like a tent roof. The recessed rim flange and the mock-split spoke ends add additional highlights.

Lorinser LM2R alloy wheel for E-Class W/S213

Design: one-piece, cast
Dimensions: FA 9J x 21 H2 ET37; RA 10.5J H2 ET44
Tire size: FA 255/30 R21; RA 295/25 R21
Paint finish: Hyper silver or black
Price: €800/€822, incl. VAT

Webcon has offered a Weber manifold for the Rover V8 engine for some time, but with two carburettors positioned on each cylinder head this has sometimes proved a little too high for some applications.

Now Webcon has revised the design and positioned four Weber IDF carburettors in a line along the the manifold between the heads, much like the early Aston Martin V8, creating an overall lower profile.

The height of the assembly from the top of the intake port to the top flange of the carburettors is 150mm. The stock air horns are 56mm. This gives an overall height of 206mm that can be reduced by 40mm by using 16mm air horns and low profile emulsion tube holders.

The 44IDFs in the kit are supplied with a ‘starting point’ calibration which will allow the engine to start and run. To achieve maximum power, driveability and efficiency, Webcon recommends that the carburettors are calibrated on a rolling road.

Rover V8 4 x Weber 44 IDF inline – part number PRV403. Price (excl VAT) £3,144.75

For further details contact Webcon UK on +44 (0)1932 787100 or visit www.webcon.co.uk