It’s not often that Bukit Bintang can be brought to a standstill but that was precisely what happened on Sunday as the race-ready ABT R8 LMS did its best impression of a smoke screen on the streets of Bukit Bintang with former Malaysian Formula One driver Alex Yoong taking to the wheel.
The display was courtesy of Federal Auto Holdings, the exclusive local distributor of ABT Sportsline, a renowned Audi and Volkswagen tuner. The event was held in collaboration with Red Bull, who were running their RB7 Formula One car with David Coulthard in the driver’s cockpit.
Based on the race version of the Audi R8, the ABT-tuned R8 LMS has been given a bump in power to 620hp from its 5.2-liter V10, over 100hp more than the standard car, allowing it a century sprint of just 3.2-seconds.
Federal Auto Holdings owns and operates several dealerships for brands such as Mitsubishi, Volvo and Volkswagen. It’s now moving on to bringing in the ABT brand following strong interest from a segment of Volkswagen owners that were interested in enhancing the performance of their cars.
ABT Sportsline started 115 years ago and is now the world’s largest tuner of Audi and Volkswagen cars. The outfit works very closely with Audi, so much so that their team in the German Touring Car Championship (DTM) is backed by Audi as the manufacturer’s factory team.
The ABT components and body kits that go into ABT cars are sourced directly from ABT Germany. Engine remaps come with a warranty of three years for the ECU, engine, drivetrain and turbo or supercharger. Nonetheless, the warranty period also depends on the age of the vehicle when the enhancement work is carried out.
“Federal Auto, since securing the ABT distributorship six months ago, has monitored and observed the tuning market in Malaysia while refining our business directions. Today is an opportunity to showcase the ability of ABT with the Audi R8 LMS on the road. The ABT tuned vehicles are prime examples of our capability to fulfill the lifestyle dreams of anyone who wishes to enhance the performance of their street cars to a level than can even match racing machines,” said Cheng Seng Fook, Managing Director of Federal Auto Holdings.
“Our commitment on building the profile of the ABT brand is clear as we will soon build and operate ‘The ABT Hause’, which will solely dedicated to tuning vehicles that match the ABTs exacting requirements and have been part of the brand’s legacy,” he added.
