Audi R8 Nurburgring 24 hour endurance racer

The folks over at GermanCarScene have come across this Audi R8 race car, prepped and ready for a tilt at the upcoming 24-hour Nurburging race. A collaborative effort by Michael Düchting, Bilstein and German magazine Sport Auto it is a much modified version of Audi’s R8 road going supercar.

Weighting a lithe 1,250kg, the racer features custom wide-body carbon kevlar panels in place of the standard cars front and rear bodywork. Aero additions include a front splitter, rear diffuser and massive rear wing. The wider rear bodywork has that Swiss Cheese look with a plethora of mesh covered vents to aid cooling of the rear mounted 4.0-litre V8.

The engine is a development of the road cars 4.2-litre V8 block, with capacity decreased to meet race regulations and plenty of big name aftermarket internals including an Omesa crankshaft and Mahle pistons. Despite the capacity decrease the race motors power output is a healthy 395kW/530hp and 480Nm of torque at 7,000rpm.

With the big race on next week, this is one Audi R8 that we will be watching with interest.

[Gallery=351]