Audi R8 GT4 to debut in Australia

Audi is ramping up its race car offerings in Australia with the introduction of the R8 GT4 and RS3 LMS TCR.

Following Audi’s success at last weekend’s Bathurst 12 Hour where it finished top of the podium, Audi Customer Racing has confirmed Australia’s first R8 GT4 has been ordered by local partner Melbourne Performance Centre.

The GT class, which sits underneath the top-tier GT3 category, joins this year’s Australian GT Championship and includes vehicles from maker’s such as BMW, KTM and Porsche. The relative affordability compared to GT3 vehicles has seen the category boom, with 13 entries competing over the weekend and Audi the latest manufacturer to bring its vehicle to Oz.

Plans to showcase the R8 GT4 at Bathurst were quashed, however it was held back due to a lack of homologation which would have restricted the team competing in only the invitational class. 

“We asked to run here but we had to run in the invitational class, which doesn’t make sense,” Audi customer racing team’s head of customer management Dirk Spohr told Drive.

“The GT4 car will be homologated here next month,” explained Spohr. “Our target is to build up MPC (Melbourne Performance Centre) for the whole range. To be honest they have already bought the first GT4 car and there will be the Audi R8 Asia Cup and they can run the GT4 in the cup this year. Before it was only the R8 GT3, now it will be GT3 and GT4.

Audi’s GT4 will be homologated in time to make its debut at the GT Championship race at the new The Bend motorsport complex in South Australia in April before a complete season attempt next year starting with the 2019 Bathurst 12 Hour.

“The GT4 is already on the way, the customer will run in Adelaide so therefore they will have the car by then. If MPC tells us they need a car it only takes two weeks for us to prepare the car.”

The GT4 made its global debut just last month at the 24 Hours of Daytona and is modelled after the German maker's GT3 race car that Audi describes as ‘the ideal race car for amateurs’.

It’s powered by the same 5.2-litre naturally-aspirated V10 engine as the production vehicle and produces up to 364kW of power and 550Nm of torque, but is rear-wheel driven rather than all-wheel drive to meet racing regulations – at least until the new Audi R8 RWS (rear-wheel series) is launched.

Sophr expects to sell up to three times as many GT4s this year compared to GT3s, but wouldn’t say how many orders are coming to Australia.  

“The GT4 car is $198,000 Euro and the GT3 is $379,000 Euro. Not only can you run a GT3 but you can run a GT4 and it is interesting for the customers because a lot of customers are asking for GT4 because they are already running GT3 cars”, he said. "It's more affordable racing."

“This year we are planning to sell 60 GT4s, 80 TCRs and roughly 20 GT3s.”

Although CAMS Australia has signed a five-year agreement to introduce the popular European TCR (Touring Car Racing) to Australia, Spohr says it is at least 12 months away from becoming any kind of reality despite Audi bringing an RS3 TCR here last year. 

“You need to have a promoter in Australia and there are some negotiations with some different promotors as I understand. But it is at least 12 months away from happening.

“Our target is to build up MPC for the whole range, so they currently have stock of the GT3 car and we plan for them to have stock for the GT4 and TCR parts too. Currently we can provide the customer a fine range, I think no other manufacturer is in this position. We can offer a TCR, GT4 and GT3.”

Manufacturers such as Hyundai, Honda, Seat, Volkswagen, Opel and Audi compete in the TCR championship in Europe with the Volkswagen Group cars sharing the same platform. Asked if we’d see the Audi TCR arrive with the Volkswagen next year, Spohr said it was likely.

“I have to say with the RS3 it is a platform for the A3 and the Golf as well as the Seat [Leon].

“We have the TCR for the Audi as well as the Seat Leon and the VW Golf. So we have a spare parts business and a truck that serves spare parts for the Audi, Seat and Golf. That makes it easy for us because it’s a big benefit for the customer, so yes [it makes sense for VW and Audi to come to Australia at the same time].

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