RWD Audi R8

Audi already builds a rear-wheel drive version of the R8, the GT3. But, as the name suggests, it’s made solely for GT racing and therefore only available to race teams. All road-going editions of Audi’s flagship model, perhaps understandably, feature the company’s signature quattro all-wheel drive technology.

But now German tuner MTM has announced its GT3-2. The clue to what differentiates it from a standard R8 is that final ‘2’. Yes, half the quattro system has been ditched in order to create the only street legal rear-wheel drive R8.

However, MTM hasn’t stopped there. The 4.2 litre FSI V8 engine gets a supercharger, boosting power by 146 bhp to 560 bhp. Significantly, that’s more than the 518 bhp produced by Audi’s own R8 V10.

That kind of power allows the GT3-2 to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 3.9 seconds, and achieve a top speed of 317 km/h (197 mph). Strangely enough, those figures are virtually identical to what the Audi R8 V10 and its close relative, the rear-wheel drive Lamborghini Gallardo LP550-2, can achieve.

To keep the increased performance in check, MTM provides the GT3-2 with adjustable suspension and ventilated brakes. The 20” wheels are MTM forged items, shod with Dunlop Sport Maxx tyres.

Visually, the changes are fairly subtle - graphics aside - with the carbon fibre front spoiler, side skirts and rear wing all there purely to ensure better air flow.

For any existing owners who might be tempted by the idea of rear-wheel drive, the MTM conversion can also be applied to a used R8.