U.S. Debut of Audi R8 LMS GT2 Set for Aug. 16 at ‘The Quail’

New Audi R8 LMS GT2 fourth model available to teams in Audi’s customer racing program, deliveries scheduled for January 2020.

Monterey Car Week is upon us, and that means fancy outfits, the finest luxury and performance cars ever assembled (in all senses of the word), and tons of racing out on the legendary Laguna Seca circuit. There’s so much to take in that you’ll come away dizzy from it all every day.

Thus, it’s the perfect backdrop for special debuts from automakers around the world. Audi, for one, chose the most exclusive backdrop for its U.S. debut of the R8 LMS GT2, which already made a big splash with its world premiere at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in England earlier this summer. Come August 16, it will land upon the hallowed grounds of The Quail.

The R8 LMS GT2 is the fourth and latest model to join Audi’s customer racing program, which already includes the GT3 and GT4 variants, plus the RS 3 LMS.

The GT2 variant is backed by a naturally aspirated 5.2-liter V8 packing 640 horses, all of which will be heard on August 17, when nine-time Le Mans champion Tom Kristensen takes the new addition out on the many turns and straights of Laguna Seca during the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion.

After the debut and the lap around Laguna Seca, the R8 LMS GT2 will make its final stop on the Monterey Car Week schedule at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, joined by one of its street-legal siblings, the R8 V10 performance Spyder. Though the convertible will likely see more canyon roads and picturesque beaches than the track, it does carry Audi’s racing pedigree, in the form of the same naturally aspirated 5.2-liter V10 used in the R8 LMS.

And speaking of racing, customer teams can now put in their order for the R8 LMS GT2, with deliveries for the first cars expected in January 2020, giving those teams plenty of time to prepare for the all-new, five-round SRO America GT2 2020 season prior to the first race at Virginia International Raceway June 6 and 7. Each car will set a team back $398,000, and is available via Audi Sport customer racing.

Photos: Audi

Join the Team Speed forums now!

Cameron Aubernon

Cameron Aubernon's path to automotive journalism began in the early New '10s. Back then, a friend of hers thought she was an independent fashion blogger.

Aubernon wasn't, so she became one, covering fashion in her own way for the next few years.

From there, she's written for: Louisville.com/Louisville Magazine, Insider Louisville, The Voice-Tribune/The Voice, TOPS Louisville, Jeffersontown Magazine, Dispatches Europe, The Truth About Cars, Automotive News, Yahoo Autos, RideApart, Hagerty, and Street Trucks.

Aubernon also served as the editor-in-chief of a short-lived online society publication in Louisville, Kentucky, interned at the city's NPR affiliate, WFPL-FM, and was the de facto publicist-in-residence for a communal art space near the University of Louisville.

Aubernon is a member of the International Motor Press Association, and the Washington Automotive Press Association.

Facebook   Twitter   Instagram