Audi 200 Trans Am

After doing good advertising for itself in USA with the 1986 Talladega and some Pikes Peak entries, as Group B was shut down, Audi joined the Trans Am Championship in 1987.

This was a racing classification without many specifications except that all entries should be based on the silhouette of a production car, and engine block should be a standard offer from manufacturer. This gave the Trans Am a very wide and strengthened space-frame chassis, with a regular 200 coupe-top regarding the roof, A, B and C pillars.

As the Audi 200 was not offered in 20V version until 1990 model, the Trans Am featured a 10 valved engine, based on the engine from the rally Quattro A2 and the most powerful 10V configuration Lehmann ever did. With Bosch Motronic management, this engine put out 510~520 hp at 7500 rpms and over 600 Nm of torque. Drive train was a six-speed transmission and quattro all wheel drive.

Length and width is 4897mm and 2033mm, in that order, with a weight of 1115kg.

These cars were more or less configured by Audi Sport for what seems to be a manufacturer-backed team in the US, TEAM Group 44, which handled most of the service and maintenance. After the 1988 season, Audi chose to put all it’s effort in the IMSA series with their Audi 90 due better coverage by the media.

Sources:
Audipassion.com