Maxton Design Bodykit Tuned R8
Otto Winter accomplished his dream of owning an Audi R8 and soon transformed it into an even more compelling vehicle with a litany of performance and aesthetic parts.
A New Animal
“When I first saw the car in person I couldn’t really believe it,” relayed Otto Winter to Fast Car, “It looked like a Ferrari or Lamborghini with an Audi badge on it.” Winter refers, of course, to the famed Audi R8 which debuted circa 2003 in Frankfurt, Germany as a road-going version of the high-powered Le Mans car. “I grew up loving and believing in the Audi brand and the R8 was like a vindication, a reward to Audi guys proving to everyone something we had always known, that our cars were truly world class.” But the debut of the R8 was only the beginning for Winter reports Fast Car.
Photo: Fast Car
Dream Realized
Seeing as the R8 cost more than just a few years' salaries, Winter opted to hop into a modded RS6 C7. “It took a long while before I could put myself in a position to trade the RS for the R8, but I made getting one a motivational goal," shared Winter. The trade finally happened in 2017. Winter states that he was able to secure a 2015 R8 in Ibis White with less than 1300 miles on the clock. On top of having finally acquired one, Winter was quite excited about the color stating “for me, it’s the best color they come in, it really shows off the amazing lines of the car.”
Photo: Fast Car
>>Join the conversation about this R8 right here in the Audi World Forum!
Off to Austria
Nearly immediately after purchasing, Winter handed his crown jewel over to Austrian tuners Puffy Performance. “I’ve worked quite a bit with the guys on my previous cars and they always know what to do and how to do it. We had my old RS6 tuned to just over 750hp with the handling and wild exhaust note to match,” said Winter, also stating that he knew he could trust them.
Photo: Fast Car
>>Join the conversation about this R8 right here in the Audi World Forum!
Roadie Turned Racer
“The whole idea behind modifying the car was to blend the supercar scene with the tuning scene, I wanted the car to have a real hard-edged race car style with extreme power and the looks to match.” In keeping with that vision, Puffy Performance put together a custom exhaust for Winter that he states sounds "exactly the same as an F1 car at wide-open throttle.”
Photo: Fast Car
>>Join the conversation about this R8 right here in the Audi World Forum!
Putting in the Work
For the bodywork, Winter contracted UK-based Maxton Design. Maxton worked in the rear wing and custom side skirts. “Certainly the most difficult part of the project was the front bumper. It’s a factory GT3 item and tracking one down took a lot of work, aside from that, being a works racecar part it was never designed to bolt onto a streetcar.”
Photo: Fast Car
>>Join the conversation about this R8 right here in the Audi World Forum!
More Than a Streetcar
Lastly, Winter made sure to throw in some R8 GT full carbon bucket seats, a custom rear diffuser, splitter, tinting on the LEDs, and a Neidfaktor steering wheel. Oh, and you can't forget the air suspension installed by Dumped GmbBH and paired to a set of Vossen LC2-C1s. Some serious work went into creating this one-of-a-kind ride. And Otto Winter ought to be proud of the results.
Photo: Fast Car
>>Join the conversation about this R8 right here in the Audi World Forum!
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