In early April 1896, the *Allgäuer Zeitung* carried only a small entry, barely a few centimeters tall: “Johann Baptist Abt is taking over the blacksmith and wagon-maker business on Burgstraße in Kempten,” it read. It wasn’t until two years later that the first automobile drove through Kempten. Like many blacksmiths and wagon makers of his time, Johann Abt the Elder integrated the automobile business into his operation: As early as 1920, he entered into a partnership with Horch and Wanderer, which continued in the 1930s with Auto Union.
Johann – Josef – Johann
His two sons, Josef and Hans, studied mechanical engineering and automotive engineering; Josef took over the business from his late father in 1933. When he did not return from World War II, Josef’s wife, Rosina Abt, and his brother-in-law, Hans, took over the company. The family’s hopes rest on the son of Rosina and Josef, Johann the Younger (1935–2003). He loved cars and motorcycles and, with special permission from the military authorities, competed in his very first car race at the age of 14—in a painstakingly patched-up DKW Meisterklasse, he made it onto the podium right away.
Youngest German World Champion
As part of the DKW factory team, he became the youngest German world champion in off-road motorcycle racing in 1955 at the age of just 19, He moved into auto racing in 1959 and returned to AUTO-Abt in Kempten in 1962 with his master auto mechanic’s certificate in hand. “We want a car just like Johann Abt’s.” This demand from customers grew louder the more he won on the racetrack and in hill climbs.
Improvement, but a holistic approach
Abt turns this into a business model: performance enhancement and vehicle refinement. It’s the perfect flagship for his new company, Abt Tuning, with the slogan “From the racetrack to the road”—a motto that remains valid to this day. Abt Tuning becomes his second line of business, and Abt becomes a brand in its own right. When it comes to “improving” vehicles, Johann takes a holistic approach—just as he does in motorsports. If the engine delivers more power, the suspension must be able to keep up.
300 Race Wins
In 1975, after more than 300 race victories and numerous titles—including the 1970 European Touring Car Championship—Johann Abt hung up his racing helmet and intensified his collaboration with Volkswagen. Founded in 1967, Abt Tuning modified not only Audi models such as the Audi 80 and Audi 50 but also VW models like the Golf, Polo, Scirocco, and Passat. With the first Abt Golf GTI, he scored a major tuning success, and by making an early shift to innovative chip tuning, he laid the foundation for Abt’s later pioneering role in intelligent performance enhancements.
Abt Sportsline
Through Abt Motorsport, the next subsidiary, Johann Abt provided Audi with his extensive all-wheel-drive expertise starting in the late 1970s for the brand’s first factory motorsports project. In 1991, he achieved a double victory on the track and the road: He restructured the in-house racing team, which had been dormant since his retirement from racing, and entrusted the international expansion of the tuning business—aiming to become the world’s leading tuner for vehicles from the Volkswagen Group—to the newly founded ABT Sportsline GmbH.
Fourth Generation
His sons Hans-Jürgen and Christian initially ran Abt Sportsline together; since 2011, Hans-Jürgen Abt, representing the fourth generation, has been the sole head of the group. “My father was a great pioneer—in both motorsports and tuning. I’m proud that his drive and curiosity continue to propel our company and the brand forward,” says Hans-Jürgen Abt.
Three Anniversary Models
In addition to classic tuning for Audi, Volkswagen, SEAT, CUPRA, Lamborghini, and Škoda, the Abt Performance Cars division offers a new dimension of customization. This includes exclusive, strictly limited-edition special models, such as those released to mark the company’s 130th anniversary this year. Following the Abt RS6 Legacy Edition 800, 30 units of the 630 PS RS3 630—based on the RS3 Competition Limited—are now being released. In addition to the base price of around 11,000 euros, the Abt performance package costs 58,000 euros. The third anniversary model will follow later this year.
