V8. Electrically heated door lock cylinders Sports front seats with extendable thigh support Power operated rear window roller sunblind, with manual operated rear side window roller sunblinds Webasto fuel-burning cabin heater Motorsport Audi developed a Group A competition version of the Audi V8 for entry into the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM) (German Touring Car Championship) auto racing series equipped with a , later , 3.6 V8 engine and 6-speed manual transmission, and began racing with it in 1990 with Schmidt MotorSport (SMS) running the operation, and Hans-Joachim Stuck, Walter Röhrl and Frank Jelinski driving. In the 1990 DTM season all of the three teams claimed together the entire podium (1st, 2nd and 3rd places) at Hockenheimring race. Stuck won the title, and the following year, Audi added a second team to the mix, Audi Zentrum Reutlingen (AZR). SMS continued with Stuck and Jelinski, while AZR raced with Frank Biela and Hubert Haupt. Biela gave Audi another crown in 1991, but was unable to defend the title in 1992. For the 1992 season, Audi had changed their engines to use a 180° flatplane crankshaft, which they said had been re-forged and bent from the original 90° crossplane part as used in production model. The DTM organisers found this highly modified crankshaft deviated from original homologated standard crankshaft, and therefore deemed it illegal. Audi subsequently withdrew from the championship. During its presence at DTM the Audi V8 competed with much smaller and about lighter Mercedes 190, BMW M3, and slightly smaller Opel Omega 3000. None of those cars were equipped with V8 engines or 4-wheel drive. References External links Audi.com – official corporate website AudiV8.com fanclub site with technical info North American Consumer Guide review with image gallery Christoph Bauer: DRIVE IT! – Revolutionary for almost 30 years: Audi V8, DW-TV 21 August 2017 (YouTube) V8 All-wheel-drive vehicles Full-size vehicles Flagship vehicles Luxury vehicles Sedans Cars introduced in 1988 1990s cars Cars discontinued in 1993