2012 Audi R8 LMS by APR Motosport

A few months ago, Audi announced that the R8 LMS race car was officially coming to America for its inaugural race at Daytona. That was followed by the introduction of the Grand-Am-spec R8 LMS racer that has been tuned specifically to adhere to "stricter" Grand-Am regulations.

Now, we can officially confirm that the first racing team to field the R8 LMS is going to be APR Motorsport, which will use the race cars at the 50th Anniversary of the Rolex 24 at Daytona in January of 2012.

The team, which is the race division of APR Tuned, has been known for entering Audi’s in US-based racing series and will continue with that tradition by bringing in the R8 LMS to make its US debut next January.

The R8 LMS was born in 2009 and has evolved to be one of the most powerful and reliable race cars in the world. Tuned to racing specifications to meet Grand-Am regulations, the R8 LMS Grand-Am will receive a number of new equipment, including a thicker roll cage, a new front splitter, rear diffuser and a custom rear spoiler. Similarly, the race car’s 5.2-liter V10 engine has been tuned to produce a ’limited’ output range of 450 horsepower to 470 horsepower.

APR Motorsport has released sketches of their R8 LMS race car, complete with all the graphics and decals that come with it. Hopefully, we’re going to see the car in all its race glory before it jumps into action at Daytona this coming January.

UPDATE 12/28/11: APR Motorsport has finally taken delivery of their Daytona-bound Audi R8 LMS. Check out the fresh batch of photos of the pair of R8 racers in the gallery below!