GRAND-AM Managing Director of Competition, Mark Raffauf, confirmed to SPEED.com that the series has been in negotiations with Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Lotus about adapting their GT3 and GT4-spec machinery to compete in the Rolex Sports Car Series’ GT category.

These latest developments are on the heels of Ferrari’s announcement in January that it will build a GT-specific version of its new F458 Italia GT3-spec machine for GRAND-AM competition.

While once poised for competition in American Le Mans Series' GTC category, Audi has yet to decide where or if its R8 LMS will race Stateside and it could also end up in Grand-Am.

“It’s all good, but until it becomes reality, you can’t bank on it,” Raffauf told SPEEDTV.com. “You have to remember that everyone that wants to do this is counting on customers. As it’s obvious to everyone in the world, there’s not a whole lot of them out there that either don’t have something or maybe don’t have the wherewithal to step up to the level right away.

“I use the term, ‘It’s real when it shows up.’ They’ll go through the motions, they’ll make it happen. I think there are interested customers out there, but if they see the commitment and support.”