Audi Nuvolari: Silver Star

Without much fanfare or advance notice, Audi unveiled a supercar in Antibes yesterday that few would have expected: the Audi Nuvolari. The 1,001 hp hybrid mid-engine car is limited to 499 units and is faster than anything that has ever (on the road) borne the four rings. A top speed of over 350 km/h, 0–100 km/h in 2.6 seconds – figures that sound more like Auto Union’s past or Sant’Agata Bolognese. Well, in this case, you’re pretty much spot on with both.

Anyone who reads the key technical specifications will quickly recognise the close family resemblance to the Lamborghini Temerario and its 4.0-litre V8 biturbo, which Audi has combined with three axial-flow electric motors. The relationship isn’t official, but there’s virtually nothing to suggest that Audi isn’t drawing on the same technological building blocks. Audi, for its part, interprets the same mechanical masterpiece with less Italian passion and more German precision – almost scientific in its approach. This is also true of the purist design, which stays close to the blueprint recently set by the Concept C. The Nuvolari features even sharper lines, and the legendary sideblades familiar from the R8 are also back.

What is truly surprising about the Nuvolari, however, is not its performance figures or its design. It is the timing. Audi officially entered Formula 1 as a brand just a few months ago. Many icons of the recent past have been discontinued, and the brand has been notably restrained when it comes to road-going sports cars. And now, suddenly, a car that reads like a rolling manifesto of this new era: carbon monocoque, active aerodynamics with DRS function, brake-by-wire system, energy recovery strategies straight from Grand Prix racing, and an intelligent hybrid drive that deliberately blurs the lines between racing cars and road sports cars.

Particularly fitting: during the Formula 1 weekend in Monaco, Audi will be putting both the historic Tazio Nuvolari and the new Nuvolari in the spotlight with a special livery and other promotional activities. A presentation that bridges the past and the future – perhaps the greatest racing driver of his generation and a car designed to embody the brand’s technological future.

If you take a look at the Nuvolari, it looks pretty good. Because whilst the industry is getting all worked up discussing electric platforms, software stacks and charging capacities, Ingolstadt has simply put yet another supercar on the road. And sparked some (healthy) debate in the motoring world. Just as it should be.