There's a bunch of engineers and stylists at Audi who've been allowed to have rather a lot of fun this year. Not allocated to designing the next Autobahn accessory, they've been allowed to let their imaginations run away and to design and build a new showcase car for the German manufacturer.

Drawing heavily upon the huge Silver Arrows race cars from early last century, the beast they've put together would have massive presence on road or track. Design cues from the Silver Arrows include the huge radiator grille and the long engine cover with its vertical inlets.

V16, which would be nice...

Looking like a shell-creature from the rear, the smooth lines and multitude of vents cover the mid-mounted power plant. This isn't a running prototype, just a study, but Audi are happy to talk about an engine of V16 proportions. Any company daring to produce such a monstrous engine in this day and age would gain the respect of many enthusiast, if not the tree-huggers.

Other cues are recognisable from the stylish little TT, itself unveiled as a concept car a few years ago. The bulbous yet geometrically pleasing wheel arches are a direct influence along with the clean slab sides and short overhangs. Huge drilled discs and the scope for Audi's four wheel drive system are hints at the mechanical dreams the engineers have been having.

Quilted Nomex

Inside is a mixture of race car and luxury sports car. It's trimmed in quilted fire resistant Nomex (sexy!) with leather bucket seats. Brushed aluminium, carbon fibre and dashes of leather finish the interior.

The view out is thought the in-vogue, panoramic windscreen wrapping around the driver whilst the rear window provides a view of the pulsating engine positioned behind the cabin. External views are provided by a video camera and cockpit display.

For the driver, there are adjustable racing pedals, an open lever gate for the six speed gearbox and simple steering wheel. The main instrument in view is the huge rev counter, once again hinting at the sporting nature of the beast.

Why?

Which leads us to the question of why on earth have Audi built this? The TT study received such accolades that it did make it into production. Audi could never justify getting into the low volume supercar business, unless perhaps this is a future Le Mans contender. Having had such success in 2000 at the 24 hours, are Audi about to make a daring move? Let's hope so. The crowds at Le Mans would dearly love to hear a V16 howling through the night. To leave this languishing as a mere piece of automotive art would not do it justice.