Audi goes full supercar with V8-engined Nuvolari
Limited to 499 units, delivering 1,001hp and a top speed of 217mph: behold the fastest and most powerful Audi ever
After what’s felt like a few lean years, Audi is back in the business of building some proper performance flagships. The new RS5 is a great start to plug-in Audi Sport machines, the RS3 Competition Limited bids farewell to the old ones in fine fashion, and now there’s a return for mid-engined Audi supercars in the form of this: the Nuvolari. This is no mere concept, either, as the name has been used for previously, nor a preview of what’s to come, as the Concept C was. The Nuvolari as you see it here will begin deliveries early in 2027, with 499 to be made. Which is pretty exciting.
It’s a V8 hybrid, as is sort of the supercar template for the mid-2020s, albeit with the dial cranked some way further than usual. Using the 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 also found in the Lamborghini Temerario (making 800hp and revving to 10,000rpm) as its combustion base, the Nuvolari is then supplemented by a trio of electric motors (two of them axial flux, like an AMG GT). They’re supplied by a 7.3kWh battery, for a grand total of 1,001hp. Yep, same as a Bugatti Veyron. With comparable performance, too: 0-62mph in 2.6 seconds, 0-124mph in 6.8 seconds, and a top speed of more than 217mph. One way to answer the queries about Audi’s post-R8 supercars…
The Nuvolari is underpinned by ‘proven Audi Space Frame technology’ - so a mixture of materials for the architecture, rather than a full carbon tub - with ‘almost all’ of the body bits made of CFRP. That’s a first for Audi, as are the forged centrelock wheels - two good supercar bingo boxes to tick off. Never ones to miss a marketing opportunity, Audi reckons the carbon bits of the Nuvolari have been created using F1 expertise; perhaps the quickest link from GP racing to production car ever recorded. As with the Revuelto,in fact, the Nuvolari uses prepreg carbon fibre for ‘maximum structural performance with minimal weight.’ There isn’t a kerbweight yet; Audi would probably point to the fact that the current lineup of two-tonne Lamborghini hybrids features some of the best Sant’Agata supercars that have existed…
Further Formula 1 influence (best get used to it) comes from the Nuvolari’s active aero: there’s a closed, low downforce and high downforce setting on the rear wing. The DRS (obvs, because F1) can be manually activated, or the car will do it of its own accord in the racier drive modes on a straight. Additional aero features include the front S-duct (wouldn’t be a supercar without one of those), chunky front air intakes, front splitter and rear diffuser. At its peak, a Nuvolari is capable of delivering more than 400kg of downforce. The F1 drivers have been brought in (of course) to ‘provide targeted feedback during the development phase to fine-tune aerodynamic performance.’
Quattro has taken another step forward for this new flagship, now used to encompass pretty much the entire dynamic makeup. Under the umbrella term of ‘quattro predictive ride’, a host of sensors throughout the Nuvolari - monitoring acceleration, yaw, grip, steering angle, that sort of thing - monitor the car’s state and proactively adjust suspension, assists, torque vectoring and the like to best cope. It sounds similar to the 6D setup in the Lamborghini Fenomeno, with similarly high expectations for what it can achieve.
The Nuvolari driver will have plenty of say about how their 1,001hp supercar will behave thanks to the assortment of drive modes. Wouldn’t be a fast Audi (or a hybrid hypercar) without plenty of configuration options, so there’s both an E-Hybrid (fully electric) and a Balanced setting, plus Dynamic and Dynamic+ for more ‘emotional’ driving. Then we’re into the really fun stuff, with a dedicated Track Mode for the Nuvolari opening up the variable traction control; it goes all the way from a wet calibration all the way to TC off for ‘transparent, controllable driving behaviour right up to the physical limits.’ Just when it seemed like the world was becoming too sensible, here comes Audi with a 1,000hp V8 that wants to oversteer. There’s fun to be had yet.
As for the Nuvolari’s appearance, the influence of the handsome Concept C (which it was always said would spawn something for the showroom) is plain to see. The Titanium paint is identical, and the front end immediately familiar from last year’s preview. Audi says that ‘taut surfaces, seamlessly integrated technology and intelligent aerodynamics define its appearance’. Get used to this design vibe, too, as the Nuvolari is the first of a new Audi era; even allowing for the innate glamour of a mid-engined exotic, there’s surely a lot more to be excited about here than some recent efforts. Even if, perhaps, it’s a tad tame for a new supercar.
Ditto the inside. As so many Audis of late have become dominated by displays, so the Nuvolari is ‘fully focused on the act of driving’. There isn’t a passenger screen, there isn’t panoramic infotainment, and there isn’t a camera for taking Teams calls in your car. Instead there’s a modest (by modern standards) central screen, a cowled driver’s arrangement (that again isn’t huge) and what looks like a return to the time of lovely Audi switchgear: see those paddles, doorhandles, and the buttons that adorn the infotainment setup. As outside, those promises made for the Concept have been seen through, which is great to see.
Audi’s Chief Technical Officer is Rouven Mohr, the chap who previously held the same role at Lamborghini. No better man, surely, to better guide Audi on making the most of some shared hardware. He said: “With the Audi Nuvolari, our entire team has once again demonstrated its technical expertise, innovative strength, and dedication. This is reflected not only in the vehicle’s performance and its Formula 1-inspired technologies, but also in the ability to transfer innovations quickly and precisely into a production vehicle.” The Nuvolari will form part of Audi’s attendance at the Monaco Grand Prix this weekend; this time next year it’ll be driving around the streets with customers behind the wheel…
I think the outgoing R8 is much better design than this- so I’d have that still (and with a V10)
Anyone genuinely think this looks better than the R8?
Back is all temerario- front sort of old irobot Audi
Shame as love Audi design usually
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