1 / 10Monaco Grand Reveal: Audi unveiled the Nuvolari at the Monaco Grand Prix, marking its first supercar built around a high-performance hybrid powertrain and the most powerful production car in the brand’s history. Named after Tazio Nuvolari — the Italian grand prix driver who raced for Audi’s predecessor Auto Union in the 1930s — it is limited to 499 units, priced from around £500,000 (approximately $687,000), with deliveries beginning in early 2027, in left-hand drive only.
2 / 10Shared, Yet Different: The Nuvolari shares its core powertrain architecture with the Lamborghini Temerario, both being Volkswagen Group products. However, Audi CTO Rouven Mohr — who previously oversaw the Temerario’s development at Lamborghini — says the two cars drive entirely differently. The Nuvolari has been retuned for a more torque-rich, composed character. It is not a replacement for the Audi R8 but a step above it in both price and performance ambition.
3 / 101,001 PS Hybrid Heart: The Nuvolari is powered by a mid-mounted 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 producing 800 hp, with a redline of 10,000 rpm. Three axial-flux electric motors from British manufacturer Yasa — now owned by Mercedes-Benz — supplement it: two oil-cooled units on the front axle and one between the engine and transmission, each producing 110 kW. Combined system output is 1,001 PS, drawing from a 7.3 kWh battery, nearly double the Temerario’s 3.8 kWh unit.
4 / 10Brutal Speed Stats: Audi claims the Nuvolari accelerates from zero to 62 mph in 2.6 seconds and reaches 124 mph in 6.8 seconds — 2.2 seconds faster to that mark than the Porsche 918 hybrid hypercar. Top speed exceeds 217 mph. Audi declined to confirm a kerb weight, though the Nuvolari is expected to come in lighter than the Temerario’s 1,690 kg dry weight, given its carbon-fibre exterior and aluminium spaceframe construction.
5 / 10Carbon-First Construction: The Nuvolari is the first production Audi with a carbon-fibre exterior. Body components are made using prepreg autoclave technology — the same process used in Formula 1 — where pre-impregnated carbon layers are shaped and cured under high pressure and temperature, allowing precise strength distribution at minimal weight. An aluminium spaceframe underpins the structure. Forged centre-lock wheels also make their production debut on an Audi with this car.
6 / 10Quattro Goes Predictive: Torque is managed via Quattro Predictive Ride, which processes steering angle, acceleration, yaw rate, and grip levels in real time, distributing power across all four wheels through the front electric motors. Five drive modes — E-Hybrid, Balanced, Dynamic, Dynamic+, and Track — adjust powertrain and chassis behaviour. Track mode offers adjustable traction control down to a full TC-off setting, enabling controlled driving right up to the car’s physical limits.
7 / 10F1-Grade Braking: The brake-by-wire system uses 420 mm ten-piston ceramic front callipers and can absorb up to 2.8 megawatts of energy — a figure Audi directly compares to a current Formula 1 car. Regenerative braking alone generates up to 0.3g of deceleration. The cooling system improves heat dissipation by up to 21 percent over conventional carbon-ceramic setups, ensuring consistent braking performance without fade, even under sustained track use.
8 / 10Aero Without Drama: The aerodynamic layout uses clean, uninterrupted surfaces rather than exposed blades and wings. A front grille of individually angled aluminium blocks channels air through an S-duct — borrowed from Formula 1 — to generate front downforce. A deployable rear wing operates across three positions, generating over 400 kg of downforce in high-downforce mode. Audi F1 drivers Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hülkenberg contributed feedback during aerodynamic development, alongside a small team of F1 engineers.
9 / 10Design Signals Future: The Nuvolari is the first production car carrying Audi’s new design language under styling chief Massimo Frascella. All exterior grilles and trim are milled aluminium. The Audi rings on the rear wing are machined from solid aluminium, set flush into the carbon bodywork. The car is finished in Titanium — Audi’s new signature colour, also seen on its Formula 1 cars and the Concept C — offering strong clues about the brand’s upcoming mainstream model designs.
10 / 10Skunkworks Speed Record: The Nuvolari’s cabin removes non-essentials — no cupholders, no wireless charger — keeping focus on driving via a round virtual instrument dial, physical steering wheel switchgear, and an aluminium-framed touchscreen. The car was developed in approximately 14 months by a core team of around 30 people, greenlit in March 2025, partly to meet an EU7 homologation deadline and to coincide with Audi’s Formula 1 return. Build slots are unassigned; the 499-unit figure is confirmed, with no Spyder variant announced.
