Audi says it has created a supercar in just 405 days – from the first sketch to the drivable prototype. The company claims the Audi Nuvolari demonstrates a ‘new pace in vehicle development at Audi’. The car went from initial concept ideas through development and testing to the endurance tests with the drivers of the Audi Revolut F1 Team and a world premiere in the South of France.
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“The Nuvolari project is a striking example of how quickly we at Audi can bring an idea to life — that is ‘Vorsprung durch Technik,’” says Audi CEO Gernot Döllner.
Ausi describes the concept car as a technological North Star and maintains that the Nuvolari ‘guides the way for future Audi developments and provides important impetus for the brand’s technology portfolio’.
“The Audi Nuvolari* is the fastest and most powerful road car we’ve ever produced,” says Rouven Mohr, Member of the Board of Management for Technical Development.
From the very beginning, Audi says experts in design, vehicle technology, aerodynamics, and powertrains worked closely together in an autonomous, focused project team.
It says short lines of communication, quick decisions, and the close integration of all disciplines enabled the development project to move forward at a rapid pace. “The Audi Nuvolari shows that, when you have the right mindset and close teamwork, you can succeed in delivering rapidly without making any compromises”, says Chief Creative Officer Massimo Frascella.
A development journey across Europe
From the initial designs in Ingolstadt to cold-weather testing with technology demonstrators in Lapland, lightweight construction in Neckarsulm, tests in the Ingolstadt wind tunnel, suspension tuning in southern Spain, and high-speed tests in Nardò, Italy, experts everywhere worked hand in hand to develop the Audi Nuvolari in record time.
“When the Nuvolari* took to the road for the first time, the best part was seeing the expressions on the faces of the people who had developed it,” recalls Gernot Döllner. “Seeing something that had existed only as a sketch come to life for the first time was indescribable.”
Some 405 days after the initial idea, the project team presented the drivable prototype. The drivers of the Audi Revolut F1 Team then took over testing duties. Gabriel Bortoleto drove the Nuvolari on the high-speed track at the Nardò Technical Centre. “I’m definitely going to push it.” After the test drives, he concluded: “The car is extremely quick, the sound is incredible. I need more laps; I need to get more of this feeling.”
At the test track in Neustadt an der Donau, F1 teammate Nico Hülkenberg also pushed the Nuvolari to its limits. “The acceleration and the full system output of more than 1,000 PS — that’s a real statement.”
On June 4, 2026, the Audi Nuvolari finally made its grand debut — first at its world premiere in Antibes, followed shortly afterwards by its road debut at the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Monaco. “We couldn’t have found a more fitting location for the first drive of the Nuvolari,” says Gernot Döllner. Hülkenberg adds: “Monaco is one of the most challenging and difficult tracks. This is where we’ll present the Nuvolari to the fans and the world.”
The Audi Nuvolari is also the first series-production vehicle to embody Audi’s new design language. The car has already received international recognition, being named “Design of the Year” at the UK-based CAR Genius Awards. The jury praised the car for bringing a ‘sense of restraint and clarity to the supercar segment while creating a design that feels strikingly new yet unmistakably Audi’.
