Audi Nuvolari: 1001 hp left us wanting much more

We have not yet been able to explore everything the Audi Nuvolari has to offer. Even so, it left us wanting much more.

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405 days. That is how long Audi needed to turn the Nuvolari from its first sketch into a working prototype. To meet such a tight deadline, it drew on in-house resources and borrowed an already-developed foundation from Lamborghini: the Temerario’s architecture and plug-in hybrid powertrain.

While its technical underpinnings come from Lamborghini, its name reaches back almost a century. Tazio Nuvolari was one of Italy’s greatest racing drivers of the 1930s and 1940s. Among many other victories, he won the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Mille Miglia, and raced in Grands Prix in 1938 and 1939 aboard Auto Union single-seaters – a company of which Audi was part.

The Nuvolari name had previously appeared on a 2003 concept car: a GT coupé powered by a 600 hp twin-turbo V10. It now returns for the most powerful and fastest production Audi ever: 1001 hp, more than 350 km/h, and just 499 examples, each priced at over €600,000.

Shaped by aerodynamics

The Nuvolari will be the first production model to fully adopt Audi’s new design philosophy, previewed by the Concept C. Taut surfaces define bodywork whose proportions are dictated by its rear-mid-engine layout and by what the brand calls a monolithic volume.

This is also where Audi introduces its new signature colour, Titanium, which is likewise used on the Concept C and the brand’s Formula 1 single-seater. The more minimalist language, called “Radical Next”, is the work of Massimo Frascella. The Italian designer began at Bertone before moving to Ford and Jaguar Land Rover, then joined Audi in 2024 to shape the brand’s future models.

In the Nuvolari, however, form is closely governed by function. The front S-duct, for instance – where air enters at the front and exits above the bonnet – increases front-axle downforce, reduces lift at high speed and assists powertrain cooling.

The main active aerodynamic feature sits at the rear. Its retractable adaptive wing operates in three settings: closed, low downforce (LD) and high downforce (HD).

When closed, the wing is stowed to minimise drag. In more performance-focused modes, including Dynamic, Dynamic+ and Track, it works automatically, changing position according to speed – adopting LD at 70 km/h and HD at 140 km/h – as well as the downforce required.

Under braking and while cornering, the reverse applies: the wing moves into its HD position to raise downforce and support control of the Nuvolari. Depending on conditions, the full aerodynamic package can generate more than 400 kg of downforce.

The Drag Reduction System (DRS), familiar from Formula 1, can be selected manually – except in E-Hybrid mode – using a steering-wheel button. This is how the Nuvolari reaches its 351 km/h top speed.

The driver at the centre

Its minimalist cabin architecture places virtually every driving-related control on the steering wheel, enabling the driver to operate key functions without taking their eyes off the road.

The lightweight seats follow the same approach. Carbon-fibre structures in the base and backrest reduce mass and increase rigidity while providing enhanced lateral support. There is some luggage space behind the seats, helping to offset the lack of a front boot, which has been sacrificed for the S-duct.

Aluminium structure reinforced with carbon fibre

The Nuvolari combines Audi’s aluminium Space Frame structure with bodywork in which almost every outer panel is made from CFRP, or carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic.

It uses motorsport-derived manufacturing methods, including pre-impregnated carbon fibre that is subsequently cured in an autoclave at high pressure and temperature. The result is components that are both lightweight and rigid, even when their shapes are especially complex.

The braking system uses brake-by-wire technology. In other words, the pedal has no physical connection to the wheels, allowing the system to blend regenerative and hydraulic braking without materially changing pedal feel. The Audi Ceramic Pro discs use a long-fibre carbon structure derived from motorsport.

1001 compelling horsepower

At the Nuvolari’s heart are four power sources which together deliver 1001 hp (736 kW). These consist of an 800 hp 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 and three axial-flux electric motors, each capable of producing 110 kW (150 hp).

The layout is the same as that used by the Lamborghini Temerario, but Audi’s final result is different and more favourable. That is right: an Audi that outperforms a Lamborghini. The Lamborghini produces 920 hp and uses a smaller battery. The Nuvolari is more powerful and marginally surpasses its Italian relative in performance too: it reaches 100 km/h in 2.6 seconds, 0.1 seconds quicker, and exceeds 350 km/h, compared with the Temerario’s 343 km/h.

Two electric motors are fitted to the front axle, while the third is positioned at the rear, between the rear-mid-mounted V8 and the eight-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox. The twin-turbo V8 can reach an extraordinary 10,000 rpm, a highly unusual figure for a production turbocharged engine.

The two front motors are also central to the quattro system, as there is no mechanical connection between the axles. As well as driving the front wheels, they can distribute torque individually between them, helping to shape the car’s line through corners, improve traction and increase stability.

The third electric motor, producing 300 Nm, helps fill gaps in torque delivery while the turbochargers build boost and during gear changes, contributing to a more linear V8 response. It also plays an important role in launch control.

The hybrid system is supplied by a 7.3 kWh lithium-ion battery, almost twice the 3.8 kWh capacity of the Lamborghini Temerario’s unit. It is fitted in the central tunnel, where the prop shaft would run in a conventional quattro model.

The priority is not a long electric range, but the ability to deliver and recover large amounts of energy in a short time. The Nuvolari can decelerate at up to 0.3 g through regeneration alone and claims just 10 km of electric range. A higher-capacity battery would allow it to travel further without starting the V8, but it would also add weight – exactly what Audi wanted to avoid.

They only let us reach 70 km/h

This was not a full test – that will come later. The car I drove was still a prototype, although the chief engineer sitting beside me assured me that it was already 98% representative of the Nuvolari customers will receive.

The route covered roughly 10 km on a winding road within a private estate near Carmel, California, close to the Laguna Seca circuit. There was one particularly restrictive rule when you have 1001 hp beneath your right foot: I was not allowed to exceed 70 km/h.

It was therefore an early and inevitably restrained driving experience. Even so, the V8 sounded pleasing at low speeds, while the first bursts of acceleration whetted the appetite when you know that, unrestricted, it reaches 100 km/h in only 2.6 seconds.

The steering felt lighter than I had expected from a supercar of this calibre, while the Alcantara-trimmed steering-wheel rim is also comparatively slim. From what little could be assessed, it nevertheless felt precise and reasonably direct, with 2.5 turns from lock to lock.

It was at the steering wheel that I found my first criticism. Four controls on its face allow you to manage almost everything: launch control, driving modes, DRS, Wet and Dry programmes, Recharge, Track mode, and the hydraulic system that raises the car’s front end by two centimetres.

Some controls are pressed, others are turned, and a short press can do something different from a long press. After around an hour in the Nuvolari, I still found it confusing to operate so many functions in different ways.

It is true that a journalist drives many different cars and rarely has time to become familiar with every interface. Yet future Nuvolari owners are unlikely to have only one car in their garage either, so they may face the same adjustment period whenever they return to the Audi.

I raised this criticism with Audi’s chief executive and the project leader, both of whom thanked me for the observation. I do not know whether there is time to change anything before production, particularly as this concentration of functions on the steering wheel is part of the Nuvolari’s philosophy: keeping the driver’s eyes on the road at all times.

As for the rest – the 1001 hp, braking, traction, active aerodynamics and behaviour when the limits truly begin to approach – that will have to wait for a proper test, as will a final verdict.

For now, those 10 km achieved what a first encounter should: they left me hungry for much more.

When does it arrive?

First deliveries of the Audi Nuvolari are scheduled for the first half of 2027, while order books in Europe are expected to open in the final quarter of 2026.

Production will be restricted to only 499 units worldwide. In Germany, prices are expected to start at €600,000. No price has yet been announced for Portugal.

Technical specifications