New Audi Supercar Isn't an R8 Successor. It's BetterAudi (Audi)Audi will build just 499 examples of the Nuvolari, named for famed Italian racing driver Tazio Nuvolari, with production beginning early next year.The hybrid supercar makes 987 total horsepower, with 789 coming from a 10,000-rpm 4.0-liter V-8.Audi's preliminary performance claims include zero to 124 mph in 6.8 seconds and a top speed of "more than" 217 mph.For those of us who mourned the loss of the Audi R8 after production ended in 2023, Audi has a new Ingolstadt idol on the way, and once again it shares DNA with a Lamborghini counterpart. But while the R8 was always deliberately positioned below its Lamborghini cousins (Gallardo in the first generation, Huracán in the second gen), the forthcoming Audi Nuvolari is actually more powerful and more exclusive than the Lamborghini Temerario, which itself is on the outer edge of rarity and performance. This is Audi, off the leash.Audi (Audi)You know the Nuvolari is special just by the fact that it eschews Audi's alphanumeric badging convention, instead name-checking Tazio Nuvolari, the Italian racing driver who won three Grand Prix races behind the wheel of the Auto Union Type D. The Nuvolari borrows the Temerario's twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8, complete with 789 horsepower and a 10,000-rpm redline, and it adds three axial-flux electric motors to up total output to 987 horsepower. Audi says top speed is "more than" 217 mph and claims a zero-to-62-mph time of 2.6 seconds. We'd guess that's conservative.AdvertisementAdvertisementThe Nuvolari project began just last March—440 days ago, to be precise—and was carried out by a small team working in utmost secrecy. While Audi fans have been hoping for a new R8, the Nuvolari is not that. It's more like a limited-edition concept car that happens to be street legal, with a production run limited to 499 units and a base price of $686,613 at current exchange rates. Usually, when a car like this debuts, in-the-know customers get a heads-up, and the production number is accompanied by the sad-trombone qualifier, "but they're all sold already." That's not the case now, but it might be by the end of the weekend, after the Nuvolari laps the Monaco Formula 1 track in front of thousands of people who can drop $700,000 for a car like they're buying a cup of coffee. As you might expect, not every Audi dealer will handle the Nuvolari sales or support. But if you live somewhere like Los Angeles, Miami or New York, you're probably all set.Audi (Audi)The car's bodywork is all carbon fiber (an Audi first), and the forged aluminum wheels are a center-lock design, another first for Audi. The S-duct up front and active rear wing contribute to a maximum of 882 pounds of downforce, and the active aero integrates with the traction control, stability control, suspension, and engine management in a system that Audi calls "quattro predictive ride."There's a fully electric drive mode that we wouldn't expect to deliver much range given the 7.3 kW (gross) battery, along with drive modes called balanced, dynamic, and dynamic plus. There's also a track mode with its own settings—wet, dry, race, and traction control off. And the Nuvolari is designed for track use, if an owner so intends. The tires are Bridgestone Potenza Race rubber, sized 255/35R-20 up front and 325/30R-21 rear, and Audi claims that the Nuvolari's Ceramic Pro brakes can deliver deceleration "on par with a current Formula 1 car."Besides the performance hardware, the Nuvolari is a feast of cool design details. The doors, for instance, hide three air intakes—for cooling and engine air intake—along with the door handles. The Audi logo on the rear wing isn't a decal, nor paint, but actual metal set in the milled carbon fiber. Everything you see that looks like metal is metal, except maybe for the Titanium paint over the carbon fiber body (buyers will have the option of exposed carbon fiber too).Audi (Audi)The interior is likewise concept-car cool, and concept-car uncompromising. For instance, the center console armrest that looks like it should flip up to reveal a storage cubby or phone charger does neither, and there are no cupholders. The steering wheel features actual buttons and knobs, with no haptic gimcrackery. The rearview mirror is a video unit, for obvious reasons having to do with the lack of a rear window. The rear camera is artfully hidden in the metal grillwork below the center-exit exhaust.AdvertisementAdvertisementArtful is a word that describes the Nuvolari in general. This is Audi, asserting what it can do when nominal brand hierarchies are ignored. It's a skunkworks project turned production car, the ultimate Audi.➡️ Skip the lot. Let Car and Driver help you find your next car.Shop New Cars Shop Used CarsYou Might Also LikeGift Guide: Best Ride-On Electric Cars for KidsFuture Cars Worth Waiting For: 2025–2029
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