- A day dedicated to Audi-branded sport at the Imola racetrack on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the four-ring sports division
- FISI athletes protagonists on board the Audi Sport models. Among others, Sofia Goggia, Marta Bassino, Federica Brignone, Lisa Vittozzi
- Audi and FISI: together since 2007 sharing affinities, perspectives and visions
- Dindo Capello, 3 times winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, exceptional coach
[source: Audi Italy, translation from Italian via Google Translate]
Verona, Italy – Emotion, performance, sportiness and excellence. These are the key words of the day on the track in Imola that Audi has decided to dedicate to the athletes of the Italian Winter Sports Federation, resuming a long-awaited and consolidated summer event and which is an opportunity to celebrate 40 years of Audi Sport.
Audi, which has been close to the Italian Winter Sports Federation since 2007, has decided to celebrate the birthday of its sports division and the performances of the White Circus athletes by making the RS sports range available to them on the Imola circuit. On Tuesday 27 June, the excellence of winter sports met on the track for a unique driving experience, aboard the best performing models of the German car manufacturer, experiencing for one day the thrill of a different track: not the ski one, but of the circuit.
In fact, Audi has traditionally reserved the first appointment of the season for athletes within the Audi driving experience Sportscar calendar, the program created to introduce Audi enthusiasts and customers to the performance of the Audi Sport range on the track. On this special occasion, exceptional testers such as the champions Sofia Goggia, Marta Bassino, Federica Brignone and Lisa Vittozzi, who naturally embody these characteristics, measured themselves against the technique, passion, rigor and performance of the Audi Sport models.
With this initiative, the Brand with the four rings reconfirms the deep bond that binds it to the world of sport, a testing ground for future technologies, in particular that of winter sports, an ideal platform for effectively conveying the typical sportsmanship of the Brand and the performance characteristics of the Audi range.
To support the athletes in discovering the best trajectories to follow, Dindo Capello, legendary Motorsport driver, 3 times winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the most famous endurance race in the world, who during the day shared with those present some useful suggestions and indications to obtain excellence also on the track.
The collaboration between Audi and FISI is based on a sharing of affinities, perspectives and visions in which the pursuit of performance is expressed through technology, preparation, intuition and talent with a careful and aware look at the theme of sustainability.
This Audi commitment in favor of sustainability is the engine and effect of the electrification of mobility and will lead the Brand, by 2025, to convert all plants to carbon neutrality and to introduce 20 new models in the range, of which over 10 are BEVs.
Audi confirms itself as a pioneer of a vision of mobility which, in order to be effective, sustainable and interpreter of the needs of the new generations, must evolve. The Brand is therefore facing an epochal transition in terms of its mobility system, but does not abandon the fixed points that have made it the object of passion, as evidenced by the cars that took to the track.
During the day, the athletes have the opportunity to test the full electric Granturismo Audi RS e-tron GT among the curbs of Imola, the maximum expression of sustainable sportiness, the driving fun with Audi RS 3, thanks to the iconic 5-cylinder 2.5 TFSI engine coupled to quattro all-wheel drive with RS torque splitter technology and the adrenaline-pumping qualities of the Audi R8, the super sports car from Audi Sport.
Audi Sport: 40 years of emotion
40 years, more than 250,000 cars produced in the last decade and more than 400 sporting titles won: when Audi Sport GmbH was founded in 1983 under the name quattro GmbH, it was hard to predict that the company would develop into a premium manufacturer in the following four decades of high-performance cars with a worldwide sports program. In forty years, Audi Sport has been able to constantly evolve, bringing the performance, prestige and exclusivity of its cars to the limit of what is technically achievable without giving up daily usability.
A “recipe” of success, so much so that in 2022 the Audi sports division combined its sporting triumphs with a new sales record with 45,515 deliveries worldwide. A result achieved thanks to a portfolio of 16 models, the widest ever, ranging from the compact Audi RS 3 Sportback to the high-end Audi RS Q8 SUV, passing through the Audi R8 super sports car and the Audi RS electric Granturismo. -tron GT, example of the pioneering vocation of the Company. An approval confirmed in Italy: since 2018, Audi Sport has held the record among premium brands in the high performance segment with a market share that in 2023 is close to 40%.
If in 1999 the Audi RS 4 (B5) boasted the title of first RS model “signed” by quattro GmbH, shortly after the beginning of the new millennium the first generation of the Audi RS 6 saw the light, now in its fourth series and become a sports icon of the brand, while since 2007 the pinnacle of sportiness has been represented by the Audi R8, whose GT3 variant has become the centerpiece of the program for sporty customers. In 2021, Audi Sport ushered in the electric high-performance era with the Audi RS e-tron GT. Produced at the carbon neutral Audi Böllinger Höfe site, the Audi e-tron GT is the first fully electric Granturismo of the four rings and represents the pinnacle of the Brand’s sustainable evolution of sportiness.
Audi Sport, today engaged in four business areas – development and production of high-performance models, management of official Audi and private customer sports programmes, personalization of Audi exclusive vehicles and marketing of the lifestyle products of the four rings – looks to the future with the The goal is to project Audi’s sporting DNA into the electric future, offering customers the perfect car for each segment, ranging from progressive electrification through mild-hybrid powertrains to future high performance plug-in hybrids, up to the extraordinary driving experience of pure electric : primarily with the new RS models based on the native electric PPE platform. By the end of the decade, the Audi Sport range will be converted to fully electric (BEV) and highly electrified (PHEV) vehicles.
Consistent with the present and future of series production, Audi Sport is a major promoter of electrification in motorsport. Under his leadership, the avant-garde electric prototype with Audi RS Q e-tron range extender was created in 2021, subsequently deployed at the start of the Dakar, the most difficult rally raid in the world, where it conquered 4 victories and 10 stage podiums. From 2026, the four rings will participate in the FIA Formula One World Championship with a specially developed power unit. The new regulations, which provide for a higher level of electrification, are oriented towards sustainability. The electric motor (MGU-K) will be nearly as powerful as the internal combustion engine and the 1.6-litre turbocharged engines will use an innovative synthetic renewable fuel.
