Audi Wants Its Enthusiasts Back, And the Nuvolari Is Just the Beginning

Words: Joe Kucinski

For Audi enthusiasts, the last few years have required some patience. The R8 is gone. The TT is gone. Electrification has transformed the lineup, and some longtime fans have wondered where the cars that made them fall in love with the four rings would come from next. Audi knows it. More importantly, Audi says it is listening.

While standing beside the new Audi Nuvolari at The Quail during Monterey Car Week, I had the opportunity to speak with Mark Dahncke, Director, Communications for Audi of America. One thing became abundantly clear; the spectacular new halo car represents much more than 499 extremely expensive automobiles. “This is genuinely a resurgence for the brand,” Dahncke told me. “New leadership, new cars, new product portfolio.”

More Than a $700,000 Halo Car

With a price around $700,000, production limited to 499 examples and a top speed over 217 mph, the Nuvolari has the numbers expected of an Audi halo car. Demand apparently isn’t a problem, either. Dahncke said Audi already has a list of interested customers longer than the planned production run.

But the numbers aren’t what he was most excited to talk about. Walk around the Nuvolari and Dahncke repeatedly points out the materials. What looks like aluminum is aluminum. Carbon fiber is carbon fiber. The Audi rings are milled aluminum inset into the carbon-fiber spoiler. Inside, leather, suede and metal replace materials designed simply to look expensive. Even the switches matter.

“Can you hear the click?” Dahncke asked while operating one of the controls. “All the buttons have Audi click.” That seemingly tiny detail says a lot about the car.

Audi Is Changing How It Builds Cars

Perhaps even more significant is how quickly the Nuvolari came together. Audi developed the car in just 405 days using a small, intensely focused team. According to Dahncke, the approach took inspiration from Formula 1. Give a relatively small group of engineers and designers the freedom to work quickly and directly rather than burying a project under layers of bureaucracy.

“They locked themselves into a closet and said we’re not coming out until we get this thing put together,” Dahncke joked. The result wasn’t simply a one-off experiment. Dahncke says Audi intends to apply that development philosophy to future vehicles.

A Message to the Audi Faithful

For Audi enthusiasts, however, perhaps the most important part of our conversation came when Dahncke addressed enthusiasts directly. He acknowledged that the company is listening to the feedback from the Audi faithful. That is evident in more than just the Nuvolari.

Formula 1 is here. The RS 5 is coming. Concept C previews another dedicated sports car. New Q7 and Q9 models expand the performance end of the SUV lineup. And the craftsmanship, materials and design philosophy showcased by the Nuvolari are intended to trickle down into cars ordinary Audi customers can actually buy.

The Nuvolari may be unobtainable for nearly everyone reading this. That’s almost beside the point. Audi enthusiasts have spent years asking what comes after the TT and R8 and wondering whether the brand still intends to build cars capable of stirring the same emotions. Standing beside a 217-mph, halo car in Monterey, Audi’s answer is that this is only the beginning.