Design Focus: Audi Art Cars
by: Emmie Achorn
Considering an automobile as a canvas for self-expression can be something as casual as fitting a new set of wheels or even a simple decal, but for some it’s so much more than that. This is especially the case with art cars, the genre of automobile where artists quite literally paint or wrap their artwork around the designed lines of a car. In the world of Audi, this has resulted in some truly unique cars. Here are some of our favorites.
1. Romero Britto / 2007 Audi RS 4
This 2007 Audi RS 4 was created for and displayed at Art Chicago 2007. The car was a new project for the pop artist, Romero Britto. The concept idea for the Romero Britto Art Car was inspired by the BMW art car series. Britto wanted to create something with the future generation in mind but also have the impression of sophistication, fun, and dynamism. For his idea to work he decided to put a woman’s face in the design because it “incorporates all these attributes” (Britto, 2007). Following Art Chicago, this car went on tour from New York to Mexico , was driven by New England patriots quarterback Tom Brady, and was auctioned to benefit the Best Buddies organization. The car reappeared on the market in 2020, available for sale at a Miami premium car dealer. Its current whereabouts are unknown.
2. Rudi Fielitz / 2016 Team HCB Rutronik Racing Audi R8 LMS
Art and racing liveries can go hand-in-hand, like this R8 LMS that debuted in the DMV GTC racing series. The livery was designed by Rudi Fielitz, who was commissioned by Team HCB Rutronik Racing. The reason this car was made was to raise awareness for the Bundesverband Herzkranke Kinder e.V. (Federal Association of Children Suffering from a Heart Condition).
3. Tomyboy / Audi Sport quattro S1 E2 Replica by LCE Performance
Germany’s LCE Performance paired with the artist Tomyboy to design this gorgeous car. This Sport quattro S1 E2 replica was made as an acknowledgement for both Walter Röhrl’s record-breaking 1987 Pikes Peak victory and also to show off LCE’s capabilities. Not only are the bright color patterns on the outside of the car but the designs are along the insides as well. The Audi Sport Quattro S1 E2 was built from parts of two quattro donor cars and debuted at the 2021 SEMA Show.
4. Crocodile Livery / 2000 Audi R8 LMP1
This highly unique Audi R8 LMP1 raced in the 2000 American Le Mans Series’ “race of a thousand years” at Adelaide on New Year’s Eve and won after 5:45 hours. Drivers, Dindo Capello and Allan McNish, beat the competitors with a commanding lead of 21 laps. Ingolstadt never named the exact designer of the croc, but Audi Sport boss Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich did comment on the story saying, “For this special race in Australia, run on the last day of 2000, – actually the last day of the 20th century – our design team suggested a unique livery for one of the two cars we entered. A Crocodile design! It was a great idea, although we still had to convince our usual partners to agree to the idea. When we arrived in the paddock in Adelaide, some of our competitors were wearing traditional ‘Crocodile Dundee’ hats. They wanted to tame the crocodile!”
5. Toby Lamb, Richard James / 2023 Audi RS e-tron GT
One of several collaborations between Savile Row tailor Richard James and Audi UK resulted in one of the first art cars to be produced on a vehicle from the Audi electric range.. The RS e-tron GT was designed by Richard James’ Design & Brand Director, Toby Lamb and uses four classic archive patterns from the firm’s 30-year history. It debuted alongside a vintage Audi Sport quattro at a 2021 event dubbed ‘Concours on Savile Row’.
6. Henley Festival / 2024 Audi Q8 e-tron
Another design of unknown source is this Q8 e-tron that has a very natural theme, not popping like some of the others but holding its own beauty that fits the green yet luxurious intent of a car like the Q8 e-tron. The car was displayed at an event celebrating the artists of RISE during the 2024 Henley Festival.
7. Timo Wuerz / ABT Sportsline Audi R8 LMS
This R8 debuted at the Wörthersee Treffen at Lake Wörth, created by ABT Sportsline and displayed on the H&R stand. The designer is German cartoonist Timo Wuerz who paired with German market wrap specialist SIGNal Design GmbH.
8. Spa 100th Anniversary / 4 x 2021 Audi R8 LMS
Audi Sport internally commissioned four special livery designs to celebrate the Spa 100th Anniversary, each displaying an artistic tradition in Belgium. The first car (#66) is red with black lining, plus graffiti-like yellow paint splatter fades toward the end, and some other color splotches along the far side. The pattern on the next R8 (#25) is inspired by Victor Servranckx, a Belgian graphic artist from the early 20th century. With an abstract look, the car flaunts red, pink, blue, white, and a dark green. The palette was based on Servranckx’s formal language. The third R8 LMS GT3 (#32) displays a black and white winding artistic map of the course for the Spa circuit. The theme for this work of art is the “Art nouveau” era and the components of fashion. The final project (#37) highlighted yet another theme, comics. The coloring is well thought out with an orange, yellow, and red cartoony blast.
9. Damien Hirst / 2010 Audi A1
Damien Hirst is the artist of this predominantly pink first-generation Audi A1. It’s fully road legal. While the price is just as blinding as the car. Auto Express reported in 2010 that it cost “26 times what you’d pay in a showroom” that year. The car took six months to make and was commissioned for a charity auction by Sir Elton John’s AIDS Foundation.
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