One Test Drive Proves That the Audi Nuvolari Signals the Start of a New Era

[Source: Motor Trend]

The Audi Nuvolari has looked impressive since it was first revealed, but specifications and show-stand appearances can only tell us so much. Now MotorTrend has actually driven Audi’s new 987-horsepower supercar, and the initial verdict suggests the Nuvolari could be every bit as important to Audi as the company hopes.

Calling it simply an R8 successor or even a Temerario clone almost undersells what Audi is attempting. The Nuvolari will be limited to just 499 examples, with roughly 225 expected to come to North America. At current exchange rates, those cars will cost around $701,000, making the Nuvolari by far the most expensive Audi road car ever produced.

Of course, the Nuvolari shares some important hardware with the Lamborghini Temerario. Both use a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 capable of revving to an incredible 10,000 rpm, an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission, and three electric motors. Audi, however, extracts a combined 987 horsepower from the system, 80 horsepower more than the Lamborghini.

More importantly, MotorTrend discovered that the Nuvolari doesn’t simply feel like a Temerario wearing four rings. Audi has given the car its own personality through what it calls Quattro predictive ride. The system anticipates what each wheel needs and can respond using the engine, electric motors, or individual brakes. The suspension also uses specially developed KW three-way dampers with Road, Bumpy Track, and Smooth Track settings.

During its admittedly limited drive on a tight and bumpy private road following Monterey Car Week, MotorTrend praised the Nuvolari’s body control and the way the suspension settles the car after encountering imperfections. The publication even went so far as to say the Nuvolari’s suspension damping is better than the Porsche 911, which it has considered the benchmark since the 991 generation. That’s some serious praise.

There was no opportunity to explore anything close to the car’s limits, but MotorTrend still came away describing it as a great-handling and genuinely fun-to-drive two-seater. Straight-line performance shouldn’t be an issue, either. Audi claims 0–62 mph in 2.4 seconds, but MotorTrend believes that number could be conservative. Considering the Lamborghini Temerario has already hit 60 mph in 2.2 seconds in its testing, the publication estimates the lighter, more powerful Nuvolari could potentially reach 60 mph in around 2.0 seconds.

Yet the most interesting thing about the Nuvolari may not be its acceleration, 10,000-rpm V8, or even its suspension. It’s what the car represents. Audi is entering Formula 1, introducing a new design language, and attempting to inject more excitement into the brand. A 987-horsepower, carbon-bodied supercar costing more than twice as much as the most expensive R8 certainly gets people’s attention.

Only 499 customers will get to own a Nuvolari. But if the philosophy behind it filters down into future RS models, and eventually more attainable Audis, the Nuvolari could become far more important than its tiny production run suggests. As MotorTrend’s first drive indicates, Audi hasn’t simply built another supercar. It may have built the car that shows us what Audi wants to become next.