After 405 days since its initial idea, Audi has tested a drivable prototype of its futuristic-looking new GT car, the Audi Nuvolari, with Formula 1 drivers Gabriel Bortoleto and Nico Hülkenberg of the Audi Revolut F1 Team behind the wheel, with a potential sports car racing future for the Nuvolari ahead.
The two Audi F1 pilots shifted to the brand’s new GT project, which is currently being described as a near-production prototype, for on-track testing at the Nardò Technical Center’s race track in southern Italy.
Audi released photos and video clips from the session, featuring the Nuvolari in its testing livery while also showcasing the sound of the car’s 4.0-liter Lamborghini L411 twin-turbo V8, which produces up to 1,001 PS.
Following the test, both drivers offered rave reviews of the new Audi machine.
“The car is extremely quick, the sound is incredible,” Bortoletto said in the release. “I need more laps; I need to get more of this feeling.”
“The acceleration and the full system output of more than 1,000 PS — that’s a real statement,” Hulkenberg added in the release.
While the car’s development is far from complete, Audi CEO Gernot Döllner is very proud of the Nuvolari’s current progress.
“The Nuvolari project is a striking example of how quickly we at Audi can bring an idea to life — that is ‘Vorsprung durch Technik,’” says Audi CEO Döllner in the brand’s press release. “The new model is much more than a supercar. As a technological North Star, the Nuvolari1 guides the way for future Audi developments and provides important impetus for the brand’s technology portfolio.
“When the Nuvolari1 took to the road for the first time, the best part was seeing the expressions on the faces of the people who had developed it,” recalls Gernot Döllner. “Seeing something that had existed only as a sketch come to life for the first time was indescribable.”
Although Audi has not yet announced the next steps for the car’s development, the project is expected to see further work over the coming months as the German manufacturer continues to develop its eye-catching GT car.
