2028 Audi Nuvolari First Drive: The 987-HP Supercar Feels Like a Turning Point for the Brand

We can use the upcoming 2028 Audi Nuvolari to gauge how seriously the other brand from Bavaria is taking its turnaround plan. First, before driving, it’s as close to a hypercar as you can get without quite being one. But boy, is it close.

What It Means

A carmaker’s halo vehicle speaks to how it sees itself. We met with both Audi’s new chief technical officer and newish CEO and came away understanding that Audi has placed a huge amount of importance on the car.

The Nuvolari is far and away the most expensive product (excluding race cars) to ever wear the four rings. It’s not just a little more expensive, either. The priciest R8 cost about $250,000 (either the 2020 Decennium or the 2023 V10 GT Coupe); under today’s exchange rates, the Nuvolaris coming to the U.S. will cost $701,000. That said, they’re about 18 months away, and Audi has limited production to just 499 total units. You can expect about 225 examples to head to North America. The takeaway: Audi indeed means serious business with this car, so much so that it let us drive a pre-production version.

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It would be easy and somewhat cynical to simply dismiss the Nuvolari as a Teutonic’d-out Lamborghini Temerario. Audi is, of course, Lambo’s parent company, and supercar fans will remember eight years of Audi R8/Lamborghini Gallardo family history, as well as another eight years of R8/Huracán twining. But did anyone seriously dismiss any of those supercars, especially after spending significant time with them? At worst, R8 owners would figure out how to switch their engine’s computer from Audi to Lamborghini, unlocking more horsepower (the lovely V10’s output would climb from 602 to 631 hp in the case of the second-generation cars), but that’s about it as far rumblings of illegitimacy went.

True, the Nuvolari does flip the script in terms of positioning. Previously, the Lamborghini version had always been the more premium offering, featuring not only more power but a higher price tag to boot. With a base price of around $385,000, the new Temerario is incredibly expensive, but the Nuvolari still costs nearly twice as much.

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More Than a Lamborghini in Audi Clothing

Aside from the limited production number, you do get more go-fast stuff with the Nuvolari, power being the big one. With the three axial-flux motors adding an additional 80 hp to the Temerario’s output of 907 ponies, the Nuvolari’s total rises to 987 hp. Not for nothing, that’s the exact same output as the Bugatti Veyron—wild times, no? Other key differences include carbon-fiber body panels as opposed to aluminum as on the Lamborghini, as well as advanced KW pre-programmed, three-way suspension dampers replacing the Temerario’s active dampers.

The KWs are part of the Nuvolari’s “Quattro predictive ride,” which supposedly anticipates what each wheel will need and then preemptively spins a motor or the engine, or squeezes an individual brake. And while the Nuvolari’s dampers are essentially fixed (there are three presets: Road, Bumpy Track, and Smooth Track), each one has a series of blow-off valves built in to deal with big compressions.

Audi explains that the car we're about to have a go in is 98.5 percent representative of what production Nuvolaris will feel like when initial deliveries begin in Europe during the second half of 2027. The big change will be the front grille, which is made of aluminum on this particular car. Due to European pedestrian safety regulations, however, the production version will be softer, lighter plastic. And although this car’s interior was complete, we think the production car’s innards will be more fully in line with the Concept C’s cabin.

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We think Audi missed a major opportunity to capture hearts and minds with the Nuvolari show car by painting all the carbon bodywork silver. Yes, it’s Germany’s historic racing color, but it’s boring and doesn’t herald the fact the Nuvolari’s attractive body is made of carbon fiber. The good news is that exposed carbon panels will be an option, as will a livery inspired by Audi’s F1 car. Like the grille, everything else on the exterior that isn’t a carbon piece is a large hunk of aluminum. Unlike the grille, those pieces will reach production.

Driving the Only One in the World

Because the car is a pre-production version and not entirely road legal, Audi last week turned us loose on a private road inside a ritzy gated community on the heels of Monterey Car Week. Not only was the road tight and twisting, with a resident or two out for their morning stroll (sorry again, ma’am), but it also didn’t appear to have been repaved since it was first made back during the Clinton administration. Also, car 000 here happens to be the only fully formed working prototype on the planet, so we weren’t going to hammer it and break something. In other words, sorry if this disappoints you, but don’t expect any commentary about the 8.5 percent horsepower difference between the Nuvolari and the Temerario. On the other hand, Audi’s stated 0–100-kph time of 2.4 seconds is surely conservative. When we tested the Temerario, it hit 60 mph in 2.2 seconds (100 kph is about 62 mph). The Nuvolari has more instant electric torque, and it should weigh less than the Temerario Alleggerita’s 4,185-pound curb weight, so a 2.0-second 0–60 time is within the realm of possibility. Figure 9.3 seconds or so for the quarter mile.

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This Is Where the Nuvolari Gets Serious

We could feel we prefer the 2028 Audi Nuvolari’s body control over the Temerario’s. In a conversation with Rouven Mohr, Audi’s new chief technical officer as well as Lamborghini’s former chief technical officer, he explained that a Lamborghini needs to feel like a Lamborghini. That means it must possess a certain wildness that would be inappropriate for an Audi. As one example, he pointed out how the new predictive Quattro system, while being a killer bit of tech, wouldn’t be exciting enough for a Lambo.

We weren’t totally sure at first what he meant, but after playing around in the Nuvolari, we understood. There’s a one-and-done quality to the way the suspension handles various events, with no secondary or tertiary movements. Sure, it results in a firm ride, but it’s effective and satisfying, as well as sporty. In a Temerario, by contrast, there’s much more movement; the chassis feels more alive, more frantic, more Lamborghini. This is pure Audi Technic. The Porsche 911 has been the master of suspension damping since the advent of the 991 generation, but the Nuvolari does it even better.

We couldn’t push the car incredibly hard given the environment Audi gave us to work with. Still, our semi-spirited drive did reveal a great-handling, fun-to-drive two-seater, but we were so below the Nuvolari’s limits—as well as those of the excellent Bridgestone Potenza tires—that we don’t know what it’s all like once you even begin to approach really sending it through corners. But if this special edition Audi is 80 percent as good to drive as the Temerario is, owners are in for a treat. We’ve noticed it’s become a thing to hate on the Temerario because it’s not exactly like the Huracán. Yes, the old car’s V-10 sounded neat, but to dismiss what Lamborghini (and now Audi) has accomplished because of tonality is nothing but keyboard-warrior nonsense. Plus, the Temerario isn’t even a direct replacement for the Huracán; it exists in another segment entirely. Call it a baby hypercar if you want, but the point is, we're excited to push this Audi hard in a year or so.

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987 HP Is Only the Beginning

Having spent sufficient time with the Temerario on both road and racetrack, the idea of more power initially struck us as absurd. Then again, now we’re talking Veyron power in a product that should weigh a couple of hundred pounds less—and that strikes us as very exciting.

For this drive, there was no need to shift the eight-speed dual-clutch transmission out of second gear, and even then, we were only at about 7,000 rpm. Remember, the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 can rev to 10,000 rpm.

Back when Mohr worked for Lamborghini, he told me the V-8 is totally sandbagging, and that he had a version sitting on a bench that was capable of 250 hp per liter, not 200 like the Temerario. That’s like 1,000 hp just from the engine, never mind the car’s three electric motors. That engine will be found in the eventual Temerario Performante or STO or whatever Lambo calls it. This hopped-up Temerario should show its face right around the time Nuvolari deliveries begin, so you must wonder if this uprated V-8 will get incorporated into the Nuvolari.

Audi’s Future Begins Here

Well, at least some of the future. We’ve already experienced enough to know that the 499 wealthy/lucky individuals who take a Nuvolari home are in for a treat. A super supercar? A baby hypercar? Whatever we wind up terming the 2028 Audi Nuvolari doesn’t matter. What matters is that it’s the type of machine that’s good enough and desirable enough (and enough of whatever passes for sexy in Germany) to relaunch a brand with. It’s a serious car that serves a serious purpose. Here’s hoping the rest of Audi’s new products come out of the same mold.