Audi CEO Teases Even Rarer Nuvolari Spyder (Roadster)

Yesterday, when Audi debuted the brand-new Nuvolari supercar, they delivered a bombshell. Deliveries are planned to start next year, and it seems to have sprung out of nowhere.

Despite being marketed as an R8 replacement, the model will be far less common because just 499 will be produced. Gernot Döllner, the CEO of Audi, hinted at the prospect of a roadster, so you might want to put an asterisk next to that figure.

Top Gear enquired as to whether more 499 Nuvolari Spyders would follow the coupe. When he replied that they weren’t manufacturing a Spyder or 499 of them, the question was posed. According to reports, Dollner laughed and remarked, “Not 499.”

This seems to suggest that an even more upscale version that will blow you away will come after the coupe. That raises a lot of questions, but it’s not shocking.

The kind of roof the vehicle will have is one of the most important. The Concept C had a retractable hardtop, whilst the R8 Spyder had a soft top. Given their similar designs, it wouldn’t be difficult to see the Nuvolari following suit, but doing so would result in a substantial weight loss. The coupe boasts a high-performance plug-in hybrid drivetrain and a simple carbon fibre exterior, but only time will tell. The latter is made up of three axial flux motors, a 7.3 kWh lithium-ion battery pack, and a mid-mounted twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 engine.

The all-wheel-drive supercar can accelerate from 0 to 62 mph (0 to 100 km/h) in 2.6 seconds with its combined power of 987 hp (736 kW/1,001 PS). It will eventually reach a top speed of more than 217 mph (350 km/h) if drivers continue to press the go pedal.

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