Audi pledged in 2021 to launch only electric cars from 2026. On June 4, 2026, it unveiled a 1,001 PS V8 supercar as its flagship instead.
The Nuvolari pairs a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 with three electric motors. The engine alone makes 588 kW (800 hp) and 730 Nm of torque, and it revs to 10,000 rpm. Each motor adds 110 kW. Combined output is 736 kW, or 987 hp, which Audi says makes this its most powerful and fastest production car. Electrek reported the price at roughly $700,000, or about 600,000 euros, with production capped at 499.
Two oil-cooled motors sit on the front axle and deliver up to 2,150 Nm, which allows variable torque vectoring through quattro. The third sits between the V8 and the transmission. The lithium-ion battery holds just 7.3 kWh gross. That covers short electric-only bursts around town, and little else. On the combined fuel figure with a discharged battery, the car burns 14.7 liters per 100 km.
The performance numbers: 0 to 62 mph in 2.6 seconds, 0 to 124 mph in 6.8, a top speed above 217 mph. The catch is that Audi says those acceleration times need a battery temperature above 28 degrees Celsius and a charge above 80 percent.
Racing hardware
The car sits on a new Audi Space Frame clad entirely in carbon fiber, a first for the brand. Every carbon part was made with prepreg autoclave technology borrowed from Formula 1, and Audi says its F1 drivers gave feedback during aerodynamic development. The active rear wing has three settings and produces more than 400 kg of downforce at its highest. A drag reduction system, also from F1, works from a steering-wheel button.
The brakes can absorb up to 2.8 megawatts, which Audi says matches a current F1 car. Up front are long-fiber carbon discs measuring 420 x 40 mm with ten-piston calipers. Electric-only deceleration reaches 0.3g.
Same parts, bigger price
None of this will look new to anyone who knows the Lamborghini Temerario. The V8, the three-motor layout and the 730 Nm figure all carry over, as both brands sit inside the Volkswagen Group. The Temerario makes 920 PS, against the Nuvolari’s 1,001, and Audi gets the difference by pulling more electric power from the system. Electrek put the Nuvolari’s price at roughly 2.5 times the Temerario’s, which it lists at about $300,000, and asked what justifies the gap.
Audi’s 2021 plan also called for its last combustion engine by 2033. CEO Gernot Döllner has since said the company will keep “complete flexibility” on powertrains for the foreseeable future. Electrek called the pledge dead and the Nuvolari the clearest sign of the reversal. It noted that Audi is hardly alone, since most legacy automakers with EV-only deadlines have backed away from them, but said Audi’s retreat stands out because the RS e-tron GT proved the brand could build a world-class electric grand tourer.
The rivals are close. The Ferrari 296 GTB makes 830 hp at about $320,000, the Ferrari SF90 XX Stradale 1,030 hp, the Mercedes-AMG One 1,063 hp. Electrek also pointed to BYD’s Denza Z, an all-electric convertible with more than 1,000 hp headed for Europe at a fraction of the price. Deliveries of the Nuvolari begin in the first half of 2027.
