This wild Audi supercar concept was a window into the future.
The Audi R8 has become a staple in the supercar world; celebrated by enthusiasts all over the world for its incredible V10 engine note, wild performance, and some of the automotive world’s sharpest engineering and fine-tuning with Audi’s quattro all-wheel drive, and the light weight and mid-engined weight distribution that keeps it composed on the road and on the track. However, the idea of an Audi supercar existed long before the Audi R8 or even the very similar Audi Le Mans Quattro concept that preceded it. Other concept cars that never made it to production were chapters in the story of the Audi supercar, and they even played a major role in more than just Audi’s supercar journey.
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One of those is the Avus Quattro, a concept first introduced at the Tokyo Motor Show in 1991 whose unconventional styling still looks futuristic to this day. It features a low-slung, cab-forward body finished in unpainted but polished aluminum for an otherworldly mirrored silver finish. Underneath the sheet metal (hypothetically) lies a 6.0 liter V12 engine, which would have given the car roughly 500 horsepower and the ability to get from 0-60 in 3 seconds and reach over 200 mph. This new walkaround video of the car on YouTube channel Supercar Blondie provides a closer look at the car than anyone has gotten in years, and shows off its amazing top-mounted side mirrors, red seats, and more. While the model never made it to production, its legacy was important for Audi’s future production supercar, and other supercars, and even luxury cars, as Audi and other brands in the Volkswagen Group went on to bring the W12 engine to the road in Bentleys, Volkswagens, and more. In addition, the development of the W-shaped engines led to more concepts and eventually the introduction of the quad-turbocharged 8.0-liter W16 engine that powers the revolutionary Bugatti Veyron. This video is a well-deserved ode to the Audi Avus Quattro, an automotive unsung hero.
Source: YouTube/Supercar Blondie