Not the next R8? Audi reveals mid-engined plug-in hybrid V8 Nuvolari.

Ars Technica Products
audi plug-in-hybrid v8 supercar electric-vehicle formula1 carbon-fiber

Summary

Audi reveals the Nuvolari, a mid-engined plug-in hybrid V8 supercar with over 1,000 hp, carbon fiber body, and F1-derived aerodynamics and brakes. Limited to 499 units, it reaches 62 mph in 2.6 seconds and a top speed over 217 mph.

<p>A couple of weeks ago, <a href="https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/05/audis-boss-talks-local-production-wagons-and-maybe-a-new-r8-supercar/">we learned</a> from Audi CEO Gernot Döllner that the automaker was likely working on a replacement for its <a href="https://arstechnica.com/cars/2020/12/the-audi-r8-v10-performance-they-wont-make-them-like-this-much-longer/">R8 supercar</a>. We now know what it will probably look like, as the brand unveiled the Nuvolari concept in Southern France yesterday on the eve of the Monaco Grand Prix.</p> <p>The Nuvolari's styling is a departure from Audi's current design language, though it remains consistent with the <a href="https://arstechnica.com/cars/2025/09/audi-design-finds-its-minimalist-groove-again-with-concept-c/">Concept C</a>, a more compact coupe that will use the same underpinnings as Porsche's electric Boxster. Similarly, the Nuvolari leverages another of Audi's stablemates within the Volkswagen Group empire: Lamborghini. As with both generations of R8, the Nuvolari uses Lamborghini's smaller mid-engined platform.</p> <figure> <img decoding="async" width="1024" height="576" src="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Original-17008-exterior-8-16-9-1-1024x576.jpg" class="ars-gallery-image" alt="Audi Nuvolari" loading="lazy" aria-labelledby="caption-2158052" srcset="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Original-17008-exterior-8-16-9-1-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Original-17008-exterior-8-16-9-1-640x360.jpg 640w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Original-17008-exterior-8-16-9-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Original-17008-exterior-8-16-9-1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Original-17008-exterior-8-16-9-1-384x216.jpg 384w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Original-17008-exterior-8-16-9-1-1152x648.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Original-17008-exterior-8-16-9-1-980x551.jpg 980w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Original-17008-exterior-8-16-9-1-1440x810.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Original-17008-exterior-8-16-9-1.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px"> <figcaption> <div class="caption font-impact dusk:text-gray-300 mb-4 mt-2 inline-flex flex-row items-stretch gap-1 text-base leading-tight text-gray-400 dark:text-gray-300"> <div class="caption-icon bg-[left_top_5px] w-[10px] shrink-0"></div> <div class="caption-content"> The Nuvolari looks rather clinical in these renderings. <span class="caption-credit mt-2 text-xs"> Credit: Audi </span> </div> </div> </figcaption> </figure> <figure> <img decoding="async" width="1024" height="576" src="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Original-17002-exterior-8-16-9-2-1024x576.jpg" class="ars-gallery-image" alt="Audi Nuvolari from the rear" loading="lazy" aria-labelledby="caption-2158051" srcset="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Original-17002-exterior-8-16-9-2-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Original-17002-exterior-8-16-9-2-640x360.jpg 640w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Original-17002-exterior-8-16-9-2-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Original-17002-exterior-8-16-9-2-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Original-17002-exterior-8-16-9-2-384x216.jpg 384w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Original-17002-exterior-8-16-9-2-1152x648.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Original-17002-exterior-8-16-9-2-980x551.jpg 980w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Original-17002-exterior-8-16-9-2-1440x810.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Original-17002-exterior-8-16-9-2.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px"> <figcaption> <div class="caption font-impact dusk:text-gray-300 mb-4 mt-2 inline-flex flex-row items-stretch gap-1 text-base leading-tight text-gray-400 dark:text-gray-300"> <div class="caption-icon bg-[left_top_5px] w-[10px] shrink-0"></div> <div class="caption-content"> Dare I say the carbon bodywork is a bit slab-like? <span class="caption-credit mt-2 text-xs"> Credit: Audi </span> </div> </div> </figcaption> </figure> <figure> <img decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Original-17011-project-dawn-interior-06-kl-09-2-1024x683.jpg" class="ars-gallery-image" alt="Audi Nuvolari interior" loading="lazy" aria-labelledby="caption-2158057" srcset="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Original-17011-project-dawn-interior-06-kl-09-2-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Original-17011-project-dawn-interior-06-kl-09-2-640x427.jpg 640w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Original-17011-project-dawn-interior-06-kl-09-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Original-17011-project-dawn-interior-06-kl-09-2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Original-17011-project-dawn-interior-06-kl-09-2-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Original-17011-project-dawn-interior-06-kl-09-2-980x653.jpg 980w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Original-17011-project-dawn-interior-06-kl-09-2-1440x960.jpg 1440w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px"> <figcaption> <div class="caption font-impact dusk:text-gray-300 mb-4 mt-2 inline-flex flex-row items-stretch gap-1 text-base leading-tight text-gray-400 dark:text-gray-300"> <div class="caption-icon bg-[left_top_5px] w-[10px] shrink-0"></div> <div class="caption-content"> The Nuvolari's interior. <span class="caption-credit mt-2 text-xs"> Credit: Audi </span> </div> </div> </figcaption> </figure> <p>In the past, that meant a wonderful-sounding naturally aspirated V10 lived behind the cockpit within the aluminum space frame chassis. But the <a href="https://arstechnica.com/cars/2019/06/the-lamborghini-huracan-evo-can-make-anyone-feel-like-a-driving-god/">Huracán</a> is gone now, and with it, that engine. Now it's time for <a href="https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/02/driven-the-2026-lamborghini-temerario-raises-the-bar-for-supercars/">the Temerario</a>, which amazed our reviewer when we tested one in February due to the accessibility of its performance and the improvements over its predecessor. The Nuvolari may even eclipse the Lamborghini for performance; with 987 hp (736 kW), it equals the Bugatti Veyron's output.</p><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/06/not-the-next-r8-audi-reveals-mid-engined-plug-in-hybrid-v8-nuvolari/">Read full article</a></p> <p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/06/not-the-next-r8-audi-reveals-mid-engined-plug-in-hybrid-v8-nuvolari/#comments">Comments</a></p>
Original Article
View Cached Full Text

Cached at: 06/05/26, 05:09 PM

# Not the next R8? Audi reveals mid-engined plug-in hybrid V8 Nuvolari. Source: [https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/06/not-the-next-r8-audi-reveals-mid-engined-plug-in-hybrid-v8-nuvolari/](https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/06/not-the-next-r8-audi-reveals-mid-engined-plug-in-hybrid-v8-nuvolari/) So it will be really quite quick\. Zero to 62 mph \(100 km/h\) takes 2\.6 seconds\. Zero to 125 mph \(200 km/h\) is just 6\.8 seconds\. Don’t expect a Veyron\-rivaling top speed, but Audi says it will do more than 217 mph \(350 km/h, assuming you have somewhere to try those kinds of top speeds\. The powertrain combines three 148 hp \(110 kW\) axial flux electric motors—two for the front wheels and one for the rear axle—with the 788 hp \(588 kW\) V8, which still manages to rev to 10,000 rpm despite a pair of turbochargers\. The lithium\-ion traction battery has a gross capacity of 7\.3 kWh, but if it’s provisioned anything like the Temerario, only half of that may be available during driving\. Audi is playing up its new Formula 1 team when describing the Nuvolari\. We’re told its F1 drivers “provided targeted feedback” during the car’s aerodynamic development and that it features high\- and low\-downforce settings for the active rear wing\. Audi says the brakes are also F1\-derived, though they are still carbon\-ceramic disks rather than the carbon\-carbon type used by race cars \(which would be extremely unsuitable for road use\)\. Audi has tapped its prewar racing legacy more than once\. This is the Rosemeyer concept from 2016\.Audi Instead of aluminum, the bodywork is carbon fiber, a first for Audi for a production car\. Because this is no mere styling concept, it’s committed to building 499 Nuvolaris, beginning in the first half of next year\.

Similar Articles

Ferrari reveals its first EV, with design help from Jony Ive

The Verge

Ferrari reveals its first electric vehicle, the Luce, designed in collaboration with Jony Ive and Marc Newson's LoveFrom. It features four motors, 1,035 horsepower, starts at €550,000 in Italy, and is Ferrari's first five-seat car.