Audi has only just shown the Nuvolari — and is already hinting this is only the beginning. In a chat with Top Gear, brand boss Gernot Döllner all but let it slip: an open-top Spyder version of the new supercar could be on the way.
The Nuvolari coupe is set to be Audi’s halo project, capped at 499 units. When the journalist asked whether there would be another 499 roadsters, Döllner said no. But when pressed — “no Spyder, or not 499 of them?” — the executive reportedly cracked a smile and dropped a single line: “Not 499.” Official confirmation? No. But for a supercar of this caliber, sometimes one phrase like that is all it takes for collectors to start guarding their phones.
The hardware behind the Nuvolari is seriously heavy. At its core sits a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 borrowed from the Lamborghini Temerario, spinning all the way to 10,000 rpm. Backing it up are three axial-flux electric motors. Combined output stands at 987 hp, with a top speed north of 217 mph (roughly 349 km/h). Sign-off on the dynamics involved, among others, drivers from the Audi F1 team.
The coupe’s price already reads like the entry ticket to a closed club: from $686,613, or roughly £540,000. The Spyder will almost certainly be dearer. Open-top supercars always carry a premium for rarity, body complexity and status — and if production runs into the dozens rather than the hundreds, the number could climb even higher.
In terms of performance, the convertible is unlikely to lag far behind the coupe. Yes, open bodies typically need extra bracing and end up heavier, but at 987 hp the difference will live more in a spec table than on a real road. What matters more to the buyer is the V8 soundtrack overhead, open sky above, and the feeling that the Nuvolari has become even less ordinary.
Audi hasn’t sounded this loud in the supercar arena for a long time. And if the Nuvolari Spyder really does arrive, it won’t be a line extension for volume’s sake. It will be a rare gesture — for those who want an Audi not as an alternative to a Porsche or a Lamborghini, but as a collectible object in its own right.
