First off, I have to thank Mr. Romans for recently reminding me of this very interesting concept car from the four rings carmaker. Though concept cars can lead to prototypes which lead to production cars, more often than not they are simply bold displays of what an automaker is capable of. The Audi Avus concept, which was shown at the 1991Tokyo Auto Show, is one such car.
The Avus' body was made chiefly of aluminum, and rather than being covered in paint was highly polished which gave the low-slung body with its wheel blisters an even more exotic appearance. Under the shiny skin was supposed to be a mid-mounted W12 that sent its 502 horsepower to all four wheels via Audi's "quattro" all-wheel-drive system. Performance estimates for the 2,800-pound dream car were 3.0 seconds for the 0-to-60 sprint and 211 mph for the top speed. In reality, however, the concept had no engine, as Audi's W12 was still in the developmental stages. So a fake engine built of wood and plastic was fitted to the show car.
Though the Avus was essentially just a "we could build a mid-engine exotic supercar if we chose to" statement that had no immediate follow-up, it could be said that the current Audi R8 is its spiritual successor. The R8 debuted for 2008 -- some 17 years after the Avus -- and though it shared the aluminum construction and mid-engine layout it had different powerplants (V8 and later, a V10) and was considerably heavier at 3,600 pounds. The latter is no surprise given that concept cars aren't stuffed full of safety (airbags and reinforced structural elements) features and luxury features.
We had the good fortune to have an R8 in our long-term fleet and can fully confirm that yes, Audi can build a mid-engine exotic. And a damn fine one at that.
By dougtheeng
on May 6, 2010
11:09 AM
reminds me of a veyron from the front end....maybe its just the headlights
By estreka
on May 6, 2010
02:07 PM
Looks like the Nissan R390 GT1.
By blueguydotcom
on May 7, 2010
01:34 AM
Always thought this a pretty concept.