The 10 best Audi concept cars

Audi 100S Coupe Speciale

You think the R8 was Audi’s first fraternisation with supercars? Wrong. Travel back 47 years with us, to 1974 and the 100S Coupe Speciale. Bodied by coachbuilder Pietro Frua, this super coupe brought ‘70s wedge game comparable to the Maserati Merak to the 1974 Geneva Motor Show. It wasn’t exactly a supercar under the skin, mind. Powering it was a relatively measly 1,871cc four-cylinder. 

Audi Quartz

If the Coupe Speciale was that era’s equivalent of the R8, then the Quartz was a look at a smaller coupe, perhaps with a similar footprint to today’s TT. This time, design duty was taken on by Pininfarina, with that wedge-shaped bodywork constructed out of carbon-fibre. The underpinnings were borrowed from the Quattro, though the body looked nothing like any other Audi. Check out that ‘four rings’ exhaust outlet...

Audi Avus

Audi’s concepts, as with its road cars, only really came into their own in the 1990s. Yet again, it fraternised with the possibility of an exotic offering, firstly with the Avus. This incredible car looked like nothing we’d yet seen on its debut in 1991, but sported little styling highlights that would make their way to the TT Coupe in the late 1990s. Arguably, it’s the father of Volkswagen’s W12 Concepts, given that the Group W12 actually debuted in this car. For the home team, the Avus also made noise around Audi’s aluminium bodywork expertise, which it would lean hard on in later years. Even 30 years on, the Avus looks very cool.

Audi Quattro Spyder

But the Avus sort of smacks more of a hypercar than a supercar. More F50 than 355. So, better fitting the shoes the R8 would eventually fill was the 1991 Quattro Spyder concept. Confusingly, it was a coupe, albeit with a removable glass top. Again the engine was in the middle and again it was aluminium-bodied. It weighed just 1,100kg and was powered by a 2.8-litre V6 with 180PS (132kW). So close was the Quattro Spyder to production that dealers allegedly took many advance orders, only for Audi to shut it down for cost reasons.

Audi Rosemeyer

Almost ten years on and Audi still couldn’t let go of the supercar idea. The 2000 Rosemeyer Concept looked to the past, as well as the future. It pays tribute visually to the ‘Silver Arrow’ Auto Union racers of the 1930s, of which Bernd Rosemeyer was a notable driver. Is that necessarily a good thing styling-wise? Absolutely not. Challenging would be a charitable description of the way the Rosemeyer looks. The truth of the Rosemeyer is however an odd one. It was a Bugatti by another name and one of a number of prototypes within the Volkswagen Group – yes including the Avus – that lead to the eventual creation of the Veyron. The Rosemeyer even had a conceptual version of that 16-cylinder engine.

Audi Avantissimo 

Today the imperious and luxurious estate car is a regular offering by many premium manufacturers, that takes all too small a market share by comparison to crossovers and SUVs. In 2000, however, few such beasts existed. The Avantissimo Concept was the most luxurious and imperious sports wagon Audi could imagine in 2000. It was more luxurious than performance-oriented, with a cabin and tech that would soon be seen on the next-generation A8, including the MMI. 

Truthfully, the whole thing could have gone on sale as an A8 Avant, perhaps minus the 430PS (316kW) twin-turbo 4.2-litre V8. That motor was destined for 2002’s RS6. We’re now entering the era of Audi wearing its ambitions on its sleeve with its concepts. 

Audi Nuvolari

The Nuvolari was one of a trio of concepts debuted by Audi in 2003 to preview future ambitions and product. A supercar that was at the time to be called the R9, was previewed by the Le Mans Quattro. The Pikes Peak previewed a large SUV and the Nuvolari, well… that was a bit different. Yes, it sort of previewed the A5 and S5 coupes that followed five years later, but not so closely. The Nuvolari was bigger, more powerful, more luxurious. It had a twin-turbo Lamborghini V10 for goodness sake! The Nuvolari also borrowed its name from legendary Auto Union driver Tazio Nuvolari, who died 50 years prior to the concept’s debut. In part, it was also created to commemorate him.

We reckon what became the A5, was once supposed to be an ‘A9’ coupe version of the marque’s flagship saloon. Somewhere along the way, it shrank to keep the price down and potential sales up. 

Audi RSQ

The RSQ is we reckon one of the all-time underrated great movie cars. Move over DeLorean and Esprit, the RSQ was in many ways the star of 2004’s ‘I, Robot’ Sci-Fi thriller, set in 2035. Even sharing the screen with Will Smith, the RSQ stole the spotlight. Obviously, there are elements that previewed the upcoming R8 supercar but a lot was unique to the RSQ too. Those crazy ‘ball’ wheels, the rear-hinged scissor doors, the autonomous system quick to express its disgust at Smith’s character’s desire to take control when on the highway. It all made for fantastic movie car fodder 2004 and the RSQ still looks great today.

Audi E-Tron

Perhaps the most relevant concept in Audi’s recent past is the original E-Tron of 2009 – once a supercar, now an SUV. Nevermind having looks to shame the second-generation R8 that would follow a full six years later, it also packed an electric powertrain and obviously, debuted that now-ubiquitous name. Such a forward-looking thing was the E-Tron, that we haven’t even had a fully electrified version of the R8 on sale yet commercially, over 12 years on from its debut. Whatever replaces the R8 is expected to be all-electric but that won’t come for another few years. Great looks and an accurate look into the future – isn’t that what concepts are all about?

Audi Quattro

Of course, some concepts exist to call back to the past. Remember that Rosemeyer? The Quattro of 2010 does a much better job. A celebration of 30 years of the Quattro, the Quattro Concept previewed what a modern take on the iconic coupe could look like. Turbo five-pot power in a shortened A5 chassis, a low 1,300kg kerb weight with a retro-futuristic, handsome and believable body, had buyers excited. Audi were considering it too but time and line-up priorities took their toll and before we knew it, the Quattro Concept and any possible production version were an irrelevance. A missed opportunity, we reckon. VW could even have sold a lower-powered version with a heavier body and called it the Corado.

What is your favourite Audi concept? We’ve left out cars from the last decade because firstly they’re fresh in the memory and secondly, quite honestly, Audi has been off its mad-but-feasible concept car game. They’ve either been production-ready in all but name, or so entirely out there that there’s zero chance. Of course, we’re happy to be told we’re wrong. Sound off in the comments.