Date: June 28, 2024
Location: Neuburg an der Donau, Germany / Hinwil, Switzerland
Type: F1 display car
Series: F1
Status: Audi collection
Category: Motorsport / Showcars
OVERVIEW
Audi introduced a substantially revised Formula 1 showcar during 2024, retaining the launch livery first presented with its Formula 1 announcement in August 2022 but applying it to a more contemporary display-car design. The revised car was pictured in Audi-supplied media accompanying a June 28 update on development of the company’s Formula 1 power unit.
Audi did not formally announce the car as a new showcar or distinguish it from the version unveiled at Spa-Francorchamps in 2022. Both were described simply as the “Showcar with Audi F1 launch livery.” Their visibly different bodywork, wheels and aerodynamic details nevertheless warrant separate documentation as distinct configurations.
DESIGN
The second showcar retained the original combination of black, silver and red, including the prominent Audi rings on its nose and engine cover. Its red geometric graphics also closely followed the composition used on the 2022 car, allowing Audi to preserve the visual identity established when the Formula 1 program was announced.
The underlying display car was markedly different. It featured more angular sidepods with squared air inlets, cooling louvres on the upper bodywork and a more developed floor edge. The nose and multi-element front wing were also revised, while the rear bodywork and engine cover followed a more contemporary Formula 1 form.
The easiest visual distinction is provided by the wheels. The original 2022 showcar had red stripes around the outer edges of its wheel covers, while the revised car used completely black covers.
As with its predecessor, this was a non-operational display model rather than a prototype of Audi’s eventual Formula 1 racing car. It did not preview an Audi-developed chassis or carry the Formula 1 power unit under development by Audi Formula Racing GmbH.
FIRST DOCUMENTED APPEARANCE
The revised showcar appeared in Audi-provided photography published with a Formula 1 power-unit development update on June 28, 2024. The release reported that Audi’s complete hybrid power unit had run dynamically on a test bench and completed simulated race distances, but made no reference to the visibly updated showcar included in the supporting imagery.
The photographic record therefore confirms the revised design by June 28, 2024. No official Audi material located to date identifies its completion date or explains why a second display-car configuration was commissioned.
RELATIONSHIP TO THE 2022 SHOWCAR
The revised car should not be interpreted as an evolution of Audi’s competition chassis. Neither version was an Audi-engineered race car, and changes to the second model did not document development of the chassis being created at Sauber’s facility in Hinwil.
Instead, the newer body appears to have provided Audi with a more current representation of Formula 1 machinery while retaining the recognizable launch livery. By 2024, the original showcar’s simplified 2022 presentation form was already visually removed from the increasingly complex cars competing in the championship.
It has not been established whether Audi rebuilt the original display model, commissioned an entirely new car or operated both concurrently. Later references to the “F1 show car with Audi Launch Livery from 2022” suggest Audi continued to regard the launch livery and its original unveiling date as the exhibit’s primary identity rather than differentiating between the two bodies.
DISPLAY HISTORY
The revised showcar was used in Audi communications during the second half of 2024 as the Formula 1 project moved from its initial development phase toward creation of a fully integrated factory team.
Its appearance coincided with several important changes to the program. Audi had committed to acquiring the whole Sauber Group, while development of the power unit continued at Audi Formula Racing GmbH in Neuburg. The July 2024 bp announcement also marked the beginning of public partner integration ahead of the planned 2026 competition debut.
The second showcar continued to represent Audi’s Formula 1 program during 2024 and 2025, before the company introduced the Audi R26 Concept and its new Formula 1 visual identity in November 2025.
SIGNIFICANCE
The revised launch-livery showcar represents the intermediate stage of Audi’s Formula 1 program. It followed the original announcement car but preceded the R26 Concept, the Audi Revolut F1 Team identity and Audi’s first operational Formula 1 racing car.
Its lack of a formal introduction is also significant. Audi changed the physical representation of its Formula 1 project without naming, explaining or independently documenting the new display car. The retained livery made the two versions appear continuous in official communications even though their underlying forms were visibly different.
PHOTO GALLERY
