DETAILS
What: Audi Competence Center Motorsport
Location: Neuburg an der Donau, Bavaria, Germany
Address: Heinrichsheimstraße 200, 86633 Neuburg an der Donau, Germany
Country: Germany
Opened: August 30, 2014
Owner: AUDI AG
Located Within: Audi Neuburg
Primary Function: Motorsport engineering, racecar development, assembly, testing and coordination of Audi factory and customer racing programs
Facilities: Engineering offices, workshops, powertrain and component test benches, mechanical workshops, technical laboratories, logistics and storage facilities
Organizations: Audi Sport, Audi Sport GmbH, Audi Formula Racing GmbH, Audi Sport customer racing and Audi Technical Development
Motorsport Programs: FIA World Endurance Championship, DTM, Formula E, Dakar Rally, customer racing and Formula 1
Notable Racecars: Audi R18 e-tron quattro, Audi RS 5 DTM, Audi e-tron FE Formula E racecars and Audi RS Q e-tron
Current Formula 1 Function: Development, testing and manufacturing of the Audi Formula 1 hybrid powertrain, including its internal-combustion engine, energy recovery system, electric motor, battery, control electronics and gearbox
Significance: Audi’s central motorsport engineering and development facility and the German home of Audi’s Formula 1 powertrain program
Site Area: 47 hectares (116 acres)
Circuit Type: Private permanent handling and development circuit
Original Maximum Circuit Length: Up to 3.4 km (2.1 miles)
Current Published Circuit Length: Up to 2.2 km (1.4 miles)
Additional Driving Facilities: 30,000-square-meter (323,000-square-foot) vehicle dynamics area and off-road course
Primary Uses: Racecar shakedowns, functional testing, road-car development, driver training and Audi driving experience programs
See Also: Audi Neuburg, Audi Sport GmbH, Audi Formula Racing GmbH, Audi Revolut F1 Team, Audi Sport customer racing, Audi driving experience center
OVERVIEW
The Audi Competence Center Motorsport is Audi’s principal motorsport engineering, development and operations facility. Located within the larger Audi Neuburg complex approximately 20 kilometers (12 miles) west of Ingolstadt, the center officially opened on August 30, 2014.
The facility brought Audi Sport’s engineering offices, workshops, test benches, vehicle assembly and logistics functions together at one purpose-built location. Audi’s factory racing operations and Audi Sport customer racing programs have since been developed or coordinated from Neuburg, while the adjoining handling circuit allows newly built racecars and components to undergo initial functional testing immediately outside the workshops.
Audi expanded the center beginning in 2022 to support its entry into Formula 1. Neuburg subsequently became the development and manufacturing base for Audi’s Formula 1 hybrid powertrain, while chassis development and race-team operations were centered at the former Sauber facility in Hinwil, Switzerland.
HISTORY
Plans for a dedicated Audi motorsport center had been discussed for years before construction of the Neuburg facility began. Audi completed the high-tech complex after approximately two years of construction and officially inaugurated it on August 30, 2014.
The Competence Center Motorsport was conceived as part of a broader development campus combining Audi Sport, Audi Sport customer racing, Audi driving experience and functions of Audi Technical Development. Audi driving experience activities began at the site in May 2014, while Audi Sport moved its principal operations from Ingolstadt to Neuburg later that year. Audi Sport customer racing completed its move during the first half of 2015.
The principal motorsport building complex measured approximately 300 meters (984 feet) long and 100 meters (328 feet) wide. It incorporated engineering offices, workshops, test benches, warehouse space and logistics facilities within a single interconnected complex.
SITE AND FACILITIES
The Competence Center Motorsport is located within the 47-hectare Audi Neuburg site, which also houses the Audi driving experience center, Audi Formula Racing GmbH, functions of Audi Sport GmbH and development operations belonging to Audi Technical Development.
The original motorsport complex combined engineering and administrative offices with workshops, vehicle assembly areas, test benches and logistics facilities. Bringing these departments together allowed Audi to move projects between design, construction, component testing and initial vehicle operation without relying on multiple sites.
Audi Neuburg is not exclusively a motorsport facility. Audi Technical Development also uses the site for work involving production vehicles, driver-assistance technology and safety systems. The campus additionally serves as the headquarters of Ducati Motor Deutschland GmbH.
HANDLING CIRCUIT
The Audi Neuburg site includes a private handling circuit used for vehicle development, driver training and initial functional testing of racecars assembled at the Competence Center Motorsport. When the complex opened, Audi described the configurable circuit as measuring up to 3.4 kilometers (2.1 miles). Current Audi information lists the handling course at up to 2.2 kilometers (1.4 miles), suggesting that the available configuration or officially quoted measurement has since changed.
Unlike a competition circuit, the Neuburg course was developed primarily for testing, training and vehicle evaluation. Its location directly beside the motorsport workshops allows engineers to conduct shakedowns and systems checks before sending a racecar to a conventional circuit for full testing.
The wider driving complex also includes a 30,000-square-meter (323,000-square-foot) vehicle dynamics area and an off-road course. These facilities are shared with Audi driving experience programs and other Audi development activities.
MOTORSPORT DEVELOPMENT
Racecars developed, assembled or supported at Neuburg have included versions of the Audi R18 e-tron quattro hybrid endurance prototype, the Audi RS 5 DTM, Audi’s fully electric Formula E racecars and the Audi RS Q e-tron developed for the Dakar Rally.
The facility supported Audi’s final years in the FIA World Endurance Championship and DTM before assuming central roles in the company’s Formula E and Dakar programs. Audi Sport customer racing also operated from Neuburg, supporting competition cars including the Audi R8 LMS and Audi RS 3 LMS.
The range of projects demonstrated the flexibility built into the original center. Neuburg supported diesel-electric endurance prototypes, internal-combustion touring cars, battery-electric single-seaters and the RS Q e-tron’s electrically driven Dakar powertrain before being adapted for Audi’s Formula 1 program.
FORMULA 1 EXPANSION
Development of Audi’s Formula 1 powertrain began at Neuburg in spring 2022 under Audi Formula Racing GmbH, a company established specifically for the Formula 1 project.
In December 2022, Audi announced construction of an approximately 3,000-square-meter (32,300-square-foot) addition to the Competence Center Motorsport. Identified internally as building F7.2, it was positioned at the southwestern end of the existing complex and connected to building F7 by an enclosed bridge.
The expansion added test benches for the Formula 1 powertrain and internal-combustion engine, along with technical rooms, laboratories, a mechanical workshop and workspaces for approximately 60 employees. Its modular construction allowed individual test benches to enter operation before the entire building was finished.
By June 2024, Audi reported that the Formula 1 infrastructure had been completed and that Audi Formula Racing GmbH had finished the program’s initial setup phase. Neuburg became responsible for developing and manufacturing Audi’s complete Formula 1 hybrid powertrain, including its gearbox, in cooperation with the team’s chassis and race operations in Hinwil.
ENERGY AND SUSTAINABILITY
Audi describes the electricity and heat supply at Neuburg as CO₂-neutral. The site receives district heating generated from industrial waste heat, while its electricity is sourced from hydroelectric generation.
The FIA awarded the facility its three-star environmental accreditation, the organization’s highest environmental rating. As part of the Formula 1 expansion, Audi also stated its intention to establish a renewable energy supply capable of meeting the program’s requirements independently at Neuburg.
SIGNIFICANCE
The Audi Competence Center Motorsport represented a significant change in the organization of Audi’s racing activities. Engineering, construction, testing and logistics functions that had previously been distributed across multiple locations could operate within one dedicated complex with immediate access to private vehicle-testing facilities.
Its importance increased with Audi’s Formula 1 program. The addition of F7.2 and the establishment of Audi Formula Racing GmbH transformed Neuburg from Audi Sport’s general motorsport headquarters into the development and manufacturing center for the company’s first Formula 1 powertrain.
The Competence Center Motorsport links several distinct eras of Audi competition history. Cars developed or supported there competed at Le Mans, in the DTM, Formula E and the Dakar Rally before Neuburg assumed its central role in Audi’s entry into Formula 1. The broader Audi Neuburg campus now provides more than 500 jobs and remains one of Audi’s most specialized engineering facilities.
PHOTO GALLERY
Audi Sport concentrates its activities at the new Competence Center Motorsport: The modern complex of buildings with a length of 300 meters and a width of 100 meters accommodates workshops, test-bench buildings and a warehouse-logistics hall, as well as the prestigious main building with the engineering offices.
