Quietly and without the fanfare that usually accompanies the reveal of a new Audi concept, a striking design study surfaced today under the name “Audi GT50”. The car did not arrive via the usual Audi public relations channels, nor was it announced by Audi Tradition or Audi Sport at some widely covered event. Instead, it appeared through design-community channels, identified as an internal project created by a group of Audi interns presumably to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Audi’s five-cylinder engine.
The GT50 is best understood not as a concept car in the conventional sense, but as a studio exercise much like last year’s A2 concept or the RS 6 GTO . According to the information shared alongside the only visual reference released so far as a video reel on Instagram, the project was developed by 14 interns as a design tribute rather than a production preview or technical proposal. Audi has a rich history of encouraging trainee and intern teams to explore brand heritage through speculative design, often resulting in one-off models that remain entirely internal unless later elevated by the company.
Visually, the GT50 leans heavily into Audi’s most recognizable performance lineage. Its proportions immediately call back boxy shapes like the Sport quattro and B2 80 quattro 2-door, with a compact, squared-off silhouette, pronounced fender flares, and a stance that emphasizes simplicity and aggression. The car’s flared fenders, white paint and turbo fan inspired wheels take on an appearance that unquestionably harks the apex predator 1989 90 IMSA GTO.
The front fascia is deliberately minimal, punctuated by simplified lighting signatures and a flat grille treatment that places form ahead of jelly bean aerodynamics. Those wide turbo fan wheels and an exaggerated front splitter further reinforce its motorsport-inspired intent.
While the GT50’s name likely references the five-cylinder anniversary, there is no indication that the car was designed around a specific powertrain. As with many Audi intern concepts before it, the homage is symbolic rather than mechanical… at least for now. The project appears focused on translating historical themes — quattro, Group B, and Audi’s rally-era identity — into a contemporary design language without the constraints of production feasibility.
That Audi has not publicly promoted the GT50 is consistent with how such projects are more often than not handled. Intern and trainee concepts tend to live within the design studio, surfacing more as social media content or exclusives to enthusiast publications, but rarely receiving official commentary or auto show launches unless Audi chooses to adopt elements of the work for future design direction. In this case, the GT50 functions more as a visual celebration and less as a roadmap like the Concept C.
As Audi prepares to formally mark 50 years of the five-cylinder engine through official channels in 2026, the GT50 takes as an interesting stance — a reminder that some of the most compelling expressions of brand heritage still emerge behind studio doors and from the young members of the Audi team unencumbered by mandates, planned sales volume or preconceived biases. It is not a promise of what’s coming next, but a reflection of how deeply Audi’s past continues to resonate with the next generation shaping its future… at least for now.
THESE EXCLUSIVE RENDERINGS
As mentioned, the only content found so far has been a video short of the internal reveal posted to Instagram and embedded above. With no further imagery released beyond that, we used what visual references we have in that video and turned to AI image rendering tools to create a more thorough look at the car… at least until real images inevitably get released.
In as much, we may have gotten some details slightly wrong. However, most angles of the car can be seen in that video and thus these renderings should be very close. Enjoy.
PHOTO GALLERY
