Whenever Audi’s senior executive team has something to say, we’re always game to listen closely. Interviews can often be full of interesting bits of information that reveal a fascinating behind-the-scenes perspective. Given that, Audi’s new development boss, Rouven Mohr, recently sat down for a chat about the Nuvolari with Car and Driver ES and dropped a few interesting points.
Worth noting: I’m going to paraphrase what Mohr said. If you want to read his specific quotes, you can find them on Car and Driver’s website HERE.
POINT #1: ORIGINS OF THE PROJECT
Prior to Christmas 2024, Gernot Döllner assembled a group to discuss “emotional” models and sports cars with character that might be included in the Audi lineup. The group was asked to prepare several proposals. When it reconvened in March 2025, it returned with several “promising projects.”
According to Mohr, it was clear from that meeting that the car that would become the Nuvolari was something that had to be built. “We are reinventing Audi through product, design, technology and love for detail. In addition, with the arrival of the brand to Formula 1 we had a unique opportunity. If we wanted to do it, it had to be now.”
Given what Mohr reveals about the timing, it’s interesting to consider the rumors circulating at the time. In March 2025, there was plenty of chatter in the press about an “R8 Mk3.” Key journalists who regularly speak with senior executives certainly seemed to be floating the idea (seen HERE, HERE and mentioning motorsport HERE), while another Volkswagen Group executive in America seemed to be publicly shooting it down HERE. This website reported extensively on each of those stories.
Filling in the gaps after the fact, it seems to be a fascinating example of how different players in various corners of the corporate hierarchy weigh in—or float ideas to the public—each in their own way.
POINT #2: FAST PACE OF DEVELOPMENT FOR NUVOLARI
During his time at Audi and later at Lamborghini, where he worked on small-series cars, Mohr has been involved with many projects. Candidly, though, he’s never worked on a car that has moved as rapidly from initial concept to a revealed prototype undergoing testing as the Nuvolari.
POINT #3: BEV WASN’T THE RIGHT MOVE FOR NUVOLARI
Having the Temerario’s hybrid drivetrain certainly helped shape the decision to go in that direction, but Mohr says that while a fully electric car for this segment was considered, it became very clear to Audi that a BEV wasn’t the right move in this case.
POINT #4: NOT A REBODIED TEMERARIO
Mohr recently returned from a stint at Lamborghini, where he was a primary driver of the Temerario project. Given that, along with some shared hardware, it’s easy to assume the Nuvolari is simply an Audi Temerario. Mohr begs to differ.
While key components of the propulsion system (engine, drivetrain, etc.) are shared, plenty isn’t simply lifted from Lamborghini. Beyond differences in software, operating strategy and setup, the car also differs fundamentally in areas including the new brake system, suspension geometry, active aerodynamics and suspension. In addition to its wholly different exterior design, the body panels are made entirely of carbon fiber.
POINT #5: THE TIE TO F1
Mohr says Audi wanted a credible connection between the Nuvolari and the R26 being campaigned in Formula 1. While the F1 team “hasn’t been directly involved,” there “has been collaboration with engineering areas.” That has manifested itself through aerodynamic work developed with the F1 technology team and “shared methodologies in simulation and in the way of evaluating power management strategies.”
POINT #6: WILL THERE BE DERIVATIVES SUCH AS A SPYDER?
It would be possible, but Mohr says Audi doesn’t want to do it. From his perspective, it would go against the original idea behind the car. Audi isn’t looking for volume or a family of variants. It wants the Nuvolari to remain exclusive.
POINT #7: WHAT ABOUT A TT?
This line of questioning was an interesting one. Concept C is clearly in play and, while it doesn’t appear to be a new TT, its likely six-figure price leaves room for something like a TT beneath it. Whether that would be an EV or an ICE model wasn’t really specified, but Mohr’s answer is still worth quoting.
“Right now I can’t get into that, but I can say that very interesting and very emotional projects are coming. There is reason to get excited.”
He followed that up by talking about knowing your heritage while looking forward rather than backward. Is a TT too much of a look backward? We’d argue it doesn’t have to be, but his point isn’t lost on this subject. It sounds like the powers that be perhaps see the TT as something Audi has moved beyond.