In 1991 at the Tokyo motor show the Audi Avus Quattro was launched, and since then it has been one of the most spectacular concept cars in Audi’s history. At that time, it was possible to see how the future would look with its exceptional design, space-age materials, and pioneering technology when it came to sports car engineering.
Design Inspiration
It was J. Mays who created the design of the Avus Quattro. The great race cars of the Auto Union from the 1930s inspired the designer. These famous race cars were borne from very light aluminum, and the Avus took that concept to extremes. Its entire bodywork was hand-beaten and polished 1.5 mm thick panels of aluminum, so it had its own distinctive silver sheen and unique texture. The very clean futuristic lines and open-wheel design made it seem as though the car were a concept from another era-in fact, a peek into the future of performance and design.
The finish in unpainted aluminum draws inspiration from the Auto Union, but also showcases how Audi took a novel approach to materials of the time. The body of the Avus was attached to an advanced aluminium space frame that helped shed even more pounds off the car while paving the path for the A8 and other future production models by Audi in 1994. It resulted in a model that appeared to slice through the atmosphere, whether on road or track.
Technoogical Innovation
Even as a design controversy, the Avus Quattro was a testimony to Audi’s talent in technology. With an anticipated 509 PS (374 kW; 502 hp), this prototype car was to be powered by a not rated yet 6.0-liter W12 engine making promises on extreme performance once the engine came to fruition. Coincidentally enough, the car in the display at the Tokyo Motor Show housed a dummy engine made from wood and plastic, as the real W12 engine had still not come for production. The year when Audi would see mass production W12 engines was in the 2001 Audi A8 6.0 W12 quattro.
The Avus was equipped with three lockable differentials for that perfect on-road and off-road driving experience. Rear-wheel steering increased maneuverability at slow and high speeds through exceptional agility, while a NACA-style duct on the roof served the aspiration of aerodynamics in motorsport and further drew emphasis on its performance-oriented design.
Legacy and Display
The Audi Avus Quattro will live forever; it will never see mass production. Its architectural and engineerially inspired concepts had an important role in the driving force towards lightweight construction at Audi, which finally led to the rollout of the A8 with its aluminum body in 1994. The Avus Quattro also presaged Audi’s increasing interest in high-performance powertrains, later to become a hallmark of the brand throughout the forthcoming decades.
The revolutionary design and technology of the Audi Avus Quattro never went into production for several considerations:
- High Costs of Production: The advanced features including hand-beaten aluminum body and yet-being-made W12 engine would make the automobile extremely expensive to manufacture.
- Technological and Production Difficulties: The aluminum space frame in the automobile is an innovative idea facing very complex manufacturing processes restraining its scalability for mass production.
- Market Readiness: The futuristic design and materials used in the Avus Quattro were ahead of their time, and the market was not yet ready for such a radical concept.
- Focus on Other Projects: Audi would then concentrate on the production of other models such as the A8, which would incorporate some of the Avus’s technological ideas; all these rendered the dream car less a priority.
