Audi Hints at Return to GT3 With Newly Launched Nuvolari - Sportscar365

Stephane Ratel attends presentation of new Audi Nuvolari supercar alongside former Audi Sport customer racing boss… Audi’s newly launched Nuvolari road car could bring the German manufacturer back into factory-supported GT3 competition, with subtle hints pointing towards a potential future racing program for the car. Unveiled on Wednesday at Cap d’Antibes in France, the Nuvolari is Audi’s first supercar equipped with a high-performance hybrid powertrain, delivering 1,001 horsepower and speeds in excess of 215 mph. A limited run of 499 units is set to be produced and will be the most powerful and fastest production model ever offered by the brand. Both SRO Motorsports Group founder and CEO Stephane Ratel and Chris Reinke, the former head of Audi Sport customer racing, who now serves as Audi special projects manager, posed for a photo with the car ahead of its premiere at this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix. The photo was shared by the GT World Challenge Instagram page. While Audi has not officially communicated any plans to build the Nuvolari as a GT3 car, Ratel previously told Sportscar365 that he envisions the next generation of GT3 machinery trending towards low-production road cars built for the race track, similar to the GR GT3 and next-gen Mercedes-AMG GT3. Audi wound down its factory supported R8 LMS GT3 program at the end of 2023, amid its re-focus to Formula 1, although several works drivers stayed on the company’s payroll in 2024, prior to a transition into full customer racing. Coincidently, longtime Audi customer Tresor Attempto Racing claimed a shock overall win in last weekend’s GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup race in Monza. Audi has yet to officially comment on how the Nuvolari will be produced, although it’s understood to be on a shared platform with the recently launched Lamborghini Temerario, which is already offering a GT3 model. It would mark a reverse strategy of what was implemented in 2015, when the Lamborghini Huracan GT3 drew heavily on the basis of the Audi R8 LMS. Of note, former Lamborghini chief technical officer Rouven Mohr, who has largely supported the Italian manufacturer’s various motorsports efforts, has since been named CTO at Audi. John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John Sagemueller to step down at end of month; Mercedes-AMG Motorsport marketing boss Wilbers promoted... Stephane Ratel on new-breed of GT3 cars developed for the race track first... State-of-the-art LED re-lighting project underway at Daytona International Speedway... Eight aspiring racers to head to New Jersey Motorsports Park on Nov. 2-4 to...