7:49 am, June 8, 2026
Audi UK sold five Nuvolari supercars within just 24 hours of showing it off to high net worth UK customers in Monaco.
The £533,000 hand-built hybrid supercar is the fastest model ever produced by Audi with a twin turbo V8 and three electric motors producing 987bhp.
Audi UK boss José Miguel Aparicio flew out five of the brand’s best UK customers to Monaco for the F1 weekend and an exclusive viewing of the new car.
Speaking at the event, he told Car Dealer that the launch of the halo model had been under strict secrecy with only a handful of his team knowing about the upcoming unveiling in advance.
He couldn’t even tell the customers he was bringing with him that they would be seeing a special car and dealers were in the dark too.
‘We sold the most expensive car in Audi’s history yesterday,’ he said, speaking to Car Dealer on Saturday.
‘In total we sold five to luxury, super sports car customers. Every one of those who came with us bought one.’
Aparicio said the sales represented some 25% of the UK allocation for the limited-to-499 car. The Nuvolari will only be available in left hand drive guise.
The car maker shocked the industry when it pulled the covers off the car at a special event in the principality on Thursday evening.
Aparicio said his dealers had been calling him all weekend to ask about the new vehicle. He told Car Dealer that the new models would be delivered by the network, but it was likely that only a handful would be able to sell them.
‘We are going to concentrate on some dealers because it does not make sense,’ he said, but declined to go into further details until he’d spoken to his dealer network.
No pictures or details had leaked in advance of the unveiling and many believed it was simply a concept car.
The hand-built model is capable of hitting 60mph in just 2.6 seconds, 124mph in 6.8 seconds and can top 217mph.
Hands on
Audi took over a billionaire’s villa worth £200m in the middle of Monaco to show customers the car while the F1 was taking place.
There, Car Dealer was shown the vehicle by Stephan Fahr-Becker, Audi exterior designer, who admitted the new supercar would be a loss leader for the firm.
He said the German car manufacturer would ‘at best’ break even on the £533,000 model.
‘We don’t earn money with this car,’ he said. ‘If the profit is there, it is going to be minor.
‘We don’t do it for the profit, but we’re happy to do it because it’s time to do something.’
He explained that Audi CEO Gernot Döllner had told designers to create a supercar that did not ‘limit the performance’, but he did not want a ‘huge wing’, instead wanting it to be subtle.
The Nuvolari is made almost entirely from carbon fibre and buyers can choose an exposed carbon option for the bodywork at a cost of nearly £100,000. At least one of the UK buyers specified this.
The car looks far better up close than it does in the heavily photoshopped press pictures that were released.
It is R8 in proportions and has exquisite details that include a milled aluminium Audi badge that is recessed into the bodywork. The Audi team said it showcases a lot of design points that will be introduced across the Audi range in the future.
Fahr-Becker said of the 499 cars, 61 will be Formula 1 special editions with the looks inspired by its race cars. He stressed these would from part of the 499-car production run.
He added: ‘That is very important – there’s no plan to rip off customers by suddenly having higher numbers in the end.’
There is also a strong chance a convertible version will make an appearance in the future, but it has not yet been signed off by the board. If one does appear, it will not be part of the 499-run of cars.
