Hands down one of the most spectacular concept cars to ever carry the fabled Four Rings, the Audi Avus Quattro is making a rare appearance on video. Originally unveiled in 1991 at the Tokyo Motor Show, the low-slung supercar gets the walkaround treatment to show off its hand-beaten aluminium and polished body without a lick of paint. It predated the Audi Space Frame from 1993, a concept that went on to preview the original A8 launched a year later.
The swoopy coupe was named after a race track located near Berlin and shares the Avus moniker with the 1930s Type C from the Auto Union days. Those body panels we mentioned were extremely thin and helped Audi's engineers to keep weight down to an impressively low 1,250 kilograms. The shiny 20-inch wheels along with the tyres represented about half of the vehicle's height and there was a roof-mounted NACA-style duct.
1991 Audi Avus Quattro concept
As seen in the video, the Avus Quattro with its three differentials, triple exhaust tips, and rear-wheel steering can't move under its own power. Although it was envisioned with a massive W12 making a little over 500 bhp, that was just a dummy 6.0-litre engine carved from wood and plastic. Audi did the maths and projected a 0 to 62 mph run in three seconds and a top speed of 210 mph.
Audi had no intention to put the supercar with its top-mounted side mirrors into production. Rumour has it that didn't stop a few wealthy individuals to try and convince the Ingolstadt-based automaker to build the Avus for as much as $12 million (approx. £10 million) apiece. Ultimately, it didn't happen.
Modern Audi concepts:
Just imagine for a second driving around in a W12-powered car with a gated six-speed manual gearbox. As the name of the concept indicates, it was engineered with Quattro all-wheel drive and weighed about as much as today's Volkswagen Golf. Speaking of which, the compact hatchback also got the W12 treatment for that wild 650-bhp GTI concept from 2007.
Source: Supercar Blondie / YouTube