Audi Avus quattro (1991)
The Audi Avus quattro is a mid-engined supercar concept unveiled in 1991 that distilled Audi’s aluminum-lightweight obsession, quattro traction philosophy, and pre-digital surfacing discipline into a single, radical object. Named after Berlin’s high-speed AVUS circuit, the concept wore polished aluminum bodywork over an aluminum space frame and previewed a then-in-development W12 power unit. Alongside the quattro Spyder (shown weeks earlier), the Avus declared Audi’s intent to push beyond executive sedans into purer sports-car territory, foreshadowing a production path that would later yield the A8’s ASF construction and, ultimately, the R8.
History
Audi premiered the Avus quattro at the 29th Tokyo Motor Show at Makuhari Messe during the show’s October 25–November 8, 1991 running. The reveal came only “a few weeks after” the quattro Spyder’s debut at the Frankfurt IAA, positioning the Avus as the bolder, higher-performance bookend of Audi’s two-car aluminum manifesto for late 1991. Period materials framed it not as a clay buck but as a carefully executed presentation prototype: doors, lighting, glazing, the cabin, and the space-frame body were finished to show-standard; the “engine” visible under the glass was a precision mock-up, as Audi’s W12 was not yet production-ready.
The Tokyo context mattered. Japan’s salon in this era was a magnet for futuristic studies emphasizing materials and packaging. Audi’s polished, unpainted aluminum surfacing and cab-forward stance contrasted sharply with the ornamented supercars of the day. At the stand, the car’s mirror-finish body and strip-graphic lighting immediately tied it to the 1930s Auto Union Silver Arrows, creating an explicit historical loop: racing minimalism reborn as modern materials science.
As a program, Avus served multiple roles. Externally, it rallied attention to Audi’s aluminum strategy. Internally, it was a feasibility and messaging device: a mid-engine package study; an early public airing of a twelve-cylinder concept engine; and a high-impact design statement that could carry Audi into conversations about true exotics. While the car remained a one-off, its technology, vocabulary, and ambition threaded through the brand’s next 15 years.
Design Features
Exterior and Aerodynamics
The Avus is an essay in controlled geometry. Surfaces are simple and taut, with radii chosen to emphasize pressure lines rather than ornament. The body panels are hand-beaten, 1.5 mm aluminum, left polished rather than painted, invoking both aircraft craft and Auto Union’s bare-metal racers. A roof-mounted NACA duct feeds the mid-engine bay; side intakes are crisply cut into the fuselage; the rear is largely glassed to showcase the engine volume. Doors pivot scissor-style to maximize drama and minimize plan-view clutter. The stance—low cowl, broad shoulders, strong rear haunches—telegraphs mid-engine balance without resorting to add-on wings or excessive vents.
Aerodynamic addenda are subtle. The underbody was shaped for clean outflow; external aero relies on proportion and volume control more than appendages. Lighting is slit-like and horizontal, emphasizing width. Rearview mirrors perch high on the A-pillars to clear the tumblehome and reduce wake interference over the canopy.
Structure and Materials
Under the skin sits an aluminum space frame, a public second act for the architecture Audi had just teased on the quattro Spyder. The intent was to demonstrate high stiffness at low mass with manufacturable, bonded/riveted nodes—an approach that would later be industrialized as Audi Space Frame (ASF). The polished outer panels are removable skins over that frame; the concept’s ≈1,250 kg target mass (for a notional W12) underscored how aggressively Audi wanted to drive weight out of a supercar-class package.
Powertrain and Driveline
The show car displayed a 6.0-liter W12 with a quoted output of ~509 PS, aligned to a 6-speed manual and permanent quattro all-wheel drive. In Tokyo, the physical unit was a precision mock-up—Audi’s W12 was still under development in 1991 and would not reach series customers until the 2000s. Even so, the packaging brief was serious: compact cylinder-bank angles to shorten engine length, stacked accessories to tighten the bay, and longitudinal mounting for balanced fore-aft distribution. The driveline concept paired the mid-engine layout with all-wheel traction and three lockable differentials, aiming to combine launch traction with stability. Rear-wheel steering was cited as a study element to sharpen yaw response without resorting to extreme alignment.
Interior and HMI
The cabin is restrained and tool-like: low-glare metallic surfaces, clear analog instrumentation, and purposeful switchgear. Bucket seats sit low in the tub, and visibility is managed through thin pillars and broad glazing over the engine compartment. The human-machine interface eschews theatrics for legibility—consistent with the engineering-first story the car wanted to tell. Despite the prototype status, fit and finish reached Audi show-car standards: tight shut lines, convincing material transitions, and functional lighting and glazing.
Specifications
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Layout | Mid-engine, quattro permanent all-wheel drive |
| Engine (intended) | 6.0 L W12, 60-valve (mock-up displayed on the show car) |
| Quoted output (intended) | ≈ 509 PS |
| Transmission | 6-speed manual |
| Differentials | Three lockable (front, center, rear) |
| Steering | Rear-wheel steering (study feature) |
| Roof intake | NACA-style duct feeding engine bay |
| Structure | Aluminum space frame with hand-beaten 1.5 mm aluminum body panels |
| Curb weight (target) | ≈ 1,250 kg |
| Dimensions (L × W) | ≈ 4,470 × 2,006 mm |
| Displayed finish | Polished, unpainted aluminum |
Performance figures were presented as potential rather than tested numbers, given the non-running show engine. The emphasis was on architectural credibility—light, stiff, mid-engined—with traction and stability solutions aligned to Audi’s quattro philosophy.
Production Status
Concept → Production: what translated; what didn’t.
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Translated: The aluminum space-frame narrative moved directly into production as ASF, launching with the Audi A8 (1994) and later underpinning multiple models. The Avus’s public flirtation with a W12 foreshadowed Audi’s eventual A8 W12 variants a decade later. More broadly, the very idea of a modern Audi super sports car incubated here and with the quattro Spyder—an arc that culminated in the Audi R8 (2006).
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Modified or dropped: The exact mid-engine + W12 + three-diff quattro recipe never reached production. The production W12 would serve front-engine luxury flagships rather than a mid-engine halo. The Avus’s polished aluminum skin remained a showpiece flourish rather than a manufacturable finish; series cars adopted painted skins over ASF.
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Timeline notes: Frankfurt IAA (quattro Spyder) in early autumn 1991 set the stage; Tokyo Motor Show (Oct 25–Nov 8, 1991) delivered Avus to a global audience; A8 (1994) validated ASF at scale; R8 (2006) realized the supercar aspiration Avus previewed.
Design genealogy and authorship.
Exterior design is attributed to J Mays (with Martin Smith in the program constellation). Upstream, the Avus explicitly quotes Auto Union’s Silver Arrows in its bare-metal surfacing and simple section control. Downstream, its industrial minimalism and technical frankness echo through Audi’s design language of the late 1990s and 2000s. In brand genealogy, Avus forms a bridge between the early-’90s aluminum studies (quattro Spyder) and later conceptual consolidations like the Audi Rosemeyer (2000)—and, in production terms, between ASF sedans and the R8’s supercar reality.
Sources
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“Audi Avus quattro.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audi_Avus_quattro
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“29th Tokyo Motor Show — 1991 Dates (Makuhari Messe).” Tokyo Motor Show History. https://www.tokyo-motorshow.com/en/history/29.html
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“The track record — quattro Spyder and Avus, 1991 (Audi MediaCenter).” https://www.audi-mediacenter.com/en/40-years-of-quattro-the-highly-successful-technology-from-audi-13318/the-track-record-13321
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“Highlights from 40 years of Audi Sport GmbH — A sports car icon is born.” Audi MediaCenter. https://www.audi-mediacenter.com/en/highlights-from-40-years-of-audi-sport-gmbh-15337/a-sports-car-icon-is-born-15343
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“1991 Audi Avus Quattro Concept.” Supercars.net. https://www.supercars.net/blog/1991-audi-avus-quattro-concept/
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“Audi Avus quattro Concept (1991).” NetCarShow. https://www.netcarshow.com/audi/1991-avus_quattro_concept/
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“Anniversary magazine photo — Showcars: Audi Avus quattro, 1991.” Audi MediaCenter. https://www.audi-mediacenter.com/en/photos/detail/anniversary-magazine-history-14486
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“Audi Avus — Designer note (J Mays).” ArtCenter Gallery. https://www.artcenter.edu/gallery/detail/569d81524d9b6f955a3a151e/10088
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