Audi has killed the coupes because they are not profitable, just when it has given birth to the first and very expensive supercar that should have been born almost 100 years ago

In the latest edition of such a magical event for car lovers as it is the Goodwood Festival of Speedwe have seen some of the best drivers push the most spectacular new models from the brands to the limit, as well as some authentic classic gems on wheels, fulfilling the mission for which they were conceived.

Audi came to the event with the most powerful car it has ever made, the futuristic and electric RS E-Tron GT Performance, capable of going from 0 to 100 km/h in just 2.5 seconds. But those from Ingolstadt also wanted to settle pending issues with the Stunning Auto Union Type 52: a super sports car with a V16 engine that had been in the oven for almost a century.

Auto Union Type 52: a prototype with racing DNA that we can only dream of

He germ of the impressive Type 52 dates back to the founding era of Auto Union AG, a conglomerate that in 1932 brought together the German car manufacturers Audi, DKW, Horch and Wanderer, whose main rival was Mercedes-Benz. These four brands were represented with the four rings that Audi models would later adopt as their logo.

As a basis for what they hoped would be their first road-going supercar, in 1933 Auto Union asked Ferdinand Porsche to draw up sketches for a racing car based on a new formula for the Grand Prix that would begin in 1934: according to the rulesthis could not weigh more than 750 kg.

The assignment was crucial for Auto Union, as the conglomerate’s involvement in racing was part of a motorsport programme funded by the then newly appointed Chancellor of Germany, Adolf Hitler. The Porsche design studio’s response was the Auto Union Type A or “Porsche Type 22”, with rear mid-engine.

What most people didn’t know was that while Auto Union and Porsche were developing the Type A in Zwickau, Germany, they were also planning to build a road-legal sports saloon based on their racing cars. The original sketches from 1933 called this model the “Fast sports car”, which in German means “fast sports car”, without further ado. We are talking about what was almost the equivalent of a street Formula 1.

Meanwhile, extremely fast supercharged V16 racing cars such as the Type A were highly successful in the 1934 GP, which continued in successive seasons until the start of World War II in 1939. Together with Mercedes-Benz racing cars, Auto Union’s racing cars were then nicknamed the “Silver Arrows”.

Unlike what happened with the Auto Union Type A and Type C projects (which are carefully preserved by the Audi Tradition division, including several original examples), unfortunately most of the information regarding the Auto Union street supercar, discontinued in 1935, was lost or destroyed in World War II.

It’s been almost two years since Audi decided to revive its project, renamed ‘Auto Union Type 52’ and entrusted restoration experts Crosthwaite & Gardner the difficult task of making it a reality from the few archival documents, the old design sketches they were able to rescue and a powertrain from the original Type 22.

Thus, the same British firm that has helped Audi keep its ‘Silver Arrows’ collection alive to this day gladly took up the gauntlet: the result, handcrafted piece by piece after months of hard work, is obvious.

Although, logically, there are notable differences between the design of the Type 52 of 1934 and the model that was finally completed nine decades later (specifically, at the end of 2023).

Among others, this reinterpretation highlights that the supercharged V16 engine is similar to the one that would have been mounted in the original car, although with a displacement of 6.0 liters and more power: it develops 520 hp at 4,500 rpmruns on gasoline and methanol and is rear-mounted.

In terms of weight, as a road-legal version of a racing car, the Type 52 was never going to be as light as the Type 22: Porsche had originally targeted a curb weight of 1,300 kg and a smaller footprint. Instead, the Type 52 weighs 1,450 kg, is 5.36 m long and has a wheelbase of 3.3 m.

The driver remains seated in the centre of this super sports coupe, as in a real racing car, but There is room to accommodate two passengers on the sides in its cloth seats (a configuration similar to that of the legendary McLaren F1).

There is still room for luggage and two spare wheels. Wooden door and dashboard panels, a three-spoke steering wheel and beautiful analog gauges complete the classically inspired cabin. The cost of the project has not been disclosed, but it could be astronomical.

The legend of motorsport Tom Kristensen, nine-time Le Mans winner and former Audi driverhad the honour of driving the new Type 52 at the Goodwood Hillclimb alongside Hans-Joachim “Strietzel” Stuck, delighting spectators and all lovers of motorsport and competition history.

Now that Audi has decided to change and simplify the nomenclature of its models and prioritize the production of SUVs over pure coupés (less in demand and, therefore, less profitable for the brand), emblematic projects such as the Auto Union Type 52 are a breath of fresh air.

The materialization of the Type 52, albeit in the form of a one-off prototype, masterfully connects the past with the present of the brand with the four rings.