From 1st February to 30th April 2006, under the legend "Study programme" the Audi Forum Ingolstadt will be hosting a special exhibition of twelve spectacular prototypes from Audi’s history. These cars, which had only been shown to expert audiences at a wealth of different exhibitions around the world, can now be "studied" in detail in Ingolstadt.

The NSU Ro 80 Pininfarina quarz is no less than 35 years old: designer Sergio Pininfarina presented this futuristic study, based on the NSU Ro 80, at the 1972 Turin Motor Show. The vehicle is defined by optimised aerodynamics and the use of new safety technology. Also on show to the public for the first time are two unusual prototypes. They are the Audi Motorcycle with a four-cylinder engine from the Audi 50 dating from 1976, a vehicle that has almost fallen into oblivion, and the entirely unknown study of a modern small car project, the Audi “Student”, developed at the end of the 1970s.

The Audi Rosemeyer study, which dates from 2000, pays homage to history. The car, with its Auto Union Silver Arrow grille, was named after the prodigious racing driver Bernd Rosemeyer. The off-road concept study Audi Steppenwolf illustrates how Audi developers visualised a high-performance compact-class vehicle for road and off-road use at the end of 2000. And further reinforcing the hitherto extremely successful Audi maxim that translates as “Beautiful estate cars are called Avant”, the study with the descriptive name “Avantissimo” took its place in the spotlight at the 2001 Frankfurt Motor Show.

The Audi museum mobile at the Audi Forum Ingolstadt is open from Monday to Sunday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Text: Classic Driver
photos: Audi