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Audi remakes V16-powered Auto Union Lucca road racer

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Audi Auto Union Lucca road racer

Audi has recreated the legendary Auto Union Lucca, a streamlined record-breaking car from the 1930s that once held the title of the world’s fastest road racing car. The recreated Rennlimousine (racing sedan) will make its public debut in early May in Lucca, the same Italian city where the original road racer set a flying-start mile speed record in February 1935.

  1. 1935 Lucca achieved a top speed of nearly 327kph
  2. Restoration took over three years to complete
  3. The recreated Lucca has a larger and more powerful V16 engine

The story of the Auto Union Lucca

Driven by German racing driver Hans Stuck, the original Auto Union Lucca achieved an average speed of 320.267kph over a flying-start mile on a straight section of a motorway near the city of Lucca in Italy. The road racer also recorded a measured top speed of 326.975kph, making it one of the fastest racing machines of its era.

The Lucca was developed during a fierce rivalry between Auto Union (Audi's direct predecessor) and Mercedes-Benz in the 1930s, when manufacturers competed intensely in Grand Prix racing and land-speed record attempts. Auto Union, founded in 1932 through the merger of German carmakers Audi, DKW, Horch and Wanderer, had already established itself in motorsport with the mid-engined Auto Union Type A.

Heavily shaped by aerodynamic research, the Lucca was one of Europe’s earliest racing cars developed extensively in a wind tunnel. Engineers worked with the Berlin-Adlershof Aeronautical Research Institute to refine the Lucca’s streamlined bodywork, which featured a closed cockpit, covered wheels, a finned rear section, and teardrop-shaped wheel arches.

Power came from a 5.0-litre supercharged V16, producing 343hp in its early state of tune – later iterations developed up to 375hp. The Lucca’s slippery bodywork and aerodynamic refinements helped Auto Union surpass the benchmark set by Mercedes driver Rudolf Caracciola in late 1934.

The original record attempt was initially planned in Hungary near Gyón, but poor weather conditions forced the team to relocate further south into Italy. After additional testing near Milan was disrupted by snow, Auto Union eventually selected a straight section of road between Pescia and Altopascio near Lucca for the final attempt.

How the reborn Auto Union Lucca came to be

The remade Auto Union Lucca was built by British restoration specialist Crosthwaite & Gardiner using historical photographs and archive documents. Audi says the reconstruction took more than three years to complete, with every component handcrafted specifically for the project. Modern wind tunnel testing measured a drag coefficient of 0.43 for the recreated Lucca.

According to Timo Witt, the project manager for the Lucca’s construction, the recreated car incorporates several Avus-spec – Avus is a circuit in Berlin – cooling and ventilation modifications to improve durability during demonstration runs. Audi has also fitted the reborn Lucca with an uprated 520hp 6.0-litre supercharged V16. The recreated Lucca measures 4,570mm in length, 1,700mm in width, 1,200mm in height, and 2,800mm in wheelbase, and weighs just 960kg.

Following its unveiling in Lucca, the resurrected Auto Union Lucca will make its first public dynamic appearance at the Goodwood Festival of Speed from July 9-12, 2026.



from Autocar India https://ift.tt/NZrfeCn

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