On today's chart 91K views since yesterday

carwow's Audi Nuvolari track test gets stuck in show mode

Mat Watson's Spanish drive finds striking metalwork, strong brakes and a spoiler problem with an unexpectedly simple explanation.

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carwow Story of November 9, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? One of the most watched videos since yesterday, with 90,580 views.

I drove the Most POWERFUL Audi EVER! Nuvolari Review

Things we can learn from the video

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0:52Watson argues that the carbon-fibre bodywork and functional aluminium vents make a stronger impression in person.
4:20The cabin uses solid metal controls but offers little everyday storage and no cupholder.
9:13A twin-turbo V8 and three electric motors provide the claimed combined output of 1,001 horsepower.
17:39A spoiler fault triggers safe mode during Victor's passenger lap, limiting power.
29:21Watson favours a Porsche 911 GT3 for track use, placing the Audi's strengths in pace and road presence.
29:46Watson explains that exhibition show mode on the demonstrator remote caused the spoiler and power restrictions.

A remote control can raise the Audi Nuvolari's spoiler for a demonstration. Leaving that same remote in exhibition mode turns out to be rather less helpful when the supercar reaches the track.

That is the unexpected complication in Mat Watson's new carwow review, which has drawn around 91,000 views in just over two hours. He takes a pre-production Nuvolari onto Spanish roads and around Circuito del Jarama, finding plenty to discuss beyond its headline power output.

Watson presents it as Audi's most powerful car yet, with a twin-turbo V8 and three electric motors delivering roughly a thousand horsepower. But the first attraction is the bodywork: exposed carbon fibre, functional aluminium vents and side blades recalling the R8. Viewers are picking up on the metal grilles and the angular, old-concept-car appearance, while the demonstrator remote gets its own retro comparisons.

Inside, Watson finds solid metal controls and a cabin notably short on plastic. It is also short on somewhere to put a drink: there isn't a cupholder or a door bin. For a car costing more than half a million pounds, practicality is clearly not the proposition.

The track session brings the complication. With Audi performance manager Victor driving, the spoiler fails to deploy and the car limits its power. Engineers connect a laptop in the pits before the laps resume. Later, during Watson's own run, another warning appears and power briefly drops again.

His eventual explanation is that the demonstrator remote had been left in show mode, restricting the spoiler and power delivery. "It wasn't the car's fault, it was operator error," he says.

Watson's verdict isn't simply about speed. He singles out the brakes and front-end bite, but would choose a Porsche 911 GT3 for dedicated track work. The Nuvolari's appeal, for him, lies more in its road presence and extraordinary straight-line pace.

Published on Trari