Audi Sport 40th Birthday Celebrations Begin This Weekend At The Nürburgring

Originally founded as quattro in 1983 and now known as Audi Sport, this year marks the 40th anniversary of the performance division. Celebrations take place at the Nürburgring 24 Hours from May 18 to 21. As an official partner of the 24-hour race since 2002 and provider of the ‘official cars’, Audi Sport has a close connection to the circuit. The Nürburgring has also been a key testing ground for new R and RS models during development.

At the race this weekend, four Audi R8 LMS cars will enter, showcasing famous retro liveries from Audi’s motorsport history. Former DTM champions Mike Rockenfeller, Timo Scheider and Martin Tomczyk will race with the number 40 as their start number. In keeping with the theme, their Audi R8 LMS from Audi Sport Team Scherer PHX is styled on the 1992 Audi V8 quattro DTM.

Several models will be on display in the ring boulevard including everything from the first-generation Audi R8 and RS 4 Avant to the modern R8 GT and the RS 4 Avant Competition. This is also an opportunity to embrace the firm’s electric future and what better example to exhibit than the all-electric Audi S1 Hoonitron, driven by Ken Block in Las Vegas in the Electrikhana video.

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Rolf Michl, Managing Director of Audi Sport GmbH and Head of Motorsport at Audi says, “The Nürburgring is the world’s toughest race track. It is a magical place for us and that’s why it is perfectly suited to start our 40th company birthday at the 24-hour race. The Nürburgring-Nordschleife is considered a Mecca for all motorsport fans. For me, the 24-hour race is one of the most beautiful things you can experience in motorsport, but the Nürburgring is also essential for the development of our production cars. All our models are tested there under extreme conditions and brought to production readiness.”