At the end of 1933, Ferdinand Porsche decided to design a 'street-approved racing car' for Audi. But a war got in the way, and 90 years passed before the Type 52 came to fruition.
It took Audi a full 90 years to build the car that, at the end of 1933, Ferdinand Porsche himself was asked to design.
But now it exists. Type 52 Schnellsportwagen is the name. Although today Audi does not actually know if Auto Unioen, as the brand was then called, managed to build a prototype before the Second World War broke out in 1939.
To make the car a reality, Audi has had to look in the factory archive for Ferdinand Porsche's original drawing. However, the Germans did not build the car themselves. Instead, they requested the British bodywork from Crosthwaite & Gardner.
Audi was then able to take credit for the result at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, which was just held this past weekend.
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– For me, it is an absolute dream car. In its time, the car unfortunately remained just a dream. One that we are now, 90 years later, able to bring to life, says the head of Audi Tradition, Stefan Trauf.
Under the hood, the Audi has a 6-liter V16 engine with a whopping 512 horsepower. The original Type 52 was supposed to have had 'only' 200 horsepower from a smaller V16 engine of 4.4 liters.
Audi could not leave the car in England either. Nine-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen shorted the car up the track at Goodwood this weekend.
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