Audi has unveiled the GT50 concept, a one-off project created by a team of 14 apprentices to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the brand’s distinctive five-cylinder engine. Drawing inspiration from Audi’s dominant era in American touring car racing, the concept blends historic motorsport cues with modern performance hardware.
The GT50 looks back to two of Audi’s most significant competition machines from the late 1980s: the Audi 200 Quattro Trans-Am car and the Audi 90 Quattro IMSA GTO. Both were instrumental in cementing Audi’s reputation for all-wheel-drive performance on U.S. circuits. In the 1988 Trans-Am season, Audi’s all-wheel-drive sedans claimed eight victories across 13 races, securing the championship and prompting series organizers to ban all-wheel drive due to competitive imbalance. Audi subsequently shifted its focus to IMSA competition.
In IMSA’s GTO class, the Audi 90 Quattro ran a silhouette body over a tubular space-frame chassis and was powered by a turbocharged five-cylinder engine producing more than 700 horsepower. The car won seven races during the season but narrowly missed out on the championship.
Visual references to both racers are evident throughout the GT50. The concept features a pronounced front splitter, wide fender flares, deep side skirts, and a raised ducktail rear spoiler. Dished racing wheels further reinforce its track-focused character. Inside, the concept is stripped down and fitted with racing seats and a full roll cage, underscoring its motorsport intent.
Beneath the bodywork, the GT50 is based on the current Audi RS3 platform. It uses the modern 2.5-liter turbocharged five-cylinder engine producing 401 horsepower, paired with a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission and all-wheel drive. A torque-vectoring rear differential allows more power to be sent rearward, enhancing handling and allowing controlled oversteer. Audi estimates the setup enables a 0–62 mph time of 3.8 seconds.
While the GT50 is not expected to reach production, Audi is anticipated to mark the engine’s milestone with a higher-performance RS3 variant in 2026, continuing the legacy of one of its most iconic powerplants.
Via Audi/ooooiykyk