Audi's skorpion project: a diesel-powered hypercar that never was

Audi's ambitious skorpion project

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In the early 2010s, Audi was dominating Le Mans with its diesel-powered prototypes. The brand's success in endurance racing led to an audacious idea: to create a production diesel hypercar.

nProject Skorpion aimed to bring the DNA of the Audi R18, a four-time Le Mans winner, to the road. The project, code-named Skorpion, was a concept for a limited-production, high-performance diesel car.nn

A diesel-powered hypercar

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Audi's diesel technology had already proven its worth in racing, offering a winning combination of efficiency, reliability, and massive torque. Could this technology also power a street-legal hypercar?

nTechnical Details were scarce, but the car was expected to produce between 400 and 550 horsepower, with the option for either quattro all-wheel drive or rear-wheel drive. The styling would have been aggressive, with a low, compact body, aerodynamic elements made from carbon fiber, and large OZ Racing wheels shod in slick Hankook tires.nn

A project cancelled too soon

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Despite the promising concept, Project Skorpion was cancelled in 2013, just two years before the 'Dieselgate' emissions scandal broke in 2015. If it had proceeded, the project likely would have been shelved due to the controversy surrounding diesel engines at the time.

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Today, Skorpion remains an intriguing footnote in Audi's history, a glimpse at what could have been a groundbreaking production car. Its cancellation serves as a reminder that even the most ambitious projects can fall victim to shifting marketconditions and internal decisions.