Audi parked its last mainstream coupes and convertibles when the A4 family became the A5. Before the Nuvolari even existed in public, Gernot Döllner sat with CarBuzz in Germany and left the door cracked anyway.
“I believe that in the future we will see in the global automotive market, we will see very emotional products again. The C-Sport is one [of those]. The RS models are there as well. And I could think of a coupe or convertible version as well. But right now, other things have priority.”
Gernot Döllner, Audi CEO, to CarBuzz
He named what is funded
The rest of that roundtable was about money. Multiple drivetrains, a finite development budget, and a lineup Audi is still trying to refresh. Coupes and convertibles split demand he cannot afford to chase first. What he did put on the list: the electric C-Sport (the production car from Concept C) and the RS models. A coupe or convertible was “thinkable.” It was not next.
Later, Mohr would not pick an R8
After Nuvolari was public, Wolfgang Mohr talked to The Drive at Monterey. He called Nuvolari a “North Star” and said more emotional cars would follow. On an R8: “This does not mean R8—yes or no. This is not decided. We have different priorities at the moment.” Same map, different room. Supporting color, not the story.
Sources: CarBuzz, Döllner; The Drive, Mohr. Photos: Audi Media Center, not those sites.