Motorsport

Audi Recreates Its 1935 Record-Breaking Silver Arrow After More Than 90 Years

Audi recreated the Auto Union Lucca. After just over three years of construction, the record-breaking car was completed in early 2026. Driving shot at the first roll-out. Side view.

Audi has brought one of its most fascinating racing machines back to life. The company’s heritage division, Audi Tradition, has officially recreated the legendary Auto Union Lucca, a streamlined Silver Arrow race car that originally shocked the world with its speed back in 1935.

And honestly, it still looks absolutely wild today.

The Car That Chased Speed Records

The original Auto Union Lucca was built during the intense speed wars of the 1930s, when German manufacturers were competing to build the fastest racing cars in the world.

Driven by legendary racer Hans Stuck, the car set a flying-start mile record near Lucca, Italy, on February 15, 1935.

Its numbers were unbelievable for the time:

Average speed: 320.267 km/h
Recorded top speed: 326.975 km/h

Back then, those figures made it the “Fastest road racing car in the world”.

Built Around Aerodynamics

The Lucca looked completely different from the normal racing cars of its era.

It featured:

Fully enclosed streamlined body
Covered wheels
Long tapered tail
Closed cockpit for better airflow

Audi says the car was heavily shaped using wind tunnel testing, something that was still very advanced technology in the 1930s. Even today, the design still looks futuristic.

Recreated After Three Years of Work

Audi had the car recreated by British specialists Crosthwaite & Gardiner, using:

Historical photographs
Archive documents
Original engineering references

The project reportedly took more than three years to complete, and nearly every part was handcrafted specially for this one car.

Surprisingly Powerful Even Today

The recreated Lucca uses a massive 6.0-litre supercharged V16 engine producing 512hp

That is an absurd amount of power for a machine inspired by a 1930s race car. And despite its size, the car weighs just 960 kg.

Also read: https://fly-wheel.com/audi-rs-3-competition-limited-unveiled-to-celebrate-50-years-of-five-cylinders/

It Will Actually Be Driven

Thankfully, Audi is not just putting the car inside a museum.

The recreated Auto Union Lucca will make its first dynamic public appearance at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in July 2026. Which means people will actually get to hear and see this machine in motion.

Jeevan Boby