Audi Tradition has recreated the Lucca, a 16-cylinder car that broke the record for the world’s fastest car when it was unveiled to the world in 1935.
The car, which was part of Audi’s Auto Union racing car collection, reached an impressive 326.975 km/h on a road in Lucca, Italy, while being driven by Hans Stuck, also known as the “King of the Mountains,” on February 15, 1935. That figure earned the vehicle the title of the fastest car in the world at the time.
Under the hood of the original Lucca was an early version of the 16-cylinder engine, producing 343 horsepower with approximately 5.0 liters of displacement. But according to Timo Witt, head of the historical vehicle collection at Audi Tradition, the mechanical side was not the only factor that made the Lucca a record-breaking vehicle.
“What inspires me is the drive and speed with which they reacted to the competition even back then — technically in vehicle development, but also organizationally: the weather changes and the entire team quickly moves forward at short notice,” he told Motor1.
“Without this flexibility and the ability to adapt extremely quickly to new situations, the record run in Lucca would not have been possible.”
Now, the Lucca has been brought back to life through the brand’s Audi Tradition division, after a construction process that took three years in the hands of specialists at Crosthwaite & Gardiner in England. The iconic car now fills a gap that existed in the historical collection of Audi AG.
Although they did everything possible to maintain authenticity, Witt and his team had to make some practical decisions to improve its longevity, addressing issues that had already been identified in the original Lucca, especially regarding cooling and ventilation.
“We adopted these changes in the Auto Union Lucca because otherwise the vehicle would be under too much thermal stress during our upcoming demonstration runs,” Witt emphasized.
The vehicle also underwent some changes to the radiator and bodywork, allowing it to be converted to the AVUS configuration. Even so, the new Lucca is an almost perfect copy of the original, a car surrounded by nostalgia from Audi’s racing history.
Photos: Audi. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
