Surreal Audi designed in the 1930s but built in 2024 looks like it's from a parallel universe where time works differently
Published on Mar 26, 2026 at 12:08 AM (UTC+4)
by Alessandro Renesis
Last updated on Mar 25, 2026 at 8:10 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Emma Matthews
What you’re looking at here is the Auto Union Type 52, an Audi concept that belongs to both this century and the last.
The story behind this concept supercar is absurd and unique, and there are two things we need to talk about.
First, we need to address the name.
Second, we need to ask Audi a question.
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The car that almost never got made, and why it’s called Auto Union
This car was designed in the 1930s, and then somehow built in 2024.
Called the Auto Union Type 52, this concept car was also nicknamed ‘Schnellsportwagen‘, which tells everything you need to know because ‘schnell’ is German for fast.
Ferdinand Porsche originally wanted this to be a ‘race car for the road’, but the manufacturer never got around to building it.
Because in the 1930s, there was a global event of a certain significance – the war – that didn’t really leave much space for concept cars.
What’s interesting is that this was technically not even conceived as an Audi.
Back then, in 1932, a conglomeration of different German automakers got together and formed Auto Union, which was Audi’s name back then.
This was actually one of their first projects.
But it never saw the light of day until almost 100 years later.
Why Audi revived the Auto Union Type 52 in 2024
After spending nearly a century as a paper design, Audi revived the idea and made it a reality.
They reached out to British firm Crosthwaite & Gardner, who manage the company’s historic cars, and asked them to build the car using the original design sketches.
Visually striking, the Type 52 is also technically brilliant.
It features a streamlined body to maximize aerodynamic efficiency and three seats, just like the McLaren Speedtail or the F1.
It also uses a V16, pioneered nearly a century before Bugatti – another VW-adjacent brand – put it in a production car.
That leads us to the question we have for Audi, which is actually more of a request.
_Please make this available for the public to buy.
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After beginning his automotive writing career at DriveTribe, Alessandro has been with Supercar Blondie since the launch of the website in 2022. In fact, he penned the very first article published on supercarblondie.com. He’s covered subjects from cars to aircraft, watches, and luxury yachts - and even crypto. He can largely be found heading up the site’s new-supercar and SBX coverage and being the first to bring our readers the news that they’re hungry for.
