--- title: "Canceled Audi Skorpion Would’ve Been a Diesel Le Mans Racer for the Road" description: "In the early 2010s, Audi was rumored to be making a road version of its R18 TDI prototype. Now we're finally getting to see how it might've looked." date: "2024-03-19" modified: "2024-03-19" authors: - name: "Adam Ismail" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/adam-ismail" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/canceled-audi-skorpion-wouldve-been-a-diesel-le-mans-racer-for-the-road" categories: - "Audi News" - "News" - "News by Brand" --- # Canceled Audi Skorpion Would’ve Been a Diesel Le Mans Racer for the Road ![]() *\august\_horch\_museum via Instagram\* Between 2000 and 2014, an [Audi]() prototype took home overall victory at the [24 Hours of Le Mans]() 13 times. If that dominance happened in the '90s, it's quite possible the automaker would've developed a roadgoing version of its champions; if not because it wanted to, because the regulations might have required it to. But in 2013, Audi was reportedly mulling such a halo vehicle, rumored to have been called "Project Scorpion." Now, 11 years on, we're getting a peek at it for the first time. More accurately, it's a peek at what the Skorpion, as it was internally known, might've looked like. A non-functional design study for the flagship was recently displayed in Audi's Horch Museum in Zwickau, Germany. The facility has [shared a few images of it](), and much like that [M1-inspired supercar BMW was working on just before the pandemic](), it's a bittersweet vision of what could've been. ![]() *august\_horch\_museum via Instagram* Precious few details are revealed in the post, but here's what we know. Skorpion was indeed planned as a street version of the R18 TDI series, in the vein of the [911 GT1 Strassenversion](), or [Mercedes CLK-GTR](). It was intended to sit above the [R8]() in Audi's range of road cars. At the time—between 2010 and 2013, according to the museum—the R18 was running a 3.7-liter turbocharged diesel V6 with hybrid power. Yes, this could've been a diesel hypercar, and likely the only one ever to exist. Audi had flirted with the idea several years earlier with the R8 V12 TDI concept, but that never saw production for cost reasons. Perhaps that explains the Skorpion's purpose. Back in 2013, *[Car and Driver]()* reported that the company was planning to build 333 units—an ultra-low volume befitting of a wildly expensive vanity project dedicated to putting Audi's race-winning diesel tech into the hands of a few deep-pocketed owners. The museum estimates that the vehicle's internal combustion engine, whether powered by gasoline or diesel would've generated between 400 and 550 horsepower alone, sent to all four wheels or just the rear axle. ![]() *august\_horch\_museum via Instagram* The Skorpion design study's exterior essentially resembles that of a Le Mans prototype, only more compact, with a shortened wheelbase and chunkier body devoid of the copious air channels intended to maximize downforce that the R18 would've had. Personally, I wasn't much a fan of the [R18's looks early in its career](), but things got *so* much worse by the end. The 2016-era machine, with its flat, three-pronged nose, must sit alongside the entirety of the 2014 [Formula 1]() grid as one of the ugliest race cars of all time. Compared to that, this Skorpion may as well be a [Lamborghini Miura](). ![]() *This is how the Audi R18 looked by the end of its tenure, in 2016. Yuck. Sjoerd van der Wal/Getty Images* By 2013, it seems Ingolstadt's dreams of a production diesel hypercar were once again dashed. And, let's be real for a minute—even if they weren't, they certainly would've been about two years later when [Dieselgate]() rocked all of the Volkswagen Group's plans. We'll lament the Skorpion's cancellation forever, but if you happened to see the rumors and renderings about a decade ago and have been wondering this whole time what became of them, well, here's your closure. *Got tips? Send 'em to tips@thedrive.com* ## Author Adam is a Senior Editor at The Drive, concentrating on curating and developing the site's slate of daily journalism, from initial pitch to final copy edit. When he's not at his desk researching leads and working with writers, he's testing vehicles or reviewing racing games, new and old. He joined The Drive in 2023, following seven years of covering consumer technology and cars. A car lover and gamer since his earliest memories, Adam came to know the automotive world through video games. First it was Daytona USA, Sega Rally, and Ridge Racer; then came Need For Speed, which inspired an encyclopedic knowledge of '90s supercars, and, of course, Gran Turismo. If not for them, he'd assuredly be doing something else right now. Adam is based in the suburbs outside Philly, where there are ample roads for his hot hatch to stretch its legs. In his car, he's probably listening to indie rock, drum and bass, or Yankees baseball. ### Author social links [Bluesky]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()