Audi Museum Mobile: 11 Design Legends You Can See in Ingolstadt

Audi Museum Mobile “Design Legends” — 11 Concept Cars That Shaped Five Decades

A new special exhibition at the Audi museum mobile in Ingolstadt pulls 11 concept cars and design studies out of storage — some for the first time in 20 years. Running from 28 March through 12 July 2026, “Design Legenden” traces Audi’s design language from the Italdesign Aztec of 1988 to the PB 18 e-tron of 2018. If you’re anywhere near Bavaria this spring, this is worth the detour.

What Is the “Design Legenden” Exhibition at the Audi Forum Ingolstadt?

Das Audi museum mobile — housed inside the Audi Forum Ingolstadt — has mounted a special exhibition dedicated to concept vehicles and design studies from the past five decades. Curator Stefan Felber put it simply: the last time the museum gave design studies their own showcase was 20 years ago. Visitors had been asking for a rerun ever since.

The result is a curated selection of 11 cars, each representing a turning point in Audi’s design thinking. But this isn’t just metal behind velvet ropes. The exhibit also includes sketches, renderings, and clay models that offer insights into the creative process behind each concept — how ideas moved from a designer’s pen to a full-scale prototype. The Audi Tradition App serves as a digital companion, complete with audio guides and even engine sounds for select exhibits.

The Complete List of Concept Cars and Design Studies on Display

Here’s every car in the exhibition, in chronological order. Some you’ll recognise. Others never made it past the show stand — but their DNA did.

How Did the Avus Quattro Shape Audi’s Production Cars?

The 1991 Audi Avus quattro is arguably the single most important concept in this exhibition. Designed by Martin Smith, it debuted at the Tokyo Motor Show with a body made entirely from polished aluminium — no paint, just raw metal. Under the skin sat a 6.0-litre W12 engine. Neither the engine layout nor the mirror-finish bodywork made it to production. But the aluminium construction did.

Audi’s Aluminium Space Frame (ASF) technology, which first appeared in the 1994 A8, traces directly back to the Avus. That’s a line you can draw from concept to series production in three years. I’d argue the Avus did more for Audi’s brand identity than any advertising campaign of that era — it proved the company could think beyond steel at a time when nobody else in Ingolstadt was doing so.

From Showcar to Showroom: The Audi TT Story

The 1995 Audi TT showcar is one of the rare concept vehicles that reached production almost unchanged. Designed by Freeman Thomas and Peter Schreyer at Audi’s Simi Valley studio in California, the TT carried Bauhaus-inspired circles-within-circles into the automotive world. Three years later, the production TT rolled off the line in Győr looking remarkably close to the original study.

You can see the showcar at the museum alongside documentation of the design process — early sketches, clay models, and renderings that show how the proportions were refined. For anyone interested in Audi design history, this is the centrepiece. The Audi Tradition team has integrated 360-degree panorama views of the interior into the Audi Tradition App, so you can explore the cockpit even after you’ve left the building.

What About the Electric Concepts — e-tron Spyder and PB 18?

Two exhibits point toward Audi’s electric future. The 2010 Audi e-tron Spyder was a diesel-electric hybrid open-top sports car — a technical showcase that combined a 3.0 TDI with two electric motors. It never reached production, but the “e-tron” nameplate it carried eventually became an entire sub-brand.

The 2018 Audi PB 18 e-tron went further. A fully electric concept with solid-state battery ambitions and a driver’s seat that could shift to the centre of the cabin for track driving. Its sharp, angular design language influenced the Audi e-tron GT that followed in 2021. Having reviewed both cars’ spec sheets in our database, the connection between the PB 18’s proportions and the production e-tron GT’s silhouette is hard to miss. The creative process behind both started with the same question: what does a fast Audi look like without a grille?

The Forgotten Concepts: Steppenwolf, Nuvolari, and the A8 Coupé

Not everything in the exhibition led to a showroom model. The 2000 Audi Steppenwolf was a crossover coupe before the segment existed. Low, wide, with short overhangs and genuine off-road capability — it predicted the coupe-SUV trend by nearly a decade. Audi never built it. BMW did, eventually, with the X6.

The 2003 Nuvolari quattro, named after the legendary Italian racing driver Tazio Nuvolari, packed a W12 and a design that hinted at what would become the A5/A7 Sportback lineage. And the 1997 A8 Coupé concept? A grand tourer that explored whether a luxury two-door Audi could work in the market. It couldn’t, apparently — but it’s stunning to see in person, and this exhibition is one of the few chances you’ll get.

The quattro Concept and the Aztec: Bookends of the Collection

The 2010 Audi quattro concept was a deliberate callback to the 1980 Ur-quattro that started Audi’s all-wheel-drive story. Short, wide, with boxy proportions and a 2.5 TFSI five-cylinder making 408 PS, it generated enormous enthusiasm at the Paris Motor Show. A production version was considered, then shelved. The decision still stings for Audi enthusiasts.

At the other end of the timeline sits the 1988 Italdesign Aztec — technically not an Audi in-house design, but a collaboration with Giorgetto Giugiaro. A mid-engine sports car with a divided cockpit, it was radical for its era. The museum had never displayed it before. If you’re a collector or historian tracing the legacy of Auto Union through to today’s Audi brand, this car fills a gap in the visual record.

How to Visit the Audi Museum Mobile in Ingolstadt

The Audi Forum Ingolstadt is located at Ettinger Straße, directly adjacent to Audi’s main production plant. The museum mobile sits inside the Forum complex. The “Design Legenden” special exhibition runs from 28 March to 12 July 2026, making it a good pairing with any factory tour or business visit to the region. As of April 2026, the permanent collection is also open and covers the full history of today’s Audi AG, from the pre-war Auto Union era through NSU to the modern quattro years.

The Audi Tradition App — free on iOS and Android — works as a digital guide inside the museum. It provides audio guides, 360-degree interior panoramas, and even engine sounds for select concept vehicles. There’s also a digital city walking tour tracing the legacy of Auto Union through Ingolstadt. Worth knowing: the app also links to the Audi Tradition Online Shop for accessories, literature, and spare parts for Audi youngtimers. For anyone visiting from outside Germany, the museum and app content operate primarily in German, though key exhibit labels are bilingual.

Why Does This Exhibition Matter for Audi’s Design Future?

Audi is in the middle of a brand reset. The new design language — visible in the Q6 e-tron and the upcoming A5/A7 generation — draws heavily from concept cars of the past. The flat, wide grille of the PB 18 e-tron. The minimalist surfacing of the TT showcar. The monolithic body volume of the Avus. Looking at these 11 cars together in one room, you can trace how Audi’s identity evolved, and where the current team is pulling its references from.

For Automobilisto’s audience — enthusiasts, journalists, and industry professionals who care about technical provenance — this exhibition is a primary source. Our archive includes production brochures for many of the serial models that descended from these concepts: the original TT, the D2 A8, the first-generation e-tron GT. Seeing the concepts and then cross-referencing the production specs in our database gives you the full picture of what survived the journey from design studio to the German dealer lot.

Key Takeaways

• The “Design Legenden” exhibition at the Audi museum mobile runs from 28 March to 12 July 2026 in Ingolstadt.
• Eleven concept cars are on display, spanning from the 1988 Italdesign Aztec to the 2018 PB 18 e-tron.
• Several concepts directly influenced production Audi models — the Avus begat the A8’s aluminium body, the TT showcar became the Mk1 TT almost unchanged.
• Clay models, sketches, and renderings accompany the cars, showing the design process from vision to form.
• The free Audi Tradition App provides audio guides, 360° interior views, and a digital Ingolstadt walking tour.
• Electric concepts (e-tron Spyder, PB 18 e-tron) connect directly to Audi’s current EV design direction.
• No English-language coverage of this exhibition exists elsewhere — this is the only EN guide available.

FAQ

Where is the Audi museum mobile and how do you get there?
The Audi museum mobile is part of the Audi Forum Ingolstadt, located at Ettinger Straße near Audi’s main factory. Ingolstadt is roughly an hour north of Munich by car or regional train. The Forum is walkable from Ingolstadt Hauptbahnhof.

How long does the “Design Legenden” special exhibition run?
The exhibition opened on 28 March 2026 and closes on 12 July 2026. After that date, the concept cars return to Audi Tradition’s archive storage. The permanent collection at the museum remains open year-round.

Is the Audi Tradition App available in English?
The app is primarily in German. Key exhibit labels in the museum are bilingual (German/English), but the full app content — audio guides, city tours, and shop — is German-language. It’s free on iOS and Android.

Which concept cars in the exhibition influenced production Audi models?
The 1991 Audi Avus quattro led directly to the aluminium A8 (ASF technology). The 1995 TT showcar became the production TT in 1998 with minimal changes. The 2018 PB 18 e-tron shaped the design language of the Audi e-tron GT. The 2010 Audi quattro concept was considered for production but ultimately cancelled.

Can you discover the Audi Forum Neckarsulm collection too?
Yes. Audi Tradition maintains a separate exhibition in the Audi Forum Neckarsulm, currently showing heritage models in its second-floor gallery. The Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm collections complement each other but feature different vehicles.

Internal Linking Suggestions

• Audi brand archive and brochure collection — Link from lead or Avus/TT sections referencing production models
• Audi TT model history and specifications — Link from TT showcar section
• Audi A8 technical data and brochures — Link from Avus quattro → A8 ASF section
• Audi e-tron GT model specifications — Link from PB 18 e-tron section
• Guide to buying a used car in Germany — Link from visitor info section for expat audience context