Audi’s striking Nuvolari supercar has an unusually large fuel door button, and its placement may reveal an unexpected connection.
The Audi Nuvolari stands apart from the crowd. Its unexpected arrival and uncompromising Bauhaus-inspired design give it a distinctive look, making even the previous-generation R8 seem almost understated by comparison.
Every detail appears carefully considered, which makes one feature particularly puzzling: two oversized switches positioned at the lower corners of the angled infotainment screen. One controls the hazard lights. The other releases the fuel door.
The hazard switch makes sense in such a prominent location. The fuel door release is another story.
Beyond the usual steering-wheel controls, engine start/stop button, push-button gear selector, and door-mounted window and lock switches, the Nuvolari has relatively few physical buttons. So why give the fuel door release such a conspicuous spot?
During Monterey Car Week, editor-in-chief Kyle Cheromcha got an up-close look at the Nuvolari and spoke with Massimo Frascella, Audi’s chief creative officer and head of design, about how the supercar might influence the rest of the lineup. The unusual button was one of the first things he asked about.
Frascella paused, exchanged a knowing glance with the public relations representative sitting in on the interview, and chuckled. When Cheromcha pushed for an explanation, the answer remained vague.
“I think that was a place that felt logical and timed in the development of the interior,” Frascella said, shortly before adding that there was “no particular reason” for its location. “It’s interesting. It’s not something that I particularly go to and it’s interesting that you actually pointed it out.”
That reference to the timing of the interior’s development offered a possible clue.
The Nuvolari shares its platform and powertrain with the Lamborghini Temerario, following a formula similar to the relationship between the previous Audi R8 and the Lamborghini Gallardo and Huracan. Audi also moved from the Nuvolari’s initial design sketches to a finished prototype in just 405 days.
Could that tight development schedule, combined with the shared Lamborghini architecture, explain the unusual button placement?
The evidence points in that direction.
Although the Temerario has a completely different interior, its fuel door release occupies the same position. The button is much less conspicuous, sitting flush with the horizontal section of the center console beneath the floating infotainment screen. In the Audi, a large rocker switch makes the control far more noticeable, even though its location is essentially identical. The hazard switches to the left line up as well.
The likely explanation is that Audi had limited time to rework the cabin wiring and move the switches while developing the Nuvolari. Rather than relocate the controls, the company appears to have used a design solution that makes their shared positioning less obvious.
Audi declined to comment further, so the theory cannot be confirmed with complete certainty. Still, the matching layout offers a plausible explanation for one of the car’s strangest interior details.
It may seem like a minor quirk, but the discovery isn't meant as a criticism of Audi. The Nuvolari remains a major achievement, and its oversized fuel door release is an entertaining detail for enthusiasts who pay attention to the placement and design of automotive controls.
Audi isn't hiding the Nuvolari’s connection to the Temerario. If anything, the fuel door release may be one of the clearest clues to that relationship—aside from the unmistakable sound of its V8.