GOODWOOD - Audi will have no fewer than NINE new models on display at this years motoring bonanza.

Some of the finest examples of Vorsprung durch Technik from the past and present converge on the UK’s largest motoring garden party 

• 540PS R8 Spyder tops the power charts while the all-new Q2, the most compact Audi SUV to date, joins the Q7 e-tron plug-in hybrid, the 900Nm SQ7 TDI and A4 allroad quattro
• Home of quattro off-road driving experience runs right through from Thursday to Sunday at 08:00 to 18:00 each day
• Oliver Jarvis, one of the trio who clinched third place for Audi at last weekend’s Le Mans 24 Hours race, will drive an R8 V10 plus on the supercar hillclimb on Friday and Saturday
• Track-side Audi Pavilion ideally placed for viewing all the unmissable action
• Over 30 Audi models on display over the course of four days 

No fewer than nine brand new Audi models will make their UK public debuts at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, collectively covering an intoxicating spectrum of speed, performance, trendsetting technology and masterly design. 

The latest proponents of Vorsprung durch Technik will include the Q2 compact SUV charting new territory for Audi, the beautifully brawny new S5 Coupé, the ground-breaking new SQ7 TDI and the searing 400PS, sub-five-second TT RS Coupé. 

These rising stars will mingle with Audi masterstrokes of the past, including the Auto Union Type C Grand Prix car, the S1 quattro E2 Group B competition car and the Audi V8 DTM, which will be piloted by Pink Floyd legend Nick Mason, rally legend David Llewellin and circuit racing star Frank Biela respectively.

In keeping with the Festival of Speed’s tradition of annual themes, which this year focuses on ‘full throttle – the endless pursuit of power’, the most potent products in the Audi Sport stable will naturally take centre stage.

Fans can witness the five-cylinder, 400PS TT RS Coupe, the 197mph R8 V10 Spyder and the limited edition R8 selection 24h in the metal, while other high-performance newcomers include the 435PS, 900Nm SQ7 TDI - the first ever series production car to feature an electrically powered compressor - and the 354PS S5 Coupé, which takes to the stand less than a month after its world premiere.

Also representing the other quattro-driven members of the Audi family attending Goodwood are the all-new Q2 and the Q7 e-tron. Audi enters a new segment with the Q2, which combines the very latest technology with a bold new design and compact footprint yet also retains all of the practicality associated with the Q range of SUVs. 

The Q7 e-tron is the brand’s second plug-in hybrid vehicle, offering up to 34 miles of battery-powered driving and a total range of over 820 miles. Both will sit alongside the Audi A4 allroad quattro, an even more rugged variant of the 2016 What Car? Car of the Year that takes cross-country capability to new levels.

Rounding out the nine UK debuts is the new Audi A3 range, which can be ordered now in three-door, five-door Sportback, Saloon or Cabriolet form from UK Audi Centres. The class-leading latest model further develops a series of best-selling qualities that Audi has consistently honed in the A3 over the course of 20 years and takes on board a host of new technology from the classes above.

Goodwood visitors can take in  these models in detail on the stunning Audi stand located right by the track, and a separate exclusive VIP viewing area complete with refreshments is accessible for all Audi owners who show their key fob - a long-standing tradition of the brand with the four rings at Goodwood.

Also customary for Audi is a celebration of its milestone moments from yesteryear, and marking two separate anniversaries will be Audi Tradition with an extraordinary line-up that consists of a ferocious 16-cylinder Grand Prix winner, an all-conquering rally car and a DTM legend.

Pink Floyd drummer and car enthusiast Nick Mason will be taking the wheel of the Auto Union Type C - the most successful model of the Auto Union Silver Arrows before the Second World War. 

In 1936, the 560-hp six-cylinder developed by Ferdinand Porsche won the European Grand Prix Championship. Ever since then, the Type C has been inseparably associated with the name of Bernd Rosemeyer. The leading driver was almost unbeatable in that racing season.

Ensuring that the full force of the five-cylinders under the bonnet of the legendary Audi Sport quattro S1 E2 are unleashed before the crowd will be David Llewellin, who helped to propel the Group A rallye quattro cars to national acclaim in the Eighties.

Five-time Le Mans champion Frank Biela will also drive the 1990 Audi V8 quattro DTM over the weekend. This 462PS-strong racing car was Audi’s debut vehicle at the German Touring Car Masters (DTM) in 1990 where it won the title upon its first attempt.

Goodwood attendees can look forward to an additional attraction this year: Mattias Ekström’s rallycross team will be competing in the motorsport event. As Ekström will be on the DTM grid at the Norisring that weekend, British EKS driver Andrew Jordan will be at the wheel of the 560PS Audi S1 EKS RX quattro in the tradition-steeped race.

Audi duo head to Spa for a Le Mans dress rehearsal.

• McNish determined to increase FIA World Endurance Championship points lead
• Jarvis using Belgian race as an important Le Mans “dress rehearsal” in "long tail" R18

The Spa Six Hours is the final race before next month’s annual 24 Hour race in France (22-23 June) and sees a three-car hybrid diesel Audi R18 e-tron quattro entry from defending Le Mans race winners Audi Sport Team Joest.

Dumfries-born McNish and Jarvis, from Burwell near Newmarket, have both tasted victory in 2013, the Scot winning the opening WEC race at Silverstone last month (14 Apr) while Jarvis was victorious in Audi’s one-off American Le Mans Series race at Sebring in March.

McNish is joined by regular co-drivers Tom Kristensen (DK) and Loïc Duval (F) while Jarvis co-drives alongside Marc Gené (SP) and Lucas di Grassi (BR) for the first time.

Whereas McNish/Kristensen/Duval along with Marcel Fässler (CH)/André Lotterer (D)/Benoît Tréluyer (F) contest the full eight-race WEC, Jarvis/Gené/di Grassi only compete at Spa and Le Mans.

At Spa, the third “factory” Audi Sport Team Joest entry of Jarvis/Gené/di Grassi will be a “long tail” Audi R18 e-tron quattro featuring a rear aero package specifically optimised for the high-speed Le Mans track.

All three R18 e-tron quattro sportscars deliver over 200hp through its front axle above 75mph using power “harvested” under braking at five specific “zones” around the 4.35-mile track Spa-Francorchamps in addition to the 490hp transmitted through its rear wheels from the 3.7-litre, V6 turbo diesel TDI engine.

McNish, who started from pole-position and finished fourth in the corresponding race last year, commented: “I’ve always enjoyed driving at Spa. It has a natural flow like all great tracks and is interesting and challenging in every category of car. It features legendary corners like Eau Rouge and Pouhon. Eau Rouge is one of the greatest corners in the world but now with modern car performance it’s not quite so daunting as it used to be. Pouhon has become a corner that you really must focus and concentrate on. The track has also produced some fantastic races in the past, partly due to the changeable weather combined to the challenge the track itself throws up. It’s also a tough track on car, driver and tyres due to the length of the circuit and high speed. Everything needs to be dialled in perfectly to achieve success but even then there can always be an element of surprise at Spa.

“We’ve a much better understanding of our R18 e-tron quattro than when we arrived at Spa 12 months ago for its race debut. This will mark the ninth race for Audi’s hybrid diesel since its debut and the third race with the 2013 spec featuring a number of evolutions.”

An added incentive for the Scotsman is that he has yet to win at the famous Belgian track.

Allan added: “I start the race with reasonable confidence that we’ll achieve the ‘window’ of performance during the two practice sessions before qualifying with everything crammed in on Friday prior to Saturday’s race.

“But I have an eye on the competition. Toyota will run two cars, one a brand new 2013-spec car making its race debut, and you can guarantee they will be looking to make amends on the one lap defeat we meted out to them in the Silverstone opening race.

“For Tom, Loïc and I, we head to Spa leading the championship following our narrow Silverstone victory. It’ll only be our second race together with Loïc but we gelled very quickly with him at Silverstone while we’re all getting to know our engineer Kyle [Wilson-Clarke] and his assistant David Brown better with every race. The relationship with driver, engineers and team, is one that has made Audi Sport Team Joest the success that it is in sportscar racing.

“It will be one thing to try and get the right set-up on the car while tyre choice is going to be critical.

“But the car is working well and we have a good feel for it. I believe the development we've done over the winter will suit Spa while I believe the track also suits the driving styles of Tom, Loïc and myself.”

Last year Jarvis finished third at Spa and Le Mans in his two sports-prototype outings and is looking to quickly form a good relationship with his two new co-drivers at Spa as well as keeping one eye on Le Mans.

“I began my ‘factory’ Audi Sport Team Joest sports-prototype career at the corresponding Spa race 12 months ago with a podium result and that’s where I’d like to be standing again, or possibly even higher,” said Jarvis.

“I went on to also finish third at Le Mans and then won the Sebring 12 Hours earlier this year so two third places and a confidence-boosting maiden sports-prototype victory is a pretty good start but I desperately want to keep the momentum going.

“I feel better prepared having competed at Sebring, and having raced an R8 sportscar to GT honours in the Daytona 24 Hours in January, so I feel ‘match fit’ and sharp.

“For me personally Spa will be another learning curve as I’ll have new team-mates in Marc [Gené] and Lucas [di Grassi] while I raced the R18 ultra at Spa last year as opposed to the hybrid diesel I raced for the first time at Sebring this year. Spa will give me an opportunity to gel with Marc and Lucas. Our R18 e-tron quattro will be in Le Mans configuration in terms of aerodynamics so it could be that our ‘sister’ Audi sportscars will be slightly better suited to the Spa track with their ‘aero’ but it will give Marc, Lucas and I an opportunity to develop the car in advance of Le Mans.

“We of course go to Spa to achieve the best possible result. We’re all focused but none of us underestimate the competition from within Audi Sport Team Joest or down the pit lane in general. It’s a tough field but we enjoy the competition.”