Audi factory driver and winner of the 24 Hours of Nürburgring Nico Müller chauffeured the footballers from the international top-flight club in the Audi R8 LMS sports car across the circuit north of Barcelona. Other players experienced a ride alongside local hero Jordi Gené in the Audi RS 3 LMS. The fast laps in the race cars were the highlight of the car handover to the Spanish football club. Guided by instructors, the stars had previously obtained a first-hand impression of the performance and technology of the sportiest models of the brand with the four rings.
The RS models from Audi Sport have a tradition of being highly regarded by the footballers. Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez and Gerard Piqué selected the Audi RS 6 Avant (combined fuel consumption in l/100 km: 9.6; combined CO2 emissions in g/km: 223) as their personal company cars. Another popular model from the RS family is the new Audi RS 3 Sportback (combined fuel consumption in l/100 km: 8.4–8.3; combined CO2 emissions in g/km: 192–189) favored by a total of five players including Ousmane Dembélé, Sergi Roberto and Samuel Umtiti. Sergio Busquets opted for the Audi R8 Coupé V10 plus (combined fuel consumption in l/100 km: 12.3–11.4; combined CO2 emissions in g/km: 287–272) which, delivering 610 hp, is the most powerful Audi model in the team. Clearly the front runner in the players’ ranking is the Audi Q7 (combined fuel consumption in l/100 km: 7.6–7.2; combined CO2 emissions in g/km: 199–189). Nearly half of the squad will be enjoying the services of the spacious SUV.
The handover of the new company cars was also attended by Guillermo Fadda, Head of Audi Spain, and the Vice President of FC Barcelona, Jordi Cardoner. The cooperation between Audi and the five-time Champions League winner has existed since as far back as 2006.