We've finally found something we want more than an Audi R8 FSI, and it gives us hope that we might one day ride something similar to an Imperial speeder bike.

The Audi Shark concept is 26-year-old Kazim Doku's winning entry into a design competition (.pdf) co-sponsored by Audi and Milan's Domus Academy. And while the Shark may wear the four ring Audi badge, it's not a car but a hovercraft. Still, you can see some familiar elements of Walter de'Silva's signauture style, something Doku told us he tried to emulate when designing the Shark.

"Reflecting Audi's clean and perfect lines, I designed a super sport automobile," Doku told Wired.com. Indeed. Looking at the Shark, it's easy to catch glimpses of the R8, TT and S5 but with an ultra-modern twist.

Doku says the driving position is similar to a motorcycle "but with a car's security." LED lights come straight out of the S5 parts bin, but the rear-hinged glass cockpit and air foils come straight out of the future. We also appreciate the side view mirrors, a must when gliding over roadways at breakneck speed.

The young Turk (really - he lives in Izmir, Turkey) already has won three other prizes for automotive design, which is remarkable considering the dearth of an automotive industry in his home country.

Doku credits his success to a lifelong love of car design and "watching the automotive industry [and] carrying the designs to the computer screen." His previous prize-winning concepts include the fabric-skinned Peugeot Ustuminki, which was a finalist in the 2007 Peugeot Design Competition, and first prize in Turkey's Ototrend contest for a no-doored concept called KA-Design.

Although first prize in the Audi design competition was a 70 percent scholarship to the Domus Academy, Doku says he can't afford the balance and has withdrawn his application for the Master's in Automotive Design program. That's a shame, because this Shark has some bite.

Maybe Audi can give him a job.

Images: Kazim Doku, used with permission. Video: Youtube user carbodydesign

POST UPDATED 11:45 a.m. Eastern March 6.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRFRxErGDaI