Classic Cars: NSU Ro 80

If you have a good memory and remember that NSU has been known more for its motorcycles than for its cars, the history of this brand, which would later become one of the pillars of what is today Audi, shows that it produced models worthy of mention. One of them, perhaps the most famous, is the Ro 80, a car that was ahead of its time in terms of design, but which could not really succeed because of the failures of its powertrain.

It had a futuristic style, wedge-shaped with a large glazed surface, designed by Claus Luthe, who later became chief designer at BMW. The engineers at NSU wanted the car to suit the new times of the German economy, which was expanding in the 1960s, so the car was conceived with quite a few mechanical advances for the era, such as independent suspension on all four wheels, a semi-automatic gearbox and disc brakes.

The model was presented at the 1967 Frankfurt Motor Show, featuring a one-litre Wankel engine with two rotors producing 115 hp. Within just a few months the Ro 80 had won the favour of the specialist press, being named Car of the Year in 1967; the public formed long waiting lists to buy it, to such an extent that the company could not complete the deliveries on the list until two years later.

However, while the car had a design that delighted everyone, its mechanical side began to leave a lot to be desired. At first, the rotary engine did not prove to be the best choice, as the engine had serious design flaws that caused premature wear. In an attempt to cut the problems at the root, the company had to replace engines that did not last even 50,000 kilometres, and although these problems were resolved in 1970, NSU had begun to suffer the consequences of the financial losses from repairing its Ro 80s.

In those years, NSU was beginning its journey as part of Audi and the Volkswagen Group, which harmed the Ro 80 since few improvements were introduced to the car. Nevertheless, owners used ingenuity and managed to get around the Wankel’s problems; although in 1970 almost the entire engine was redesigned for greater durability, some opted to replace it with a Ford four-cylinder engine, as it was the only engine that fitted into the Ro 80’s small engine bay.

Performance was in line with its price, since it cost almost the same as a high-end BMW. But in those days few production cars reached “more than 180 km/h” like the NSU Ro 80. In terms of acceleration it was not exactly outstanding, 14 seconds from 0 to 100 km/h, with a total weight of 1,250 kilos, partly penalised by the first generation of the Wankel engine.

Until 1975, little more was done beyond improving the suspension and brakes. During this year the Ro 80 underwent a restyle that adopted larger rear light clusters and rubber inserts in the bumpers. In 1976 NSU began to think about new engines for the Ro, but production of the model ceased in April 1977, when Audi decided it was time to take full control of NSU.

There was no successor to the Ro 80. With the last model built, the long history of NSU as a manufacturer also came to an end. Nevertheless, something remained of the Ro 80: the rotary engine technology had piqued the curiosity of the engineers at Audi, who began developing a Audi 100 with a rotary engine, the 871 Wankelengine. Prototypes with this engine existed, but it was later set aside in favour of more conventional engines.

Source | Coches Míticos, NSU-Ro 80