HISTORY OF NSU Ro 80 English version translated by Jaap Tyman from Amsterdam
D A T A |
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NSU general information | |||
1873 |
![]() Starting in 1886 the ‘Neckarsulmer Strickmaschinenfabrik’ also produced bicycles. From that moment on, bicycles would play a major role throughout the existence of NSU. Production of motorcycles started in 1901, followed five years later with the first automobile. The production of automobiles was stopped in 1929, so the company could fully concentrate on the bicycles and motorcycles. It wasn’t until 1958 before car manufacturing was restarted.
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PLANS Early sixties, when NSU was only producing small cars, they decided to built a big, exclusive motorcar to emphasize the advantages of the newly developed Wankel engine. The NSU Wankel Spider was merely a cabriolet version of the NSU Sportprinz. NSU had quite a reputation for building exceptional cars, be it for technical or for styling reasons. The NSU Ro 80 can be regarded as the final outcome of the development, which took place within NSU. You even could say, that the Ro 80 was a car built by engineers for engineers. On these pages you can find some highlights of the development of the Ro 80.The Ro 80 is the companies’ evidence for the slogan "Vorsprung durch Technik" (A leap because of technology or Advance thanks to Engineering). |
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START
18 augustus 1961
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Some of the points they took in consideration to place the Ro 80:
Middle-class, like Ford’s 12M, boot just like it, sporty, two doors, possibly sliding doors. Two-rotor Wankel engine placed in front, rear-driven, gearbox with lock-differential. Air-suspension, disc brakes front and rear and hydraulic gearbox. They certainly went for it - we now know that quite something else was achieved… |
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5. April 1963 |
START OF THE ACTUAL DESIGN
The project for the Ro 80
was named T80 (Typ 80). Claus Luthe is chief-designer, assisted by Josef Erlewein (body construction) and Otto Erlewein -not related- (interior). Because the design was complete new, the three men were free to use their imagination. And as it was expected that funds from the Wankel licensees would start to come in, it was allowed to build
an exclusive car.Weight should be approx. 800 kilo, engine 80 hp, fuel consumption of 8 litres to 100 kilometres, price around 8.000 German Marks. The figure 8 can also be found in the shape of the trochoïde - the rotor housing. About 80 people were involved with the development. Nowadays hundreds if not thousands of people are involved
with the development of a new car… The NSU Wankel Spider was the first production car in the world equipped with a Wankel engine. This was a single-rotor unit, where as the Ro 80 was destined to receive a twin rotor unit
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6. Mei 1963 |
MODELS Model 1:5 - begin. Luthe is 30 years of age and since 1956 working with NSU. He knew the Ro 80 was a thirsty engine, so it was evident that the body should be well shaped. Streamline, aerodynamics and Cw-values were hardly points of issue those days; something revolutionary had to be built! |
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2. Augustus 1963 |
Model 1:5 presentation
Four years before production the basic shape is final. The car’s wedge-shape (low front - high rear) was used for the very first time; other manufacturers were to follow years later. An enormous amount of windscreen was planned, it even had a window behind the C-column, and was already called the hothouse. Perfect vision was assured with this though. Because of the to the front expiring engine bonnet the car would be stable with high speeds. Originally the roof had two profile lines, but these were cancelled so it would be easier to fit a sunroof. The rear doors followed the wheel-edge, later these became vertical. The headlights of this 1:5 model may look familiar: think of the Citroën SM. Bear in mind that that car was developed years later, so it’s obvious that Citroën ‘borrowed’ this design… |
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16. september 1963 |
Model 1:1 begin
With the help of only six people Luthe made the first prototype in scale 1:1, neatly finished, sprayed and polished as if it was a showroom model. Already with the correct front, bumpers still a bit rough, wheel arches too rectangular. The bonnet closes right to the windshield. This wooden model has an internal steel construction in order to have a look at the interior. The interior itself was designed in May 1964. |
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6. Mei 1964 |
Model 1:1 Finished interior. |
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8. Mei 1964 | Presentation for the board of directors. Dashboard rejected. | |||
7. April 1966 |
FIRST TESTS First cars made for testing. Prototype’s: 16 and pre-production: 18. (Made between 7 April 1966 and April 1967). Engine bay painted black. Bumpers blind-welded. Clothe headlining. Wood imitation on dashboard. Wankel (Rotary) sign on steering wheel. Wind tunnel testing The aerodynamic proportions (Cw. 0.355) almost couldn’t be better; look at how neat the vanes behave with the bodywork. (picture left ) Modern details: the headlamp housings with integrated flashing lights. Beamers beneath the bumper mounted in the spoiler. Enormous glass area. First pre-production car. Click to see the eldest known Ro 80 of German in existence today |
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10. Februari 1967 |
THE NAME
Remarks: most of the modifications were carried out after summer-holidays, and so the new model year started. This varied from year to year. Chassis numbers were not always issued at production sequence, but also on date of invoice. It’s therefore that a car with a high chassis number could have been produced earlier than one with a lower number. |
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Augustus 1967
Sept. 1967 |
FIRST Ro 80
from
assembly line
![]() Several pre-production cars were used for crash tests. Do you want to see more of these? Click CRASHES .
The introduction of the NSU Ro 80 at the International Car Show at Frankfurt, Germany.
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1968 |
CAR OF THE YEAR
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1969 |
FUSION
On the 1969 brochure at the left is explained why the Ro 80 is “Car of the year”. The name NSU Ro 80 still exists. Red plastic cooling fan instead of aluminium one. Halogen beamers are optional.
Right: Audi
NSU Auto Union (Neckarsulm 1969) - Genuss-Schein begeben zur
Finanzierung des Wankelmotors |
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1970 |
![]() IMPROVEMENTS ![]() Cars were driven off and on from the factory to the small village Hasenmuhle, about a mile (1.500 meters) away. Here they were left for the engine to cool down again, and were then driven back to factory. It was found out that with the new Ferrotic seals wear one-fourth of that with the old seals. This gave a boost to engine reliability - it should now cope easily with 100.000 kilometres. Some 1.000 engines were tested by around 450 employees at the factory to achieve this result! Only one spark plug per rotor, high-tension ignition, and seals made from Ferrotic (Titanium). Headlights modified; separate lenses for low- and high beam. Aluminium grille replaced with cheaper plastic one. Switches and control lights on dashboard now with clear pictograms to identify their function. Windshield wipers with interval. Ignition box modified |
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1971 |
Chassis number removed from parafan to right hand side of mudguard.
Down: a rare sample in German text of the theme's in a NSU/Audi press delivery from 1971.
Prinzip der Arbeitsweise - Drehbuch des NSU/Wankel-Motos, Allgemeine Vorgeschichte - Auf neuem Kurs, Forschung und Praxis - Bootsmotoren - Jahresringe, Vorgeschichte des Kreiskolbenmotors, Geschichte des NSU/Wankel-Motors - Felix Wankels Lebenslauf Gegenwart und Zukunft Serienentwicklung und Produktion - Abgasreinigung, Aktion "Saubere Luft" - Die Lister der Lizenznehmer NSU Ro 80 Technische Daten - Perspektiven und Details - Technik Fortschritt bei den Lizenznehmern Forschung und Serie - Von Curtiss-Wright's "Big Boss" bis Graupners "Benjamnin" - Chronologie der Wankel-Entwicklung - Quellennachweis wichtiger Veröffentlichungen über den NSU/Wankel-Motor |
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1972 |
![]() Automatic choke and new type of carburettor. Ignition box (8-connectors) now on rear panel of the engine compartment. Picture with an overview of all models by Audi NSU in 1972.
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1973 |
Disc brakes and drive shafts improved. New seating from Audi range, no longer height-adjustable. Double carburettors replaced with a single downdraft carburettor. | |||
1974 |
Coolant fluid expansion holder now plastic. Carburettor with improved choke mechanism. Dynamo now with integrated voltage-regulator. Figures on speedometer and tachometer bigger . | |||
August 1975 |
FACE LIFT![]() ![]() First and only major face-lift. (Bigger rear-lights, rubber strips on bumpers, Ro 80 badge at bonnet restyled, license plate now above bumper). By 1975 the car industry came back to ‘normal’ sales figures; this recovery was also visible at Audi sales. |
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1976 |
New bigger rear lights with built-in fog lamp; bumpers now with rubber strip. Bonnet lock changed. Ro 80 badge at rear modernised. License plate now above bumper. Exception: Switzerland/Italy: bumpers are divided in two separate units since model year 1976. |
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1977
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The gearbox is improved and it’s ratios altered to receive the new developed engine, which unfortunately never made it to series-production. Oil metering pump altered.
19.04.1977: the final one The final Ro 80 left the factory in April 1977. This meant, that after more than 100 years, the name NSU would cease to exist. After this date all cars leaving the factory in Neckarsulm bear the name Audi. At the picture left you see an image from
the latest brochure. Approximately 37.500 Ro 80’s were built.
Jan Hullegie owns one of the very last Ro 80’s made: a
marsred project car,
looking for a new owner. The very last Ro 80 is on exhibit in the Technology Museum in München, silver-grey with only 4 km’s on its odometer. This is one of the very very few original new cars that still exist today. I’ve been
there, on my back to inspect the underside of the car… It was clear to see that this underside had the same colour as the body - no Unterbodenschutz here!
NO NEW ENGINE?
Quite a lot of info about the Ro 80 as the Webmaster is a great fan of ‘our’Ro 80! It is even mentioned that some Audi 100 cars used the Ro 80 logo at the boot during test drives. Picture right
THE BIBLE OF NSU Ro
80 Also by Korp is the even more rare publication “Protokoll einer Erfindung”, a detailed review of the history of the Wankel engine, also published by Motorbuch Verlag, ISBN 3-87943-381-X. Buy one if you find one!
From: Marco Pignata - Italia pignama@tiscali.it I understand this is not easy to do and realize that other aspects should be |
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1993 |
MORE TO KNOW
THE WANKELENGINE
In the 1960s, German engineer Felix Wankel’s invention was beginning to look like a revolution in the making. Though still in need of refinement, it held much promise as a smooth and powerful engine that could fit in smaller spaces than piston engines of similar output. Auto makers lined up for licensing rights to build their own Wankels, and for a time analysts predicted that much of the industry would convert to rotary power.
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