Knitting together the story of NSU

NSU (the initials are an abbreviation of Neckarsulm, the town where the firm started) initially produced knitting machines in the 1870s, then moved on to bicycles and motorbikes around 1900 and finally to cars in 1905.

In 1931-2 they built a new factory at Heilbronn but a financial crash forced them to sell it to Fiat, which produced Fiats for the German market and Fiat-NSU models that were badged Neckars.

During the Second World War, NSU produced the Kettenkrad for the German army, a motorbike with a rear tank-type track that allowed it to cross marshy terrain that defeated other bikes. It even produced a civilian version after 1946, when NSU resumed bike making in its bombed-out factory. By 1955, NSU claimed to be the world’s biggest motorbike makers and took five world speed records, including breaking the 200mph barrier in 1956.

Its post-war cars were small, the best-known being the 600cc air-cooled Prinz, its bathtub-onwheels styling slavishly copying the Chevrolet Corvair, virtually the US’s one venture into rearengined cars. However, NSU also produced a nifty swoopbacked coupe version.

A 1960s joint venture with Citroen called Comotor saw NSU develop the Wankel engine, whose initial promise led many car makers to look at Wankel technology. However, the patent and licensing deals NSU had hoped for failed to materialise.

Then NSU set the heather alight with the 1967 launch of the Ro80 – it looked great, with a huge windscreen, Wankel engine, novel transmission and pizzazz by the truckload. Sadly, the Wankel proved gutsy and failure-prone. Many UK owners installed the Ford V4 engine normally fitted to Transit vans – slow and lumpy but dependable.

NSU’s experience meant few other car makers other than Mazda of Japan took up the Wankel. However, its MX-5 sports car has thrived over the decades. The Wankel saga crippled NSU, who were acquired by VW in 1969 and merged with Auto Union and Audi, although the long name was abbreviated to simply Audi AG in 1985. The last Ro80 was sold in 1977 and, with it, the NSU name ceased.

Today, the Neckarsulm factory produces Audi top-of-theline A6, A8 and R8 models and, for a time, Porsche 924s and 944s were also made there.

There is a British NSU Owners Club, founded in 1961 and said to be the world’s oldest.

The NSU Ro80, top, and the 1971 Audi NSU range, above.