NSU

History

The first NSU motorcycle appeared in 1901,followed by the first NSU car in 1905.

In 1932, under pressure from their bank (Dresdner Bank), NSU recognised the failure of their attempt to break into volume automobile production, and their recently built car factory in Heilbronn was sold to Fiat,^] who used the plant to assemble Fiat models for the German market. From 1957, NSU-Fiat cars assumed the brand name Neckar.

During World War II NSU produced the Kettenkrad, the NSU HK101, a half-tracked motorcycle with the engine of the Opel Olympia. They also made the 251 OSL motorcycle during the war.

the HK101 continued to be sold by NSU as an all-terrain vehicle in a civilian version. The first postwar model was the NSU Fox in 1949, available in 2-stroke and 4-stroke versions. In 1953, the NSU Max followed, a 250 cc motorbike with a unique overhead camdrive driven by reciprocating rods. All these new models had an innovative monocoque frame of pressed steel and a central rear suspension unit. Albert Roder, the chief engineer behind the success story, made it possible that in 1955, NSU became the biggest motorcycle producer in the world. NSU also holds four world records for speed: 1951, 1953, 1954, and 1955. In August 1956, Wilhelm Herz at the Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah, became the first man to ride a motorcycle faster than 200 mph (322 km/h).

In 1957, NSU re-entered the car market with the new Prinz (Prince), a small car with a doubled NSU Max engine, an air-cooled two-cylinder engine of 600 cc (37 cu in) and 20 hp (15 kW). Motorbike production continued until 1968. NSU's last production motorcycle was the Quick 50.

Also in 1964, NSU partnered with Citroën to develop the Wankel engine via the Comotor subsidiary, which resulted in the abortive 1973 Citrpën GS Birotor production car.

In 1967, the four-door NSU Ro 80, with a 115 hp (86 kW) version of the same 2-rotor, was presented to the public. Weighing 1,200 kg (2,600 lb), it had a C_d of 0.36, disc brakes, independent suspension, and front wheel drive by Fichtel & Sachs Saxomatic three-speed transmission. It soon gained several design awards such as "car of the year 1967", while drivers liked its performance. Virtually all the world's major motor manufacturers purchased licenses from NSU to develop and produce the rotary engine, with the notable exception of BMW.

Despite its public acclaim, sales of the Ro 80 were disappointing. The transmission drew complaints and the engine suffered numerous failures even at low mileage. Competitor automakers, apart from Mazda, held back from taking a lead in developing and marketing the Wankel technology, and anticipated income associated with those royalty deals failed to materialize.

Volkswagen Group Takeover

The management of the new combine was initially based at the Neckarsulm plant, however when the small rear-engined NSU models (Prinz 4, 1000, 1200) were phased out in 1973, the Ro 80 was the last car still in production carrying the NSU badge. Audi never made use of the brand name NSU again after April 1977, when the last Ro 80 was sold. In 1985, the company name was shortened to Audi AG and management moved back to Audi's headquarters in Ingolstadt.

Even as production of the Ro 80 continued in the Neckarsulm plant, production of larger Audi models like 100 and 200 was started. The Porsche 924 and later Porsche 944 were also assembled at Neckarsulm. Those models were joint venture projects of Porsche and VW, but Porsche did not have the internal capacity to build the 924 and 944. Currently, Neckarsulm is the production plant for Audi's topline vehicles like A6, A8, and R8. It is also the home of the "Aluminium- und Leichtbauzentrum" where Audi's aluminium-made space frame bodies are designed and engineered.

NSU is primarily remembered today as the first licensee and one of only four automobile companies to produce cars for sale with rotary "Wankel engines". NSU invented the principle of the modern Wankel engine with an inner rotor. The NSU Ro 80 was the second mass-produced two-rotor Wankel-powered vehicle after the Mazda Cosmo. In 1967, NSU and Citroën set up a common company, Comotor, to build engines for Citroën and other car makers. Norton made motorcycles using Wankel engines. AvtoVaz (Lada) manufactured single and twin rotored Wankel powered cars in the early 1980s. Only Mazda has continued developing the Wankel engine and made several more cars with the Wankel engine NSU developed their last car in a recognisably conventional layout, (front engine front wheel drive, water cooled) - this was the NSU K70, Volkswagen adopted this as their first water cooled front-engined car the VW K70. The first VW Golf cars used the NSU K70 engine which was almost identical. Subsequent VW models shared no lineage with NSU models, being descended from Auto-Union designs.

NSU Motorcycles

In 1908, an NSU v-twin took part in the Ormonde-Daytona beach speed record races for cars and motorcycles, ridden by Eugene Gaestral, who returned with an improved machine the following year.

During the 1930s, and in the mid-1950s, NSU was the largest motorcycle producer of the world, in its peak year (1955) producing 350,000 machines. NSU holds four world records for speed: 1951, 1953, 1954 and 1955. In 1956, NSU brought a team of six motorcycles of different engine capacities to Bonneville, Utah, to set World Land Speed Records. They had success in all categories, and most notably raised the absolute motorcycle speed record to 211 mph, with Wilhelm Herz piloting the Delphin III, a fully streamlined motorcycle with a 500cc supercharged DOHC twin-cylinder Rennsport engine This machine still exists, in the Audi Museum in Stuttgart, Germany.

The NSU Quickly was the most popular moped of its time. It was produced between 1953 and 1966 in over 1,000,000 examples and still can be found today all over the world as more than 60% were exported.