NSU Ro 80

NSU Ro 80
NSU
aka	NSU Ro80
Production	1967-1977 with 37,204 examples
Class	Full-size luxury
Body Style	Four-door saloon sedan
Length	188.2 inch
Width	69.3 inch
Height	55.5 inch
Wheelbase	112.6 inch
Weight	2759 lbs
Transmission	3-Speed semi-automatic
Engine	Wankel 995cc
Power	115 hp @ 5500 rpm
Similar	Citroen GS Birotor
Designer	Claus Luthe

The NSU Ro80 was produced by German company NSU between 1967 and 1977. The Ro80 was a very advanced automobile, becoming the first production car to feature the Wankel Rotory engine. NSU had never created such an expensive or large car before, and to design the flagship, stylist Claus Luthe was employed - the shape created was particularly aerodynamic, and the sales material for the Ro80 traded heavily upon this factor, despite the aerodynamics being developed soley by Luthe's guesswork until true development of the car was under way.

The car was sold only with the rotor engine option, which had a lack of mid-range torque and power - to hide this shortfall, a three-speed semi-automatic transmission was applied to the car. Unfortunately, the twin-rotor engine was unreliable in its earlier states, due to the wearing of the rotor tip seals. The fault, attributed to under-development, hindered the Ro80 with an unshakeable reputation for unreliability - but NSU was generous with warranty claims, and some cars have had as many as nine new engines.

Ultimately, the warranty liberty given by NSU led to its downfall - the company, teetering on the edge of financial meltdown, was acquired by Volkswagen in 1969.

See Wikicars' comprehensive NSU Ro80 Review.

Pioneering Features

The Ro80 had many other mould-breaking features other than the twin-rotor engine. Firstly, the vehicle featured four full-size disc brakes, which had rarely been seen on anything other than supercars on release in 1967.

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  Wind tunnel testing

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