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NSU Ro 80: Difference between revisions
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The Ro80 was only supplied in four-door sedan format. | |||
===Pricing=== | ===Pricing=== |
Revision as of 14:41, 8 April 2007
NSU Ro 80 | |
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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. The engine itself was of 995 cc capacity, and produced 115bhp - enough to power the Ro80 to a top speed of around 115mph.
Firstly, the vehicle featured four full-size disc brakes, which had rarely been seen on anything other than supercars on release in 1967, due to the expense required. The Ro80's engineers worked hard both on the brakes themselves, which were noted by period motoring press to be 'superior', but also the packaging - the front brakes were mounted inboard, which meant less weight was carried by the suspension, reducing unsprung weight.
Independent suspension was used on all four wheels, with straight-forward MacPherson struts at the front but a trailing-arm set-up at the rear. To guide the front wheels, NSU employed one of the world's first power steering systems - a powered rack and pinion set-up.
The semi-automatic transmission was also a new feature, foreshadowing modern sports car transmissions such as Porsche's Tiptronic or Lamborghini's e-Gear. However, instead of a clutch pedal for the manual shifts, a switch on top of the gear lever operated a hydraulically powered gear change.
Styles and Major Options
The Ro80 was only supplied in four-door sedan format.
Pricing
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Reliability
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Resale Values
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Worldwide
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See also
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NSU | ||
Volkswagen | Audi | SEAT | Škoda | Bentley | Bugatti | Lamborghini | Porsche Historic Prinz · Sport Prinz · Prinz 4 · Prinz 1000 · 1000 TT · Typ 110 · Spider · Ro 80 · K70 Include notable internal links here | ||
name of founder/s | defunct |