1967 NSU Prinz 1000 TT

Founded in 1873, NSU initially manufactured knitting machines; subsequently, they produced bicycles, and then to automobile production from 1905. Forced to separate from the automobile division in 1929, the company refocused on the construction of motorcycles. They produced the Kettenkrad (a half-tracked motorcycle) and the 251 OSL motorcycle during World II, and when peacetime resumed, they resumed bicycle and motor-bicycle manufacturing at Neckarsulm.

NSU began as the 'Mechanische Werkstatte zur Herstellung von Strickmaschinen' and was established in 1873 by Christian Schmidt in the town of Riedlingen on the Danube. In 1932, their recently built car factory in Heilbronn was sold to Fiat. From 1957, NSU-Fiat cars assumed the brand name Neckar. In July 1946, a new board was appointed, headed by General Director Walter Egon Niegtsch.

Despite the destruction of WWII, NSU became the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer in the 1950s. Hermann-Paul Müller won the World Championship title in 1955 on an NSU Sportmax, and Wilhelm Herz was the first man to exceed 200mph (320 km/h) on an NSU Max Standard.

A Return to Automobile Production
In 1957, after a 28-year hiatus, NSU re-established itself as a car manufacturer with the introduction of the Ewald Praxl-designed Prinz. It was a two-door, four-seater mini-car with a rear-mounted engine and an all-independent suspension. The air-cooled, overhead-cam, twin-cylinder engine displaced 583cc and was designed by Albert Roder, the engineer responsible for NSU's motorcycle engines. It offered 23 horsepower in the Prinz I, while later models could be ordered with a more powerful (30bhp) unit. The Prinz 4 of 1961 rested on a longer wheelbase and wore the distinctive 'bath tub' body style. Standard equipment included a 598cc engine and an all-synchromesh gearbox. 'Fahre Prinz und Du bist Koenig' (drive a Prince and you are a king) was adopted as the advertising slogan. Production ceased in 1973.

The Wankelspider of 1964 was the first series production car to be powered by a Wankel rotary engine. The KKM 502 single-rotor engine had a single spark plug, a 996cc displacement size, 8.5 compression and was initially rated at 50 bhp at 5,500 RPM. Later models produced 54 horsepower at 6,000 RPM. After the 'teething troubles' were resolved, the engine became renowned for its smooth operation, decent power output, and compact dimensions.

The four-door NSU Ro 80 was introduced in 1967 with a 115-horsepower version of the 2-rotor engine. It had disc brakes, an independent suspension system, front-wheel drive by Fichtel & Sachs, Saxomatic three-speed transmission, and a body design with a low coefficient drag rating. It was awarded the 'Car of the Year' in 1968, and nearly 37,400 units were manufactured during its decade-long production lifespan.

The Demise
The rotary engine development was very costly for the small company, and problems with the apex seals were detrimental to the company's and the engine's reputation. In 1969, NSU was taken over by Volkswagenwerk AG and was merged with Auto Union, the owners of the Audi brand, which Volkswagen had acquired five years earlier. The new company was dubbed Audi NSU Auto Union AG, and all vehicles that emerged under this umbrella wore Audi badges.

Production of the Prinz 4, 1000, and 12000 were phased out in 1973. The Ro 80 was the final car to remain in production carrying the NSU badge. After the last Ro 80 was sold in April 1977, the use of the NSU brand name ceased.

The NSU Prinz 1000
The NSU Prinz 1000 was produced from 1963 to 1967, with the 'Prinz' part of the name being dropped in January 1967, becoming simply the NSU 1000. The 996cc air-cooled overhead camshaft inline four-cylinder engine produced approximately 40 PS and was paired with a four-speed manual all-synchromesh transmission. It had two-door saloon bodywork with an 88.6-inch wheelbase, an overall length of 148 inches, stood 53.7 inches tall, and 58.7 inches wide. Styling features included large oval headlights, while the sportier TT versions received twin round headlights mounted within the same frame. The engine powering the 1000 TT produced 55 PS DIN, had hemispherical combustion chambers, an aluminum crossflow cylinder head, and its crankshaft rode in five main bearings. A total of 14,292 examples of the 1000 TT were built between 1965 and 1967, when it was replaced by the larger engined TT (a 1.2-liter unit with production continuing through July 1972 with 49,327 examples built.)

The Prinz 1000 had a fully independent suspension with a front anti-roll bar and rack-and-pinion steering.

by Daniel Vaughan | Jun 2023