NSU Motorenwerke was a fascinating company before it was bought by Volkswagen in 1969 and merged with Auto Union to form the Audi brand. Even after the company was absorbed into the Volkswagen conglomerate, certain engineering feats lived on in various models, such as this Volkswagen K70 we featured last year. One of their greatest achievements was being first to market with a rotary engine in their Spider model in 1964. This engine lived on in the impossibly futuristic Ro80 sedan in 1967. While these engines had their teething troubles, these are legendary vehicles in their own right today.
Often glossed over is their smaller Prinz model, which was introduced in 1957 with an air cooled two cylinder engine mounted in the rear. This model paved the way to the NSU 1000, TT and TTS. A popular car on the racing circuit, these were tenacious little beasts that terrorized hill climbs and venues such as the notorious Nürburgring.
Here is a nice example of a 1000 TT for sale in Tenerife, Canary Islands.
1966 NSU 1000 TT for sale
Original racing classic, original engine, original color, original upholstery. We also have the original tires with hubcaps. Very difficult to get. Dashboard tachometer goes up to 8,000 rpm.
My father, while stationed in Europe in the late 1960s, used to participate and organize hillclimbs and rallyes in Southern Germany and Austria. He has told me on several occasions that these NSUs were formidable opponents for their time. I’m a personal fan of how such a diminutive little car can have an aggressive look, especially with that Abarth style rear hood cracked open.
Here’s a good video of some of these cars in action at the TT Cup at the Homburger Bergrennen in 2007.
-Paul
