RARE 1968 NSU RO 80
Sale price: US $27,500.00 Make an Offer
| Used |
| “Low milage Just turned over 50,000 Kilometers Wankel double rotary engine; New plugs Car has always been garage. Entirely original and unmolested including orignal Blaupunkt radio” |
| Year: | 1968 | VIN : | 3800104676 |
| Mileage: | 32000 | Model: | RO 80 |
| Transmission: | Semi-automatic / no clutch | Interior Color: | Brown |
| Fuel Type: | Gasoline | For Sale By: | Private Seller |
| Exterior Color: | Blue | Make: | NSU |
| Vehicle Title: | Clean | Drive Type: | FWD |
| Body Type: | Sedan | Number of Cylinders: | Wankel Rotary engine |
Pasadena, California, United States
Vehicle description
NSU Ro 80 is a four-door, front-engine executive sedan manufactured and marketed by the West German firm NSU from 1967 until 1977. Noted for innovative, aerodynamic styling by Claus Luthe and a technologically advanced powertrain, the Ro 80 featured a 84 kW (113 bhp), 995 cc twin-rotor Wankel engine driving the front wheels through a semi-automatic transmission with an innovative vacuum operated clutch system. Engine dimensions ( Comotor units): length 16.22 in. (412 mm); width 13.5 in. (340 mm), height 13.5 in. (340 mm), weight 223 pounds (101 kg). Power 107 hp (80 kW) at 6,500 rpm; torque 137 N⋅m (101 lbf⋅ft) at 3,000 rpm (all figures approximate).
The Ro 80 was voted Car of the Year for 1968 and 37,398 units were manufactured over a ten-year production run, all in a single generation. https:/ www.caroftheyear.org/winners/1968/index.php
Other technological features of the Ro 80, aside from the powertrain, were the four wheel ATE Dunlop disc brakes , which were generally only featured on expensive sports or luxury saloon cars. The front brakes were mounted inboard, reducing the unsprung weight . The suspension was independent on all four wheels, with MacPherson struts at the front and semi-trailing arm suspension at the rear, both of which are space-saving designs commonly used today. Power assisted ZF rack and pinion steering was used, again foreshadowing more recent designs. The car featured an automatic clutch which was commonly described as a three-speed semi-automatic gearbox: there was no clutch pedal, but instead, touching the gear lever knob operated an internal electric switch that operated a vacuum system which disengaged the clutch. The gear lever itself then could be moved through a standard "H pattern" gate.
The styling, by Claus Luthe who was head of design at NSU and later BMW , was considered very modern at the time; the Ro 80 has been part of many gallery exhibits of modern industrial design. The large glass area foreshadowed 1970s designs such as Citroën "s. The shape was also slippery, with a drag coefficient of 0.355 (very low for the era). This allowed for a top speed of 112 mph (180 km/h) . Indeed, comparisons have been drawn between the design of the Ro 80 and the aerodynamic 1982 Audi 100 built in the same factory some 15 years later.
Series production began in October 1967 and the last examples came off the production line in April 1977. During 1968, the first full year of production, 5,986 cars were produced , increasing to 7,811 in 1969 and falling slightly to 7,200 in 1970. After this output declined, to about 3,000 - 4,000 per year for the next three years. The relatively high fuel consumption of the rotary engine worked against the car after the dramatic fuel price rises accompanying the oil crisis of 1973 , and between 1974 and 1976 annual production came in well below 2,000 units. In total 37,398 Ro80s were produced during the ten-year production run. [4] Ultimately, it was the contrasting success of the similarly-sized Audi 100 that sealed both the fate of the Ro 80, and the NSU brand as a whole within the Auto Union-NSU combine, as parent company Volkswagen began nurturing Audi as its performance-luxury brand in the late 1970s. After the discontinuation of the Ro 80 in 1977, the Neckarsulm plant was switched over entirely to producing Audi"s C- and D- platform vehicles (the 100/200, and later the Audi A6 and A8 ), and the NSU brand disappeared from the public eye.
It is estimated that about 800+/- RO 80 are still in existence, this could be one of the best one in the US, imported from France in 2017 it comes with a clear California title.
Should you have any questions please do not hesitate. Sold as is.
Thank you for viewing.
The Ro 80 was voted Car of the Year for 1968 and 37,398 units were manufactured over a ten-year production run, all in a single generation. https:/ www.caroftheyear.org/winners/1968/index.php
Other technological features of the Ro 80, aside from the powertrain, were the four wheel ATE Dunlop disc brakes , which were generally only featured on expensive sports or luxury saloon cars. The front brakes were mounted inboard, reducing the unsprung weight . The suspension was independent on all four wheels, with MacPherson struts at the front and semi-trailing arm suspension at the rear, both of which are space-saving designs commonly used today. Power assisted ZF rack and pinion steering was used, again foreshadowing more recent designs. The car featured an automatic clutch which was commonly described as a three-speed semi-automatic gearbox: there was no clutch pedal, but instead, touching the gear lever knob operated an internal electric switch that operated a vacuum system which disengaged the clutch. The gear lever itself then could be moved through a standard "H pattern" gate.
The styling, by Claus Luthe who was head of design at NSU and later BMW , was considered very modern at the time; the Ro 80 has been part of many gallery exhibits of modern industrial design. The large glass area foreshadowed 1970s designs such as Citroën "s. The shape was also slippery, with a drag coefficient of 0.355 (very low for the era). This allowed for a top speed of 112 mph (180 km/h) . Indeed, comparisons have been drawn between the design of the Ro 80 and the aerodynamic 1982 Audi 100 built in the same factory some 15 years later.
Series production began in October 1967 and the last examples came off the production line in April 1977. During 1968, the first full year of production, 5,986 cars were produced , increasing to 7,811 in 1969 and falling slightly to 7,200 in 1970. After this output declined, to about 3,000 - 4,000 per year for the next three years. The relatively high fuel consumption of the rotary engine worked against the car after the dramatic fuel price rises accompanying the oil crisis of 1973 , and between 1974 and 1976 annual production came in well below 2,000 units. In total 37,398 Ro80s were produced during the ten-year production run. [4] Ultimately, it was the contrasting success of the similarly-sized Audi 100 that sealed both the fate of the Ro 80, and the NSU brand as a whole within the Auto Union-NSU combine, as parent company Volkswagen began nurturing Audi as its performance-luxury brand in the late 1970s. After the discontinuation of the Ro 80 in 1977, the Neckarsulm plant was switched over entirely to producing Audi"s C- and D- platform vehicles (the 100/200, and later the Audi A6 and A8 ), and the NSU brand disappeared from the public eye.
It is estimated that about 800+/- RO 80 are still in existence, this could be one of the best one in the US, imported from France in 2017 it comes with a clear California title.
Should you have any questions please do not hesitate. Sold as is.
Thank you for viewing.