It was as courageous deciscion to launch a automobile just like the Ro 80. In some ways it was revolutionary. The brand new engine , the clutchelss gearbox operation, with and electrially managed clutch partaking while you touched the gear lever.

It was so good that one 12 months after the launch worldwide commerce journalists voted the NSU Ro “Automobile of the 12 months” which made the NSU Ro 80 the primary automobile to take action.

Sadly this didn’t flip into industrial success. The wankel roatary engine had just a few points, notably the place the ideas would put on out if there was an excessive amount of uncombusted gas nonetheless within the bores. The brand new kind of engine required a brand new model of driving, and possession. These used to their standard piston powered automobiles actually wanted to function the Ro 80 in another way. 

This compounded with lower than superb gas economic system and the oil disaster of 1973, drove up riunning prices and other people switched to smaller extra economical automobiles.

The tip of the rotary piston engine got here and took the Ro 80 with it. NSU produced 37,374 of them on the Neckarsulm plant from 1967 to 1977. By the top, the Audi 100 was taking over lots of the manufacturing capability.