The NSU Ro 80 of 1967 was not only the first sedan in the world to be powered by a rotary engine but so technically advanced in many other ways it deserved a better fate than being the last car to carry the pioneering German firm’s badge.
The Ro 80 was one result of a friendly rotary engine rivalry begun in the early 1960s and still being played out in the technology development centres of Mazda and Audi (of which NSU later became a part). And the paths these companies decide to follow will likely determine the still uncertain automotive future of the only non-reciprocating internal combustion power plant to be used in a volume production vehicle.
In the 1960s, many thought the rotary, more properly known as the Wankel after its German inventor, was poised to create the biggest engine design revolution in the industry’s history.
A lengthy list of major auto manufacturers – from Porsche to General Motors and even American Motors – had signed licensing agreements with NSU, for whom Felix Wankel had been developing his engine since the early 1950s. Among them was Mazda, which inked a development agreement with NSU in 1961.
NSU was the first to bring a Wankel-powered car to market, the tiny single-rotor-engined Spyder of 1964, which became the world’s first rotary motored production car. Only 2,375 were built before production was stopped in 1967, the year NSU unveiled its Ro 80. Mazda embarked on its rotary adventure that year with its Cosmo sports car.
The flawed Ro 80 would prove to be NSU’s undoing and the rotary engine almost caused Mazda’s demise, too. In the early 1970s, the Japanese auto maker had to switch to conventional engines for most of its products to survive. Not surprisingly, all this scared off the other car companies looking at rotary motors.
Mazda persevered, however, winning Le Mans with a rotary racer in 1991, and it continued to offer a rotary-powered production car through the years. Until now anyway, as it recently pulled the plug wires off its RX-8 sports car, leaving itself rotary engine-less for the first time in 45 years. The company is focusing resources on its new SkyActiv powertrain technologies and isn’t saying where this leaves the rotary in its future plans.
Meanwhile, Audi recently rooted around in its engineering archives and found inspiration for a small rotary engine to serve as the “range extender” for its A1 e-Tron electric car, 20 of which are currently buzzing around the streets of Munich as part of an extended test program. And the rumour mill recently had the two companies discussing plans to share rotary technology resources once again.
So maybe the rotary engine, which has proven its versatility by powering water craft, chainsaws, full-size and model aircraft and motorcycles – and has been built big with twin rotors and 1,100 hp and is currently the focus of research efforts to micro-size it – may still find a niche in the car business. Although, despite its compact size and light weight, it has always proven problematic for car makers because of its thirst and emissions and, in the early days of NSU’s Ro 80, unreliability.
NSU began making motorcycles in 1901 and then cars, but sold its automotive operation to Fiat in the early 1930s. After the Second World War, it began building bikes again, but management steered it back towards cars. The first was the tiny Prinz of 1958, but by the early 1960s the mini-car market was fading and NSU launched ambitious plans for a larger rotary-engined car – that soon became larger still.
In fact, what emerged from the design process was an ultra-modern design, certainly one of the best looking Euro-sedans of the 1960s, which would rival Mercedes and BMW models in size and premium price.
