18 Facts About NSU Motorenwerke

NSU Motorenwerke AG, or NSU, was a German manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles and pedal cycles, founded in 1873.

The name NSU Motorenwerke originated as an abbreviation of "Neckarsulm", the city where NSU Motorenwerke was located.

NSU Motorenwerke originated as the "Mechanische Werkstatte zur Herstellung von Strickmaschinen", a knitting machine manufacturer established in 1873 by Christian Schmidt, a technically astute entrepreneur, in the town of Riedlingen on the Danube.

In 1932, under pressure from their bank, NSU Motorenwerke recognised the failure of their attempt to break into volume automobile production, and their recently built car factory in Heilbronn was sold to Fiat, who used the plant to assemble Fiat models for the German market.

Albert Roder, the chief engineer behind the success story, made it possible that in 1955, NSU Motorenwerke became the biggest motorcycle producer in the world.

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In 1964, NSU Motorenwerke offered the world's first Wankel engined car: the Wankelspider.

Also in 1964, NSU Motorenwerke partnered with Citroen to develop the Wankel engine via the Comotor subsidiary, which resulted in the abortive 1973 Citroen GS Birotor production car.

Virtually all the world's major motor manufacturers purchased licenses from NSU Motorenwerke to develop and produce the rotary-piston engine, with the notable exception of BMW.

The management of the new combine was initially based at the Neckarsulm plant, however when the small rear-engined NSU Motorenwerke models were phased out in 1973, the Ro 80 was the last car still in production carrying the NSU Motorenwerke badge.

NSU Motorenwerke is primarily remembered today as the first licensee and one of only four automobile companies to produce cars for sale with rotary-piston "Wankel engines".

NSU Motorenwerke invented the principle of the modern Wankel engine with an inner rotor.

NSU Motorenwerke developed their last car in a recognisably conventional layout, - this was the NSU Motorenwerke K70, Volkswagen adopted this as their first water cooled front-engined car the VW K70.

NSU Motorenwerke won the round in 250cc while riding the best lap in the race for his only appearance at the handlebars of a NSU.

NSU Motorenwerke Prinz was built in Yugoslavia, Argentina and Egypt, under licence.

NSU Motorenwerke had several successes in the Isle of Man TT races in the 1950s.

In 1908, an NSU Motorenwerke v-twin took part in the Ormonde-Daytona beach speed record races for cars and motorcycles, ridden by Eugene Gaestral, who returned with an improved machine the following year.

In 1956, NSU Motorenwerke brought a team of six motorcycles of different engine capacities to Bonneville, Utah, to set World Land Speed Records.

NSU Motorenwerke was the principal maker of the Kettenkrad halftracked motorcycle The Sd.