Real Road Test: NSU Ro80 - Radical Rotary Revolutionary! 

*I could be wrong, i think the NSU Ro80 is a work of Art*

The body styling STILL looks modern...I was saying that in 1980 /1990....Did not disappoint .Great stuff.

I was driven in one of these as a child. I haven't sat in one since. It was like sitting in the set of a futuristic TV show. Even the colours were funky. To a UK child used to Vauxhall Victor FDs, Ford Corsairs, Austin A40s, P5 Rovers and Land Crabs, it was utterly, unimaginably bizarre and wonderful.

I don't care how 'troublesome' they can be- that is on of the best looking cars I've ever seen! And now I want one.

It wasn't just the K70 that VW wanted, NSU were developing a new small car to replace the Prinz, a car with transverse front engine driving through unequal length drive shafts. That car was to become the Audi 50 and then the Polo.

I am no big fan of older cars, but the RO 80 is one of the few exceptions. A masterpiece.

Don't forget cast alloy wheels! And indicators integrated into the headlight - Something that didn't really become mainstream until the nineties!

The styling of the the car, reminds me very much of our wonderful British Jenson interceptor.👍

VW had a semi-auto like that too, a friend of mine drives an early-70s semi-auto Beetle originally bought by his parents. Sachsenring went a little less fancy, the Trabant Hycomat (designed for invalids with only one foot and never sold to the general public) just had a hydraulically operated clutch actuated by a switch in the gear lever but no torque converter. Almost 15 years ago I walked around Vienna one morning and suddenly heard an engine I'd never heard before somewhere behind me. Turned my head as fast as I could and saw a golden(!) NSU Ro 80 disappear round the corner. I think that's the only one I've ever seen.

In this comment, sponsored by Lancaster Insurance, I admit that I’d really love to own an Ro80. Fascinating machine and a great insight!

In the late 70s a colleague had an RO80 he acquired from a company that used a small fleet of them to operate a long distance pre-booked taxi service across the UK. Having spent most of its life at a fairly steady high speed, the engine had stayed in great condition, even though the car had done a high mileage.

Good few years back my son and I were in a scrappy ,there was an Ro80 next to a Morris 1000. I pointed them out my son and told him they were the same age. To say he was gobsmacked would be a massive understatement.

When I was young my dad had two RO80's, one after the other. I can still remember the day he brought it home and I thought what is that! However I grew to love them. I became old enough to drive the second one and I loved getting behind the wheel. They drove like the wind and the brakes were amazing. You felt like you had driven into the future, kind of like the DS although not as much. It still looks modern today and back in those days you felt in another league from most cars. Looking at this video brings back memories and what's incredible is how well it fits in on today's roads.

Every time I see an RO80 I see a direct link with the aerodynamic Audi 100 of 1982, so many styling cues that were very clearly taken directly from this car. It's a shame this car was so far ahead of its time that material technology wasn't really up to what the engineers could dream up. This car really should have been a complete game changer, and in some ways it was...

23:00 precisely why I love old cars! Almost every car was genuinely different and interesting, as opposed to small hybrid SUVs left, right and centre...

Your ability to say "wankle" without laughing deserves a RU-vid play button on it's own

It makes for a nice change to read so many positive comments about the Ro80. The internet is full of haters with no actual experience of the car, but who like to stick the knife in at every opportunity. The reality is that these cars are not unreliable and were in fact recently voted in Germany as one of the most dependable classics to own. There is now 52 years of owner and specialist experience behind the Ro80 and with this knowledge many are covering hundreds of thousands of miles without any need for rebuild. There are also ceramic apex seals available which produce zero wear on the housing surface. I’ve been running Ro80’s for the last 30+ years, and never do I set off on a journey with any doubt in the car. My 69 car has taken us to Italy five times as well as countless other European destinations. The only issue I had was old tyres blowing out on the Autobahn, a mistake I’ve never made since!

I loved the RO80 styling, brilliant.

In my mind the most beautiful and modern saloon car of the era that I lusted after in the way that only the young and impecunious can. Devastated when they disappeared it took me some years more to understand that when we are promised a bright new future we are being lied to. RIP the Wankel engine.

That's a beauty. The colour too! I'm so envious of you driving all these classics. I wish I had the money...I'd buy a whole fleet!

Always loved the styling of the Ro80. A beautiful car.

Superb video. My Grandad had one, said it was the most special car he'd ever had. Broke his heart when he had to get rid.

You really do need a "Triangle of Doom" t-shirt made up :)

We owned one of these back in the 70s. Fabulous. Took a bit of getting used to SEMI automatic. My Dad nearly broke my nose the 1st time he drove it thinking he was going for the clutch pedal but hit the brake! The exhaust could glow red hot, Literally. The instructions said not to park it on grass when ticking over, it could set it on fire! Very high speed and really quite. Frightened myself a couple of times. It wasn't very old when we had the 1973 model I think.

It sounds like, *the future* Honestly it really looks like a car designed 20 years ahead of its time. I really like the body styling. Not sure I would trust that clutch engagement system though... its looks a bit _shifty_ (sorry, couldn't help myself) Cheers,

Early Saabs (96? 99?) had seat belts like that. I did 8 weeks work experience at Rolls Royce in Crewe in the middle of my engineering degree in 1968 or 69. The development engineers had an RO80 and were evaluating it. The gold plated electrical contacts got a tick of approval. In general, they were impressed.

You've finally driven my favourite car ever. Excellent. Must have looked like a space ship compared to the ancient looking cars around at the time.

Blimey!! That's a blast from the past... My Mk1 VW Golf had those exact same seat belt fasteners.

Your video took me right back to the late 70' Mr HubNut when I was driving a Mazda rx4 estate all over British Columbia ,down to the engine roar!What a fantastic little car that was when fuel was 25 cents a litre. Oh those seventies...

Had to honour of spending my apprenticeship at an NSU main dealership in the early 1970s servicing/troubleshooting was an education, Thanks for the review moments

I’ve long been fascinated by the Ro80. Astonishing engineering for its day! Great review Ian 👍🏻

Gorgeous machine... NSU Ro80: Back To The Future!

Strange to think when the RO80 went on sale you could still buy a brand new Austin Cambridge...

Ah, nostalgia! The Ro 80 is the only car I have ever had. 3 examples, '68, '69 and '73. Mainly rescued from scrapyards. I expended the prime years of my life on these machines. (I say "on" rather than "in".) I was quite intrigued by them. I developed my own system to rebuild the engines, although the engine spares were always astonishingly expensive! Contributors to Ro discussions often refer to the problems of apex seals. In my experience, at least as serious were difficulties associated with the starting seals - thin curved strips of IKA alloy spring-loaded into slots in the flat rotor faces to provide start-up compression. If these became worn, or coked-in, then the motor became exceedingly difficult to coax into life. (Believe me, there is nothing QUITE like a Ro that won't start!) Happy Days!

The Ro.80: one of, if not probably *the* most beautiful motor cars of all time. Thinking about the original engine and those Ford V4 replacements: now imagine this car... electric. Wouldn't that be something really rather wonderful?

I was a US Army Military Policeman in Wurzburg Germany from 1978 to 1982 and the very first car I bought was an orange in color NSU RO80. This was a left side driving car with less than 12000 KM on the engine. The car was absolutely flawless and very fast and nice to drive. It took very little time to learn to drive because you had to shift it without a clutch. I only had the car for less than 3 months when I was hit by a speeding drunk driver in the big traffic circle downtown. The impact was hard enough that it drove the front bumper into the drivers side tire and blew it up. I was actually able to sell it to someone looking for a newer engine for his car. It was nice while it lasted.

In Australia they replace the motor with a Mazda and an adapter plate to the torque converter. They are a great car.

Herr Dr. Wankel was an astonishingly gifted engineer. The present-day automotive design engineers are still struggling to catch up with him!

Great road test. Love its design features ie integrated headlamps and roll top windscreen making it look modern 50 yes 50 years later!

I loved that as a teen in the 80's. Something very special appealed to me about it....it still does. God it's nice.

it`s dark, miserable and it`s raining. I`m sitting here with a nice cup of tea and a delicious flapjack so what could be better than watching a review of a fantastic Ro80?

What a beautiful looking car.

My alfasud had seat belts like that - loved them. I recall a contemporary review commented on the price by saving it was pitched against the likes of the XJ6.... and also said that the oil consumption was very high to the point that the car did not require an oil change as such - just keep topping it up !

Fabulous video! great to see Mr. HubNut enthuse so about a car and an era. Reminded me of the days of Renault 6, Fiat 124, Simca rear engine and Opel 1900 Rekord.

Love the looks of these, very much ahead of their time with a properly coherent design which took the best part of 20 years for everyone else to catch up with.

That seat belt buckle design is the work of the gods, totally blown away with that incredible ingenuity

The idea is to not rev the engine...proceeds to rev the engine lol.

I am old enough to remember when this car first came out (1967), and the sensation that it stirred in the automotive world. As a result, despite the fact that it was never sold in the U.S., I did know about it. At the time I thought it looked both beautiful and futuristic. In fact, I still think it resembles some of the cars that Audi made a dozen or so years later. Considering the fact that Volkswagen bought out NSU, and that Audi was also a VW subsidiary, perhaps that was not a coincidence. Of course, the big story with the RO-80 was it's revolutionary Wankel engine, which NSU introduced. While the company's preceding "Sport Prinz" two-seat roadster had a single-rotor Wankel, the RO-80 had a larger and more powerful two-rotor version. It was said to be extremely powerful for it's size, and as smooth as a turbine. Speculation was rife about how long it would be before the rest of the auto industry caught up with NSU and began building Wankel-engined cars. Mazda was known to be working on one, and supposedly GM was interested as well. Unfortunately, the elephant in the room soon made it's appearance. This car was released before the problem of wear on the apex seals of the rotors had been completely sorted out. It was alleged that they would wear out after as little as 10,000 miles, requiring a complete engine rebuild. That spelled doom not only for the RO-80, but NSU asa well. The early Mazda rotary-engined cars, which began to appear in the U.S. during the early 1970s, exhibited the same lack of reliability. However, unlike NSU, Mazda was able to persist long enough to finally develop the Wankel to the point where their RX-7 sports coupe became a reasonably reliable car, but that did not happen until the early 1980s.

I remember when these came out they were so futuristic and desirable but out of my reach. Nice to see the road test and as you say quite ahead of its time.

An NSU Ro80 in exactly the same shade of blue featured as the regular transport of Nyree Dawn Porter in the second season of 1970s crime series The Protectors. That is a great series for lovers of unusual 70s cars.

If my memory serves me correctly the NSU Ro80 has early alloy wheels as well. A truly modern car in so many respects.

The car I prayed my dad would buy. Yeah, right. . . He jumped at the chance to be mediocre and got a Hilman Hunter 1500 DL. Oh joy! I am truly jealous of you Ian. Thanks so much for a trip down memory lane.

Thanks for a great test - always liked these since I was a kid. I remember reading all the running reports in Motor and Autocar, with all their trials and tribulations. You've made me want one more than ever!!!!!!!!

Integrated composite headlamps! This wouldn't have been allowed in U.S. tell 1984.. Looks so nice! Such a nice modern flair. Love the sloping front styling. The Audi 80 next to it in the video looks like from a previous decade yet only a year apart.

I love this car, it's high on my wishlist of cars I want to own at some point. Maybe even at No. 1. I think it's hard to judge a car like this, when you're in it you don't feel like you're in a 60's car.. more like an 80's car. When this came to market most of the UK was still driving around in Morris Minors.

My eyes nearly popped out of my head when I saw one of these as a kid and was engrossed when my uncle Frank explained to me the workings of the wankel rotary engine , fantastic video Ian.

Nice video Ian, these NSUs have always fascinated me thanks! I remember having a Citroën CX 2400 with a semi automatic gearbox back in the 80s, very similar.

grew up with one of these in the 1970's. Every time dad put petrol in it he topped up the oil too.....he always loved the way it drove though..

Fantastic car. I drove a Citroën CX with a similar gearbox once. There are many design cues that others followed a decade later.

1967! I'm 52, that's what happens when you're from 1967. And they made this just before I was born, this car is so immensely amazing!! No other words for it...

NSU Ro80 .... a nominal 1 litre...... the power of a 2 litre...... the fuel consumption of a 3 litre..... the running costs of a 5 litre.... the oil consumption of a God knows what.... this car cost much more than a XJ6.

I remember one of these from my childhood, my dad had just purchased a 1971 Mk 4 Zodiac 3 litre (in about '73) and someone down the road bought a late 60s RO80 in bright orange. The Nsu looked like a space ship. However I do recall that for a long time it sat on axle stands in a front garden and once returned to the road it always sounded different. I suspect this was when the Wankel went and a v4 replaced it.

had a friend in New Zealand, his wife bought a Ro 80 without telling him first for $5000 NZD in 1975...he was a bit annoyed at the time

An astonishing machine. At least 20 years ahead of its time.

Makes the Audi look dowdy. (which, quite by accident, rhymes!)

What an interesting video, thanks. The engine noise is lovely. Styling was way ahead of its time, and still looks attractive today.

Styling wise you can see the influences it had on the Jaguar XJ, Morris Marina and a Mercedes W123.

Had a lift in one in 1970 on the A45, hitchhiking to Harwich. The faster it went the quieter it got. The driver said he was on the third engine already. Most finished up with conventional engines fitted, I think. A great video HN.

I always thought the Audi 80/90 from the late 80's has a similar shape. You now need to find a K70, I've never driven one but knew a few people who had them back in the day and despite the plain looks, they all raved about them, same as the 505gti Peugeot, underrated.

When RO-80's were new, I worked in a large depot across the road from an ordinary BP service station. And 3 doors down a recently opened car dealer - who imported three NSU RO-980's. Sold as a luxury car priced to compete against the well established and very durable and reliable Mercedes 230. It took them 3 months to sell all three RO-80's. They needed special oil which the BP service station agreed to stock. The oild is continuously consumed. One RO-80 was sold to a "little old lady" who drove it home - in Albany, 600 km away. When she got there, the engine was a write-off. Another was sold to some local chap who bought his oil from the BP service station. All good for about three months, and then he started to make regular trips to a town 150 km away. He had to buy oil at that town - but of course they didn't have the special RO-80 oil, and sold him standard piston engine oil. With months the engine was ruined. The chap who owned the BP service station told me he never found out what happened to the third vehicle. But as he was the only person in the State to stock the correct oil, it can't have been good. If a dealer sold junk like the NSU today, he would be pursued under consumer protection law, and could well end up in jail.

An amazing car for it's time. To think we were still making Morris minors at the same time this was being made.

Great review of a car that has interested me since I was at school and read the Autocar roadtest in 1967/68. You, and in none of the many comments that I have managed to read has it been mentioned that this was an aerodynamic design : after all this time I can still remember that the roadtesters observed that at speeds over 80mph in rain it was not necessary to use the wipers.... I also recall that the launch advertising claimed that the car was so advanced that "it will be 17 years before other manufacturers catch up...."

Fascinating car, rather like a German Citroen DS. I remember seeing three of these gathering dust at the back of a garage in Harare, one had been fitted with a Ford V6 engine.

I had a Ro80 for four years. Previous owner had installed a Mazda 13B Wankel in it. Superb, with plenty of room for driver and passengers to spread themselves - the interior floor is almost completely flat, no transmission tunnel and no space-eating central console. Always regret having to sell it. Nothing to be afraid of - just observe oil and filter changes regularly (every 4000 miles or so) and always use mineral oil. One owner went way past 100,000 miles on the same NSU engine simply by doing that. Sadly there are only about 35 or so on British roads this year, so the chances of actually buying one are tiny now, as owners tend to hang onto them. I remember that the VW-owned example driven by HubNut in the video was formerly owned by a Ro80 Club GB member in the 1990s - sadly the Club itself is defunct; it didn't seem to last very long after the Club Chairman George Cordingley died. I had a VW K70 too when I was a student - the 1605cc 90hp "L". Out of the total production (about 211,127 or so), only 800 were ever built in right-hand-drive and when I had mine (1989-92), there were only about 12 working ones in Britain. Struggled to sell during the four years it was available. Try to find one now! Modest performance unless you went for the 1807cc "LS", and aerodynamics of a brick. Not as refined as the Ro80 though some of the chassis technology was shared, including inboard brake discs at the front. Lots of passenger room at the back, though. Very heavy unassisted steering, 4-speed manual and in RHD cars, no space to rest your foot beside the clutch pedal. The change into 2nd gear always crunched when cold. Virtually no part of the K70 was shared with any other contemporary VW model, except maybe the oil filter.

I remember being absolutely wowed by the Ro80 when it won Car Magazine's "car of the year" award in 1968 (I still have my edition of the magazine). It looked like the future had arrived and I wanted one when I grew up. Sadly that has never happened. Fantastic review as always and interesting to see how that gearbox works in practice.

What an innovative car. Everything, including the styling, is quite revolutionary.

The unidentified knob on the dash looks like the manual choke symbol from my old Opel. It might explain the Mazda 323F-like rev situation. The Ro80 had a drag coefficient of 0.29, which would be competitive today. The choice of gearbox is curious, as rotary enthusiasts will describe any rotary as having "x horsepower and four torques." The box shares its concept with the subsequent Volkswagen Automatic Stick Shift, which lacked a park position, and the lowest gear was a granny gear for enhanced engine braking. By the early eighties, Ford V-4 and V-6 engines were replaced with the significantly more reliable Mazda rotaries, which were by then proving durable over 100,000 miles. Cheers!

The Ro80 is the "Big Lebowski" of cars. Always wanted to see one in detail. Thanks HubNut

Gorgeous looking car...more 1980s than late 60s.

Can just imagine hearing "Autobahn" by Kraftwerk in the background. What an amazing car, despite the little glitches.

Its such a beautiful car, have loved it since i was a little boy many moons ago

Such a good looking car. Would almost consider buying one if they were on sale today. Must have been utterly radical in its day!

This one has been at the top of my 'must drive once' list for at least a decade. I am jealous but also really happy this video is online. You can even see the waywardness of the suspension in the video, haha. I think I'd absolutely adore it. As for semi-automatic; It makes some sense to me. Automatics never do what I want, manuals are a bit more work (even though I don't mind). I guess these things are perfect for people who have a mind of their own, but not the mechanical sympathy to handle three pedals :D.

What a masterpiece. Such a futuristic design for 1967! I always loved the steering wheel for some reason and, if it wasn't for the left hand drive wiper coverage, the whole package would be almost perfect. Another treat for those who will never drive one. Thank you.

My dad considered buying one of these, but thought it best to see if the car had any teething problems prior to making a decision. In the light of the problems which emerged with the Wankel engine, he decided against it, which showed a degree of sagacity on his part. He bought a Volvo 1800 sport instead, and I recall being a passenger as he drove down the A3 at 120 MPH in it... Later he owned an NSU Prinz, which I drove back with him from the West country - within the speed limit, on that occasion - the year 1972, if my memory serves. I remember enjoying the Prinz with it's slightly quirky look and semi-automatic transmission. Then in the late 1970s he bought a Mazda RX-3 (4-door saloon with a rotary Wankel engine), which I also drove, along with my brother, and that too was a very nice car, albeit rather thirsty on fuel - but it was quite rapid, I seem to remember. I'm sorry that dad didn't get an RO80... After the Citroen DS, I think it the best-looking car ever made. I've never been in an Ro80 but I suspect the body roll is somewhat less than the Citroen Ami 8 Break I used to own in the 1980's; that too was great fun to drive, although not quite so rapid... Thanks for this road test/appraisal, who knows maybe I'll get to drive an Ro80 myself some day!

"Vorsprung durch Technik" (progress through technology) is originally a Audi-NSU Auto Union slogan from 1971, later exclusivly used for Audi, which perfectly fits to this amazing car.

Thats the first time Ive ever seen up close or been for a drive in a Wankel engined car. Love that dash and the style of the clocks, love the sound of the engine too. And the body shape is a definite winner with me too. I agree with you, its a wonderful looking car. I want!! :-)

The Company NSU is actually from a town no 20 miles away from where I live. Went to the museum a few times, very interesting story they have. They also were a big player in the bicycle and mototrbike market!

Wow, 16 minutes and 44 seconds before the V4 got mentioned!

I love the sound made by Wankel engine! When you accelerate, it seems to start flying!

Great video, Mr Seabrook..! I only ever read about this as a kid, and always wondered how the semi-auto gearbox worked. Now I know, thank you sir.. Next one on my list; why don’t you take a drive around in a semi-auto Citroen DS with the awesome finger-tip column change... *hint hint, nudge nudge*

If I remember correctly, they were quite expensive at the time. We had an NSU 1200 TT in bright orange. 1970. Tuned 1200 cc engine in the smaller 1000 bodyshell. A real pocket rocket. Its high revving ohc engine streets ahead of what was around at the time.

4:19 The rear end has a Princess Wedge look to it albeit with a 3 box boot.

this brings back memories, i started my apprenticeship in a garage that specialised in the RO80 back in the 80's you were lucky to get 5000 miles out of the engine, owners use to hold the fingers up as you past another owner to indicate how many engines they'd had ! when they ran, they were lovely and smooth, we did lots of transplants with the AUDI/vw 1600 or the straight 5 cylinder!

This is beautiful. Looks like a BMW 1500 mated with an OPEL Rekord.

Spot on with the Motor. They are perfect as long as you look after them and stick to a set of rules

It's 1967... "What shall I order for August? Morris Oxford, or NSU Ro80? Hmm...."

I was lucky enough to work and drive an NSU Ro80 about 16 years ago. An absolutely magnificent piece of engineering and is my all time favorite automobile. It was such a shame it met a sad demise, but was a crazy concept that you could actually buy in the 1960’s. It never ever looks out of date. Well done Hubnut for a super video. It brings back some great memories!

I always loved the NSU and regretted their merge with VW (Very Wicked). I wonder how the VW engineers would cheat if forced to get the NSU to comply with emission standards? It was a long time ago when Wankel was touted as the brightest thing in the future for internal combustion engines. They're hopelessly inefficient, sadly. The beautiful NSU has risen to the highest aesthetic level, having been awarded the "it's a bit odd looking" moniker. Brilliant!

I worked on the RO80 back in the day we were constantly weary of the ht cables the ignition voltage is a lot higher than on normal engines plus the exhaust manifold temperature was extremely hot ( glowing red hot) after a very short period, great car fondly remember.