More than 40 years after launching the revolutionary Ro80 saloon, NSU, the company behind this fragile beauty, is little more than a footnote in car making history, having disappeared almost unnoticed in the early Eighties.
NSU was first humbled by its new car's mechanical failings in the late Sixties and then ruined by the punitive warranties it was forced to offer on the Ro80 in a vain attempt to stop its flagship product sinking the whole organisation. Their efforts came to nought, however, as the NSU name was later bought for a song by Volkswagen before being left to fade away quietly in a corner of the expanding Audi empire.
The outlook had looked considerably brighter when the car first came to the public's attention in 1967. In fact, the Ro80 looked so good, many predicted it embodied the future of car manufacturing.
The motoring press and public were soon trapped in the NSU's striking headlights, surrendering as easily to its charms as Benjamin Braddock had to Mrs Robinson in The Graduate, the film that was wowing the public at the box office in that same year. The Ro80 subsequently swept to victory in the European Car of the Year competition (voted for by that continent's motoring press) at the close of 1967, raising expectations that this critical acclaim would be followed by a swollen order book.
Plenty of the favourable attention heaped on the Ro80 focused on its incredibly futuristic shape, which even now looks remarkably fresh. Indeed, contemporary car designers will often cite NSU's influence on their own work.
Its slippery form boasted a drag coefficient of close to 0.35, a figure so far ahead of its rivals that it is, even now, on an aerodynamic par with the Shelby SuperCars Ultimate Aero, the so-called current fastest production car in the world. The Ro80 also featured a host of other ground-breaking features including a three-speed semi-automatic transmission, fade-free disc brakes and power-assisted steering.
But it was the Ro80's powerplant that caused the biggest stir. It used an early 990cc Wankel rotary engine and, while its performance figures looked impressive on paper - including a claimed top speed of 190kph - it was a decidedly unreliable unit.
Owners reported the Ro80 gulped oil at an alarming rate, while others told of excessive wear to the tips of the engine's rotary blades, which meant the car would often grind to a halt, engulfed in plumes of blue smoke.
Struggling to shore up shaky consumer confidence, NSU offered as then unheard of extended warranties on the Ro80, but were subsequently crippled by the ensuing repair bills as one by one the rotary engines stopped turning, sometimes with as little as 20,000 kilometres on the clock. Like the rust scandal that was to envelop Lancia a few years later, the consequential damage to NSU's reputation proved irretrievable.
In a decade of production, NSU managed to flog fewer than 40,000 examples of the Ro80, making it more of a bit-part player than a mass-market champion. By the time it was withdrawn in 1977, the marque sat uncomfortably as part of the catchily named Audi-NSU Auto Union AG before the brand disappeared altogether five years later and this awkward union became known simply as Audi.
Loved by many, bought by few, someone should have warned NSU that revolutionary roads are rarely smooth.
nmarch@thenational.ae
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Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
ACL Elite (West) - fixtures
Monday, Sept 30
Al Sadd v Esteghlal (8pm)
Persepolis v Pakhtakor (8pm)
Al Wasl v Al Ahli (8pm)
Al Nassr v Al Rayyan (10pm)
Tuesday, Oct 1
Al Hilal v Al Shorta (10pm)
Al Gharafa v Al Ain (10pm)
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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Soldier F
“I was in complete disgust at the fact that only one person was to be charged for Bloody Sunday.
“Somebody later said to me, 'you just watch - they'll drop the charge against him'. And sure enough, the charges against Soldier F would go on to be dropped.
“It's pretty hard to think that 50 years on, the State is still covering up for what happened on Bloody Sunday.”
Jimmy Duddy, nephew of John Johnson
Abu%20Dhabi%E2%80%99s%20Racecard
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Nag%20Ashwin%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPrabhas%2C%20Saswata%20Chatterjee%2C%20Deepika%20Padukone%2C%20Amitabh%20Bachchan%2C%20Shobhana%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%E2%98%85%E2%98%85%E2%98%85%E2%98%85%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
TOP 5 DRIVERS 2019
1 Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 10 wins 387 points
2 Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, 4 wins, 314 points
3 Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 3 wins, 260 points
4 Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, 2 wins, 249 points
5 Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1 win, 230 points
