The NSU Ro 80 is a four-door, front-engine executive sedan manufactured and marketed by the West German firm NSU from 1967 until 1977.
Noted for innovative, aerodynamic styling by Claus Luthe and a technologically advanced powertrain, the Ro 80 featured a 84 kW (113 bhp), 995 cc twin-rotor Wankel engine delivering 107hp and driving the front wheels through a semi-automatic transmission with an innovative vacuum-operated clutch system.
The Ro 80 was voted Car of the Year for 1968 and 37,398 units were manufactured over a ten-year production run.
The current owner purchased the vehicle directly from an Italian dealer on 1/02/20 and has kept it dry stored, having only driven it on a handful of occasions since.
He has decided it is time for it to find a new home.
The car comes with paperwork pertaining to its time in Italy (most of its life) and dealer's stamps are on all documents and hand painted several times on the car itself.
The car also comes with the original Italian parking permit showing Time etc. A drivers handbook is present written in both English and Italian and the original service book and Italian owners registration book are also present.
From the multitude of papers that are present it appears the dealer has looked after the car from new.
The interior is very original, used but in great condition for a 51 year old vehicle.
Commensurate with the vehicles low mileage, the blue cloth seats look almost as new and there is minimal wear on the dashboard and gear stick. Everything works as it should, including the sun roof, and the boot is clean and tidy.NSU0040.jpg6.34 MB
The Exterior
The Ro80 is a distinctive design and stands out amongst modern traffic.
The current owner believes that the car has had a respray in the original colour at some stage and this is borne out by the condition of the paintwork. There is no body damage to speak of and the original alloy wheels are in very good shape. Underneath also looks to be very clean.
The car starts stops and drives as expected with no untoward noises knocks or bangs from what is believed to be the original Wankel engine. The semi automatic box changes well with no crunches.
It has not been used a great deal in recent years and the owner feels that it would benefit from being utilised a little more often.
Although the NSU RO80 was made in healthy numbers in the 60s and was even given the accolade of Car of Year, it's an unusual sight on the roads today and its innovative engineering is greatly prized by those in the know.
This is a clean low mileage low owner example with a wealth of supporting paperwork and would make a great addition to any collection. It would also suit a new owner who is able to use it on a more regular basis. If this tickles your fancy, then get your bid in now.
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