The recent unveiling of the popular-priced (well, $35k anyway) Tesla Model 3 has reminded those of a certain age (old enough to remember attending Jefferson Airplane concerts, for example) of another time when we were expecting the imminent replacement of the reciprocating internal combustion by something better. The reception of the Model 3 can be summarized as a gaggle of glowing reports about its performance, packaging and range, and a whiff of disappointment about its form and detailing. In short, it looks like the Tesla engineers reminded the stylists that no large front air intake was needed, but the stylists got the memo late in the design process and erased the grille at the last minute…
A few critics had apparently been expecting a more fearless, groundbreaking design, something equivalent to the Citroen DS-19 in 1955. Or to today's subject car, the NSU Ro80 from 1967. It appears that the Tesla crew prioritized engineering a flawless drivetrain over inventing a brave new look to house it. This is probably better than producing a mind-blowing exterior shell with under-performing mechanicals. Exactly that happened back in the era of light shows and communes, when the Teutonic engineers at NSU, known mostly for microcars and motorcycles, dreamed up the first mass-produced passenger sedan with a Wankel rotary engine. NSU had pioneered production of the engine for automotive use in their tiny Wankel Spider in 1963, and Japan's then-obscure Mazda had released their Cosmo, a coupe for 2 (compact) passengers, a couple of years later.
A quarter century after the birth of NSU's problem brainchild, one Ro80 loyalist commented that if anyone noticed his car at all, they probably thought it was a late-model Ford Taurus. Indeed, many of the car's features which had startled with their freshness in 1967 had become commonplace by the early 90s. The revolution starts at the front of the car, with compound, covered headlight units matching the contours of the tapered snout. Designer Claus Luthe produced an intuitively aerodynamic form, with wind-tunnel testing revealing a Cd of 0.35; this was tuned down to 0.34 in production versions. By the 1980s, this rounded wedge form with low belt line and tall, glassy cabin had entered the design mainstream, along with the car's front-drive format, 4 wheel disc brakes (inboard at the front, as would be adopted on Audi's 100), and power rack & pinion steering. The encircling belt line crease (seen on earlier NSUs and first on the Corvair) is here shorn of chrome and integrates the door handles into the form, as well as forming a shallow ledge over the tail lights and license plate recess. The new car quickly gathered praise from automotive journalists, winning European Car of the Year for 1968, and thousands of orders from customers. The twin-rotor engine was noted for its smoothness and responsiveness if not for fuel efficiency (15 to 18 mpg). NSU still had a backlog of orders to fill when the first complaints about reliability came in. The apex seals which formed the contact between the rotor tips and the sides of the chambers in which rotors revolved suffered from early failure, and NSU had to replace hundreds and then thousands of them under warranty. After awhile, Ro80 drivers meeting on the road would flash a finger count of engine rebuilds through the windshield. These rebuilds and replacements quickly bankrupted the little company, and VW-Audi took over. Improved apex seals like the graphite-aluminum type used by Mazda greatly increased engine life and lowered oil consumption, and the Ro80 lived on as the sole NSU production model through 1977. By the time the new, improved Ro80s began to acquire a good reputation, the 1973 OPEC oil embargo reduced the demand for fuel-thirsty cars. The Ro80 is now attracting notice from car collectors, and will always stand as a cautionary tale about the risks designers and engineers face when sketching out a bold new future on a blank sheet of paper, or computer screen…
Photo credits:
Top: Tesla Motors
Middle + bottom: Audi-NSU
Modern tech fixed the Ro80 engine, styling never needed refreshing. Still beautiful today.
ReplyDeleteToo bad the engine upgrades came late; it might've lasted as long as the Mazda rotaries (on the road and in the marketplace) otherwise.
ReplyDeleteAgree 100% on the Ro80 styling; it's a landmark.