(first posted 3/2/2018) With two Weber double barrel carburetors and bored to 1177 cc The NSU 1200TT made 65 hp (DIN). Now we are talking!
Let’s get right into it. Please use a good quality sound system and be reminded that extended exposure to noises that reach a decibel level of 85 can cause permanent damage to the hair cells in the inner ear, leading to hearing loss.
Who cares if it sounds that good! Notice what sense of satisfaction this minor tweak of the air mixture screws imbued to the bib-wearing virtuoso practicing in his studio.
But this is not how the TT/TTS – this refers to NSU’s racing successes with motorcycles in the 125 and 250 cc classes at the Tourist Trophy – story started. It began in 1965 by stuffing the engine of the Typ 77 into the Prinz 1000 body. In two years 14,292 Prinz 1000 TT (Typ 67b) were produced. The 1100 cc engine made 55 hp (DIN). The TT received double headlights in the oval buckets and a black band of trim with the NSU logo and NSU Prinz 1000 script. The rear end was adorned with a TT call out badge.
1967-1972 NSU TT 1200
TT instruments. Photo by eagle1effl on flicker.
The instrument panel received two large round dials for speedometer and tachometer.
In the TT 1200 the engine was bored out to 1177 cc and made 65 hp (DIN). Let’s see what this meant: VW 1200 took 37 seconds from start to 100 km/h, a FIAT 850 Sport did this in 23 seconds and the TT 1200 in 13.5 sec. Top speed was 153 km/h. The Prinz name was dropped and the model was called 1200 TT (Typ 67c). The front had a chrome and black band with the TT call out. From 1967 to 1972 49,327 units were made.
Willi Bergmeister was 1974 ‘Deutscher Bergmeister’ (German hill climb champion) with his TT.
Then they added the TTS (Typ 67f): it made 70 hp (DIN) with two Solex double barrel carburetors. It was easily recognized in rearview mirrors by the factory oil cooler below the front bumper. That “grocery getter” will scramble your eggs on your way home.
It may have fried them too because the oil lines had the nasty habit of breaking and setting the car on fire. Between 1967 and 1971 a total of 2,402 Prinz 1000 TTS and 1000 TTS were made. Supposedly roughly 4,000 of them have survived. True, documented survivors are exceedingly rare.
Anton Konrad published an article: NSU TTS: Rallye- und Rennwagen vom Fliessband. (Rallye and racecar off the assembly line) March, 22, 1967 in Hobby, Das Magazin für Technik, vol. 6/67:
“The TTS achieves 70 hp at 6150 rpm through these modifications: high compression pistons (10.5:1), larger valves, special camshaft, 2 horizontal Solex carburetors with special intake manifold…..and 85 hp with different carburetors (still to be determined) with short velocity stacks, open racing exhaust, and an oil cooler below the number plate standard….in no time the needle goes to 7000 rpm without any notion of effort…..the suspension is modified to match the power: harder dampers and negative camber at the front wheels do magic for the handling of this rear engine car: no rear whip but clear understeer. It takes some getting used to but it allows for cornering at extremely high speeds…..The TTS is a sporting car balanced in power and suspension, available for DM 7,500.00 in rallye ready trim. Initially a series of 1,000 units will be built for the purpose of homologation in the group 2 for touring cars. Thus NSU provides a promising vehicle and additionally supports young drivers with respectable prize premiums. NSU must be recognized as the only German manufacturer to support privateers to such extend.”
Indeed, the low center of gravity, the direct steering and the near ideal weight distribution gave this machine handling characteristics that only much more expensive cars could meet or beat. I.e. the Porsche 912 offered 90 hp. a 5 speed transmission, a top speed of 192 km/h and set you back DM 16,250.00. The BMW 1600-2 made 85 hp and could be yours for DM 8,650.00. No mention if they were ‘rallye ready’. And the TTS beat the Porsche 912 in a 0 to 80 km/h sprint.
Lifting the inside front wheel in corners was customary. And sometimes they lifted two. Witness this tire test:
A quick flick with the steering wheel prevented a rollover. This scene closely matches what I saw at a hill climb race in 1974 or so. In a split second, the driver’s face turned red as a tomato. As you know the car’s great vision helps not only looking out of the car but also into it.
How can one sense the exhilaration that racers experienced back in 1974 or there about? How about some blurry, shaky, flickering film footage in faded colors by “Ligne Rouge 8500” and analogically recorded soundtrack?
If the sound of this engine does not affect your heart rate I suspect you have ice running through your veins. Here is the full 28 minute version: link.
NSU TT ad listing rallye successes.
You have probably noticed that just about every TT and TTS has the lid of the engine compartment propped open. This is supposed to help with cooling the engine bay. Yet testing proved that it has no effect on the engine temperature. It still may be effective in the same way as war paint: it stokes you up and impresses the opponent.
More effective was lowering the steering wheel as much as factory tolerances allowed. Rack and pinion sit inside the upper tube of the front suspension. The hole in the tube provided some room for adjustment. Shimming the steering column mounts below the dash fixed a problem quite well: you could actually see the instruments again after fitting a lower racing seat.
Another cheap modification was adding about 100lbs in the front of the car to mitigate crosswind sensitivity and to improve front end grip under hard acceleration.
The TTS was destined to excel in slaloms and hill climbs as this footage by Berg Fränky at the Hagen Motodrom illustrates:
Let’s go on a hill climb in beautiful Tuscany. Watch Enrico Zucchetti manhandling that steering wheel with his elbows out. Steering is unassisted and he is fighting some fat tires:
The NSU TTS also competes in the 1300 cc class (Group 3). Peter Hellgut put together a comparison of the NSU 1300 Spiess vs. the Ford Escort 1300 GT Zakspeed:
NSU 1300 “Spiess”:
Ouput: 120 hp at 7800 rpm
Limit, short: 8000 rpm
Weight, race ready: 620 kg
weight to power ratio: ca. 5,2 kg/hp
Rim width, front: 5 1/2 “, rear: 6”
Tires (Dunlop) 3,75 x 8.00 x 12”
Built cost: about DM 15.000,- that’s ridiculously low compared to the Escort.
Results: So far fastest car in its class at each start.
Acceleration data:
0 to 200 m: 10,3 sec
0 to 400 m: 15,8 sec – NSU TT 18,6 sec
0 to 600 m: 20,5 sec
0 to 800 m: 24,9 sec
0 to 1000 m: 29,0 sec – NSU TT 35,3 sec
top speed: 184 km/h at 7900 rpm
Ford Escort 1300 GT “Zakspeed”:
Output: 140 hp at. 8000 rpm
Limit, short when shifting: 9200 rpm
Weight, race ready: 770 kg
weight to power ratio: 5,5 kg/hp
Rim width: front 7 “, rear 9 1/4 ”
Tires Dunlop Racing: front 10.00-13, rear 11.50-13
cost: ca. DM 45.000,-
Model year: 1969
Results: class winner at numerous hill climb championship races, overall winner Touring cars at Wasgau hill climb.
Acceleration data:
0 to 200 m: 11,1 sec
0 to 400 m: 17,1 sec – Escort GT (Serie) 18,9 sec
0 to 600 m: 22,3 sec
0 to 800 m: 27,1 sec
0 to 1000 m: 31,8 sec – NSU TT 36,1 sec
Top speed: 177,3 km/h at 8400 U/min
Hellgut reports that the Spiess NSU differs from most other NSU race cars. Spiess does away with the original TT intake manifold which is long and U-shaped and uses short straight tubes. To make this work he cuts a hole into the wall behind the backseat trunk and welds in a box to make room for the velocity stacks. The air enters from the side vent into this box. Double ignition adds about 6 hp. The low cost is mostly achieved because the bones of the car are already so well designed that it takes relatively few new parts. Mostly existing parts are massaged to achieve this performance level.
NSU Brixner Spyder 1300
The NSU Brixner Spyder 1300 was created by chopping a Prinz body almost completely down to the floor pan and fabricating an open body on it. Kurt Brixner’s main business is the production of plastic body parts for Porsche, thus he has the equipment and experience for this process. The engine was built by Siegfried Spiess, today Spiess Motorenbau GmbH. The competitor’s engines may have a few more horses than Spiess’. However his engines are more tractable than theirs. That’s very important since they are bolted to transmissions that have only 4 sets of gears. Watch a Brixner Spyder in action:
1969 Gepard TT
Ten Gephad TT were produced. These gull winged cars had a tubular space frame and a BASF Leguval resin body weighing only 550 kg.
Friedel Münch bought an NSU Prinz, pulled out the engine and sold the rest of the car. He used this engine to create a superbike. This is a picture of a 1971 Münch 1200 TTS Mammut. It was so powerful that no spoked wheel could handle it. Therefore he designed and fabricated his own cast alloy wheel. The Münch Mammut is legendary and I cannot do it justice in this article.
And it all began on the basis the 250 cc motorcycle engine.
It is beautiful to see how people come together over the TT, TTS (and all the many NSU products really). There are many NSU clubs and meets. Her are some links:
NSU Owners Club, United Kingdom
I don’t think the NSU enthusiasm is in any danger of abating. You see, they train them young:
The Schlunz Brothers were late for school. Coming back they had this to say: “PE was good, the rest was shit.” (PE= Physical Education or Sport).
On purpose I left out the clichés (GTI of the 60s/70s, first sports sedan, Porsche for the little guy, etc). None of them comes close to describing the phenomenon the NSU TT, TTS represent. They are not cars. They are raisons d’etre.
Let’s celebrate the TT/TTS story with a little more combustion chamber music:
Pinch me! This must be a dream!
Again, when they spent all that money to stretch the wheelbase anyway they really needed to chuck in a little bit more for either some fresh styling or four doors,
To give you the idea, one US dollar was pegged at 3.97 Deutsche Mark in 1967.
DM 15,000 -> $3.778 ($28,463 adjusted)
DM 45,000 -> $11,254 ($78,356 adjusted)
… the lid of the engine compartment propped open. This is supposed to help with cooling the engine bay. Yet testing proved that it has no effect on the engine temperature. It still may be effective in the same way as war paint: it stokes you up and impresses the opponent.
Or maybe an improvised spoiler to provide a bit of downforce?
That was true for the FIAT Abarth. Propping up the lid improved top speed significantly. I can’t see it working on a TT. The roof’s edge is too sharp.
Absolutely wonderful. If anything, you’ve understated the car a bit. Thank you.
Great article, those inlet manifolds in the first picture , fantastic
What fun!
I love the way you communicate your enthusiasm in your articles…the vids are wonderful, too!
Wolfgang, Danke Sehr. You have produced an incredibly delightful and informative series of articles about the NSU autos, and you saved the best visuals for last with these tasty video treats of the TT’s. Danke!
Fun little cars done away with by a corporate giant. Neat article.
A German Icon- thanks for the article and the videos.
Awesome post. I’m getting more smitten with those Corvairesque NSUs these days… except the 110/1200, which has an ugly mug. For one who appreciates air-cooled engines, the sound of that NSU is like a symphony. Thank you for this series, Wolfgang. Hope there are more to come!
Damn! Now I want one, pretty badly. What a great article about a great car.
Ach du lieber mein augen und ohren kaput sind!! Danke viel!
Thanks a lot for a wonderful article! I’ve got three NSUs here in California. Two Sport Prinzes (one with a 4 cylinder and disk brakes) and a Typ110. They’re all project cars.
Thanks for your opinion on why the engine lid is up on the TT/TTS. I assumed it was the same reason as an Abarth 500.
You are welcome!
and when you are done writin about your
sport Prinzes, please write about your Typ 110 as well. Lot’s of us love to see imperfect cars. In other words: you have no excuse! 😉
What is the relationship between the Gepard TT https://www.automania.be/liste-marques-auto/gepard-1967
and the Kohlmus Scirrocco http://www.ritzsite.nl/Archive/0901.htm, https://www.allcarindex.com/production/germany/kohlmus/scirocco/
and the Thurner RS? The Kohlmus Scirrocco and the Thurner RS are well explained, but the Gepard TT is not explained, yet appears to the be a twin of the car that Kohlmus and Thurner fought over. Lovely sports cars. For the Thurner RC 94″ wheelbase, 63″ wide, 158″ long 44″ high weighing about 620kg. or 1360 lbs.
In the mid-1960’s I came across a small warehouse/auto towing business in Oakland, California, that had a dozen or so brand new NSU sedans in it from a failed car dealership. They looked like miniature Chevy Corvair’s to my 12-year-old eyes. I was told that the car dealer owed the towing business money, and lost the NSU’s to the towing company. I often wonder what ever happened to those “new” orphan cars in Oakland. I have never seen an NSU dealership in California, nor have I ever seen an NSU on the road here.
Great article, thank you ! Now I really want one of these little cars. Would make a great companion to my Fiat X1/9.
Interesting how countries often style things similarly. While I can see the Corvair influence after it was mentioned, what I really see is BMW 2000/2002 similarities. Countrymen of course. Oh yeah, there’s that rear engine bit, not exactly a BMW knock off or distinct predecessor, but I see a whole lot of similarities.
And the RO 80 with maybe the K70 were the only NSUs that came to mind.
Really neat cars that I was not at all familiar with, thanks!
The Munch Mammut I was familiar with, having read the article/test on them in “Cycle” and “Cycle World” back in around ’70 or ’71. Everyone thought he was crazy, I thought he was a genius! Some nuts also put Chevy small block and Ford flat-head V8s in cycles, now they WERE crazy.
What a great-sounding, musical post! My second NSU 1000TT had an Abarth muffler with one pipe per cylinder. That was sublime. In my first TT, I lacked a radio for several (poor) years, but the engine was always entertaining.
Am I to understand that the Brixner used a stock NSU suspension? That seems a good choice. My stock American TT had quick, pinpoint steering that weighted up perfectly and tracked down the highway like a thrown hammer. After I added yellow Bilstein shocks, cornering was flat. It was the closest I’ll ever come to driving an air-cooled Porsche subcompact compact sedan.
In the US, the 1200 nameplate was reserved for the long wheelbase version. More leg and trunk room, but these always looked awkward to me. I’d expect them to be tail-heavy.
Thanks for the clear photo of the TT instruments and steering wheel. That is one the view of the car that sticks in my memory. For such a minimal cluster, it’s also elegant and purposeful, which makes it beautiful.