NSU Prinz Classic Cars for Sale

The NSU Prinz was produced for just 15 years from 1958-1973 and had a rear mounted air-cooled engine; the seller's slogan for this little prodigy was, 'Fahre Prinz und Du bist König' which translated as 'Drive a prince and you are king'.

The History and Development of the NSU Prinz

The NSU Prinz 1, 2 and 3

There were 150 preproduction units of the Prinz 1 made in 1957 which led to the start of the full production in 1958. This 2 door 583cc mini car was designed with expert ergonomics in mind; the doors opened extra wide to allow easy access to the rear seats and there was more than enough space for your holiday luggage. When the Prinz 2 was produced in 1959 it had an upgraded gearbox, better trim and a 30E sport version which boasted 30 horsepower. The Prinz 3 had a new stabiliser bar; production of this model was approved to start in Brazil, but it never came to be.

The NSU Sport Prinz

This little 2 door coupe which sold over 20,000 units was designed in Turin by Franco Scaglione. The Sport Prinz was manufactured between 1958 - 1968 had the same 583cc engine until it was upgraded in 1962 to a 598cc model.

The NSU Prinz 4

This model completely replaced the original series 1, 2 and 3 Prinz offerings and whilst it looked very similar in style, it was completely upgraded and improved. Staying with the same engine size, this car which originally cost £597 on the English market could reach a top speed of 97 miles per hour which was the same as the Mini 850 at the time.

The NSU Prinz 1000, TT and TTS

The NSU Prinz 1000 was larger than the original and offered a 996 cc, 1085cc or a 1177cc air-cooled engine. The Prinz 1000 was later upgraded to become the NSU TT and the NSU TTS. It was produced in the final years between 1963 - 1972 and were seen as both economical family cars as well as sports cars. The superb cornering, perfect handling and low overall weight made the NSU Prinz 1000, TTS and TTS a formidable force on the race tracks and by the end of production offered a 1200cc engine.

German Take Over of the German NSU

Volkswagen bought NSU in 1969 and by 1973 Volkswagen were producing Audis. The small NSU cars had disappeared from the markets as they were big competition to Volkswagen's own Beetle; the Volkswagen Polo is the successor of the Prinz, so it some ways it does live on to this day.