Was the car BMW first called NSU? I seem to remember my brother having an?

Question

NSU Prince way back in the fifties and I'm sure it had the BMW badge on the front of the radiator grill.

The BMW firm I mean.

Answer 1

Part of the Auto Union (Audi) NSU made some excellent cars until they got rather heavily stung by Wankel rotary engines.

NSU was an abbreviation for "Neckarsulmer" as in "Neckarsulmer Fahrradwerke A.G.", German for "Neckarsulmian Bicycle Ltd.". NSU (Germany) was in production between 1905-1929 and 1958-1977. Neckarsulmer motorcycles and bicycles were already well known when this company started building Belgian Pipe cars under license.

In 1906, they began production of a Pfaender-designed car with a 1420cc four-cylinder engine, followed by models of up to 2608cc. A vertical-twin 'voiturette' of 1105cc appeared in 1909, a year which also saw the arrival of one of the most popular NSU cars of the period, the 1132cc four-cylinder, produced until 1913; there was also a 1550cc version.

The biggest pre-war NSU was a 3300cc four. Introduced in 1913, the 1232cc 5/15 PS was still in production in 1926. Other models of the 1920s had four-cylinder engines of 2100cc and 3610cc, and sixes of 1567cc and 1781 cc.

Production was shifted to Heilbronn in 1927, but ceased when this had to be sold to Fiat. In 1934-35. However, the Neckarsulm factory produced some VW-like prototypes, with assistance from their English designer Walter Moore. But car production was not resumed until 1958; with the 583cc ohc vertical-twin Prinz, followed by an improved 598cc version. Meanwhile, NSU had sold its entire motorcycle production set-up to Yugoslavia.

In 1963, NSU created a sensation with the introduction of the first quantity-production Wankel-engined car, the Spider, developing 50 bhp from the equivalent of 500cc; it was built until 1967. The 1964 four-cylinder ohc 996cc Prinz was followed by models of 1085cc and 1177cc.

Successor to the Spider was the elegant Ro80 saloon, produced for nearly a decade, despite some durability problems with early examples of its rotary power unit.

There has never been a direct connection between NSU and BMW.

Answer 2

BMW stands for Bayerische Motor Werke, the company that produces the cars and motorcycles. There may have been a model named NSU produced by them. Check with the BMW web page.

Answer 3

As I recall, NSU was its own company but was eventually absorbed into Auto Union, the company that would later become Audi. Never affiliated with BMW.

Answer 4

No. BMW has always been BMW. NSU was absorbed by Auto Union Deutschland in the Seventies to become Audi.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NSU_Motorenwerke_AG

Answer 5

No NSU was a totally separate company, short lived too.

Answer 6

NSU is also a nasty little infection Non-specific Urethritis - Makes your eyes water and toes curl when you pee.