“Drive a prince and you are king” – the NSU prince!

Thomas Wachsmuth March 31, 2023 NSU, Tuning classics

Reading time 5 Min.

The traditional brand NSU, which celebrates its 2023th anniversary in 150, stands for transformation. This becomes particularly clear in the 1950s with the example of the small car "NSU Prinz". In 1955, NSU is the largest employer in the Neckarsulm region and also number one in its sector, the largest two-wheeler manufacturer in the world. At the same time, the demand for motorcycles is falling: as people become more prosperous, they want a “roof over their heads” and they want to drive a car. NSU reinvented itself once again, with the NSU Prinz in 1958, the re-entry as an automobile manufacturer was successful. Audi Tradition introduces “the prince” in this first episode of the NSU history series.

the NSU prince

It is the time of the economic miracle: After the Second World War, the economy in Germany is on the up again at the beginning of the 1950s. Incomes are rising and more and more people can afford a car. At NSU, however, it's not going directly from two to four wheels; the development department initially experiments on a three-wheeled scooter mobile, the “Max cabin”. Its name is derived from an NSU motorcycle: the NSU Max. However, the test drives of the Max cabin prototypes were not so promising and so the NSU board of directors gave the go-ahead for the small car project at the end of 1955 instead.

Expanding a two-wheeler factory into an automobile plant is a feat of strength – in organizational and financial terms. But thanks to a bank loan of around 30 million marks at the time and a guarantee from the state of Baden-Württemberg, NSU was able to complete the plant as planned. At the same time, a development team is working on the new car project. As early as mid-1956, the first three prototypes of the new NSU automobile were on the road in trials; they are ready for series production just one year later. In the summer of 1957, the company from Neckarsulm presented the "NSU Prinz", which was initially called the "NSU Lido" internally in the pre-series. The NSU Prinz is a modern two-door sedan with a self-supporting all-steel body.

with a 20 hp two-cylinder

The advertising brochure says: "The Prinz has everything to offer that one would expect from a car in its class these days: it has good proportions, it offers enough space for four adults, has excellent engine performance, the best driving characteristics and good driving comfort." NSU relies on the rear engine principle (with a 20 hp two-cylinder) and offers two variants: the Prinz I as a simple basic version, only available in the exterior color light green, and the Prinz II in so-called export equipment - with chrome swing arms at the front and rear , Prinz lettering on the side, instrument cluster on the dashboard and crank windows. There is a wide range of paint colors to choose from for the Prinz II: calla white, indigo blue, hedera green, lava gray or sahara beige, to name just a few. In the basic version, the NSU Prinz costs 3.645 marks to start with, the Prinz II is available from the factory for 3.985 marks at the start of series production.

Economic success hoped for only through Prince family members

The first NSU Prinz rolls off the assembly line in March 1958. The approximately 6.500 NSU employees at the time had high hopes for the small car. But the sales success does not appear to set in so quickly: during the construction period (from 1958 to 1960) only 1.648 of the basic version Prinz I were sold; It turns out that customers prefer to order the better equipped Prinz II, which was sold 62.587 times in its three years of construction. In 1959, the company launched another variant with its own body, the NSU Sport-Prinz, which was based on the Italian design language of the time.

"Drive prince and you are king"

Since 1961 it has been said in advertising: "Drive a prince and you are king". After the NSU Prinz III, of which a total of 1960 cars were built between 1962 and 30.332, it is primarily the newly developed successor, the Prinz 4, which has been inspiring many motorists since 1961; it is produced until 1973 and reaches a number of 576.619. After the Prinz 4 had successfully established itself in the small car segment, NSU dared to position itself higher in 1964: the Neckarsulm-based company entered the lower middle class with the Prinz 1000. To this day, the little prince has a loyal - and not so small - fan base, which uses him regularly for trips, club meetings and even in racing series.

VFrom March to December, Audi Tradition is presenting an NSU model every month in the anniversary year: from the brand's classics – whether with two or four wheels – to prototypes and rarities. The episodes of the ten-part series focus on individual models from the NSU brand. Anyone who would like to delve deeper into the varied product history should read Klaus Arth's book: "NSU-Automobile. Types – Technology – Models”, published by Delius-Klasing-Verlag, in the Edition Audi Tradition. Photo credit: Audi

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