NSU Prinz 4 - it's like a squashed Corvair! But is it fun?

[@roberttalbot1615]

I bought my first Prinz 4 in 1995. In 1997 it was written off by some thugs in Mile End who tipped it onto its side (with us inside). In 1998 I bought my current Prinz 4 from its original owner in Surrey. I love the car so much that when I moved to Canada, I had the car shipped over. I now drive her (she is called Stella) in Vancouver BC where she causes much confusion. Because she is rhd, most people guess English or Japanese manufacture and not German!

[@tuffandco3745]

How did the tipping over story start and end, it deserves more of an explaination, I feel.

[@malcolmyoung7866]

Amazed that Canada let you in after serving such a long sentence for murder..I assume you murdered them thugs? I mean… who wouldn’t have.. a bit of MDK? Anyhoo, got to go It’s ‘Lights out’ jn 10 minutes…

[@MrNaKillshots]

Lol. That's terrible! With you in it!

[@poutramos4826]

The first American to orbit the earth, John Glenn, drove a NSU Prinz. The other six Mercury astronauts drove Corvettes.

[@nelson2503]

That's an impeccably preserved NSU PRINZ. Here in Uruguay they were commonly seen running back in the early 80's.

[@NeilBarratt]

I had Prinz 4 in 1980. Its clutch had gone and I was told I could have it for free if I picked it up before the tax and MOT expired. It turned out that the clutch cable was way out of adjustment, and I drove the car home. It needed very little for a new MOT and I really liked it. I don't recall it being as noisy and shaky as this one, but time fogs the memory. They were quite popular in the UK being economical and unusually rust resistant for their time. IIRC Prinz 4s sold in the UK prior to us joining the EEC were assembled in the Irish Republic. Great to see this. A bit of nostalgia for me!

[@rafthejaf8789]

My dad had an NSU RO80 which was a horse of a different colour! It may have been disastrous financially but it was an amazing car which still looks modern and futuristic today.

[@malcolmyoung7866]

Did it have any of the faults that RO80’s were known for or was it reliable etc. One of my dads favourite cars although he never owned one.

[@rafthejaf8789]

@@malcolmyoung7866 Actually my dad had two of them. The first one failed due to the well known engine problem. So NSU gave my dad a very good deal on the later model and that one was great and didn't suffer from any problems. I remember going down to Spain in it and it was a real head turner because of its beautiful and futuristic design.

[@Rumms-Bumms69]

The Ro80 was FAR ahead of it's time in terms of styling and aerodynamics. Interesting is, that Audi used that style for their own types 44 and 89.

[@Veagle-vz4tg]

Oh! Memory Lane!! My first car was a 1964 blue NSU Prinz 4L. Fabulous thing, so advanced for the time - as you mention, all sycro box, discs up front and an absolute DELIGHT to drive. I was in a band at the time & we could get a full drum kit in it! Once it got going, the handling was surprisingly good, if a bit susceptible to wandering about a bit in a cross-wind... Also, it was pretty quite in the ....erm...."cruise"...with all the noise generators well behind you. Loved that little car - SO much character, and it never let me down ever, despite having almost 90,000 miles on the clock! I also loved the Drivers handbook that came with it, reminding that checking the tyres regularly (with the tyre pressure gauge in the supplied tool kit) not only enhanced the safety, but also endowed the driver "The Air of The Expert". Best watch on here for ages; made my evening, thank you.

[@rustneversleeps01]

From America it sounds like a lawn mower lol

[@47rintin1]

I bought a Prinz 4 in 1972 for 25 guilders (nowadays many about 100 euro's) which was placed on blocks and without wheels. It had a broken fuel pump. For 10 guilders it was replaced for a functioning used one by one of my friends. A year later I bought a Prinz 3 (1958), a car with a dynostart.

[@deanbrown9454]

A very nostalgic trip down memory lane for me. The first crash that I remember being involved in was when my mother turned our NSU Prinz onto it's side at a junction near our home.

[@HubNut]

Aw!

[@deanbrown9454]

@@HubNutactually, I tell a lie. First crash was when she drove a Daimler Conquest into a wall. Second was the Prinz, third was driving a Scimitar GTE into a bus. In her 80s now, still driving. Yoiks!

[@Paul_C]

The Prinz 4L was the last model of the line, produced from 1969 till 1973. My gran had the both the Sport Prinz and the Wankel Prinz. (That is what you get when gran was a NSU dealer) She followed up with the RO80 but then decided to go to VW. Reason for that NSU went bust and the next model for NSU was supposed to be the KA (which became a VW/Audi).

[@peterdevreter]

My dad had one :) it was before I was born. First car I remember was the fiat 127 he bought new after the NSU.

[@PantsManUK]

That engine has a lovely burble about it. A cutey, without a doubt... Thank you Marcel for letting hubnut show it to the masses.

[@StreakyP]

welcome to the new channel... Hobbitnut & the Frodo road-test

[@charliemansonUK]

😂😂😂

[@peterfinucane8122]

Lord of the Piston Rings

[@artoodiitoo]

One does just simply drive to Mordor

[@SimonBedford-Roberts]

My dad had one of these cars , his was the 1000cc version. It was an up-spec version that looked a bit like the TT. Beautifully made cars. His was a 1969 model so 6V electrics of course. The last production year of the model was 1972/73 and by that stage the engine was 1200 with 12V electrics. You'll need to keep the king pins greased because they tend to seize and affect the steering. I remember the exhaust system being incredibly expensive and quite complex. My lasting memory of the car is the whisky bottles clinking around in the bonnet because that's where he kept his stash so my mum couldn't find it!!

[@FritzPinguin]

The Prinz 1000 was the only one with 6 Volt electrics. This was a big mistake, especially in the wintertime. Prinz 4, 1000 TT and TTS and the 1200 were all 12 V.

[@joopjansen9102]

My primary school teacher had one like this and I loved it - and her (yep, little boy crush). I think its colour was mustard. I used to wait for her to leave, so I could hear the engine come to life. Fond memories of car (and of teacher, yes).

[@dafdaffer1]

it looks so like my DAF 44, even the same colour, It also shares the washer bulb as they were only fitted to DAFs and NSU cars. lovely

[@nickkeir8153]

My mum bought a brand new Prinz 4L in 1963 when she was a district midwife in Hampshire. It was a direct rebellion against her older brother, who had insisted she have a Mini 😂 I came along in ‘67 and we had it as a second car to my dad’s company car right into the 80s when the “metalworm” finally outstripped dad’s determination to keep it going. They had enjoyed a honeymoon touring Scotland in 1964 in the Prinz and it was very much part of the family and instantly recognisable as mum’s car wherever she went. It managed the first few years of her return to district nursing around Windsor before finally being replaced by a relatively dull Fiesta. Great memories. The nemesis - aside from rust - was always the heat exchanger/silencer that was welded or patched quite a few times to keep the exhaust fumes outside the car.

[@WWarped1]

That is adorable, and I love the colour. My Grandfather had an (Larger model, as you said) NSU Prinz 1000 TT, and loved it. He later sold it, for a used 1976 RO80 and regreated it. Wasn't as smooth and refined in his view. Great video.

[@riccardosabatini353]

Here the "schoolteacher" 😅: Prinz 3 = 583 cc. Prinz 4 = 598 cc. Max speed (from test in an old review, Quattroruote 12/1970 - Italy): 120, 647 km/h (only driver) and 115, 448 km) h (full load). Actually the first Prinz 4 version in 1962, same review, did 123,323 km/h at medium load. Anyway, Prinz 4 was my dad's car, that dynastart and engine sound... how much nostalgia! 1975, I remember my father have a problem with a bushing in the gear lever... stop at the roadside, checking, show me the bushing, fixing and on the road again! Thx for the video!

[@icascone]

Thanks for the review!!! My dad had bought one new as his first car!! (He was in his late 20's though or early 30's)... However he gave it to my aunt and drove it till the early 90's when the gear box/clutch gave out sadly! :( (This was also in Italy) I do remember as child the big chrome dials and steering wheel though it was so cool! (bit like your Morris Oxford) I now understand more as to why there were no parts available and I thought it was just because of no equivalent clutch but yeah that gear box looks complicated! Well done to Marcel for keeping this one on the road!!!

[@thisiszaphod]

What a little sweetheart!

[@adamsmalec]

I love this thing. It sounds amazing. Soviet zaz zaporozec looks totally like NSu prinz 4 but with v4 engine. Maybe little bigger

[@anfo8505]

Ian should do a comparison test on a Zaprozhets ZAZ-966 and let us know. I imagine it would run along the lines of Russian reliability and toughness versus German precision.

[@alanhunter2009]

There were a few about in the 70s and I remember them well. Mind you, haven't seen one on the road for 40 years. Thanks for the memories.

[@welshwizard645]

@@alanhunter2009 if you were in Austria 4 weeks ago there were loads in Fieberbrunn

[@Timberwulf2]

My Dad had one about 1968 painted Blue...It got the Family from Bradford to Mabelthorpe and back with Roof rack on the roof..Fully loaded..never failed

[@arthurdent2900]

My friend had one in the late 90s Our favourite thing was the way the manual described the capacity of the glove box. “The Glove compartment is a useful size. It will hold a thermos flask (full). or an airbed (empty),” and they say Germans don’t have a sense of humour!

[@Ragnar8504]

Some Germans most certainly do, and quite a dry, witty one too. Just don't confuse Cologne carnival shows with German humour.

[@colnuttall9035]

I had the bike with the NSU Prinz engine, the Munch Mammoth TTSE 1200. What a beast! I rode it around Australia and then sold it to a famous museum on Hamilton Island in The Whitsunday Island chain. I miss it..

[@CauliflowerMcPugg]

What a great little car and in fabulous 70s brown. Awesome 👌

[@derekpaton2775]

I used to deliver them out of Shoreham late 60s. I owned a Prinz 2L when stationed in Detmold 65 to 67. The 1000 TTS was the one to drive, it rivaled many quick cars

[@NeilBarratt]

The Cooper S competitor.

[@harrygatto]

I used to work at an NSU dealer in the 60s and came down to Shoreham on a couple of training courses. If my memory serves me correctly the Service Manager/Trainer was Greek and Octav Botnar (of Nissan GB fame) owned the importer. Yes, the TTS was fast.

[@darrenwilson8042]

That is drop dead gorgeous

[@karensavarese5684]

I had a late 50s Prinz. Bought it in the mid 70s, for super cheap. Needed some unobtainium parts, and never did get it roadworthy. A few years later found another upside down, In a scrap yard. Had the (previously) needed parts, (of course)! Rare in the US. Luv,, Dubs.

[@floycewhite6991]

My father made a clutch-plate actuator out of a molly bolt. He cut head cover gaskets out of sheets of cork. I was always grinding bushings to fit the starter/generator. Whatever kept it running.

[@bentullett6068]

What a great example of one of these cars. The exhaust note sounds great, especially on downshifts.

[@Number27]

Been wanting to review one of these for ages.. my uncle in Italy used to have a blue one just like this..

[@bennyhannover9361]

The Prinz was kept on the Market by the Italian customers. Because Volkswagen wanted to cease production around 1969, but there was still more than 50.000 orders open from Italy so until early 1973 about 70 percent went directly to Italy from Neckarsulm factory

[@daniellee9015]

Absolutely brilliant video Ian ❤👍 what a beautiful car love the colour brilliant

[@jajamuc]

What a cute little brown thing! I didn‘t even know there was a two cylinder Prinz. Hope you‘ll also find a Prinz TT to drive. Quite a difference in power and fun!

[@NotEconomicallyViable]

This is my first time learning about this car and I instantly want one! Thanks for the great video 👍🏻

[@stewartellinson8846]

The OHC drive was an NSU "thing"; they used it on their sportmax and Rennmax motorcycles. It gives very accurate can timing but seems to be a solution looking for a problem for a small family car.

[@emjayay]

It's the opposite of the fuel pump rod drive off the camshaft that used to be typical for American V8s (and others?) before electric pumps in the tank.

[@michaelsanderson6968]

W O Bentley did it with his six cylinder engines in the 20's because it was quiet. But then he learned his trade in locomotive engineering.

[@NeilBarratt]

Why is it a problem? Honda used small OHC engines which were extremely reliable and often were given little care.

[@michaelsanderson6968]

To clarify, because I can't remember the dates - 20's/30's. Bentley served his apprenticeship at the GNR works in Doncaster.

[@stewartellinson8846]

​@@NeilBarrattit's not a problem but Honda's OHC engines were chain driven which would have been much cheaper to make. The ?Ultramax? System seems almost wilfully complicated and expensive to make. Ok, it's cheaper than shaft and bevel and maybe a gear train but nowhere near the value engineering of a chain OHC.

[@waltertaljaard1488]

The old car of our neighbours. Back seats were good enough for their two kids. When taking wife and kids to church on sunday mornings. Later switched to THE favourite automotive vehicle of the Dutch during the late sixties/early seventies; the Opel Kadett B. Beige of course.

[@martinda7446]

I was convinced THE favourite vehicle of the Dutch during that period was the DAF (Any model but Daffodil sounds funny).

[@Ragnar8504]

@@martinda7446 Sounds even funnier in German because it's closely related to crocodile (the flower has a completely different name in German).

[@duboisthierry292]

The NSU Prinz , the car for the kings !

[@SiqueScarface]

In German though, Prinz means heir apparent or just "son of a ruling monarch". The English prince would be a Fürst (yes, from the same root as the English first).

[@Burninhellscrootoob]

Fahren eine prinz, und du bist eine konig! Or so the old slogan said...😂

[@hubertniesing7565]

😅😅😂​@@Burninhellscrootoob

[@hubertniesing7565]

​@@Burninhellscrootoobin my youth a neighbor drive a PRINZ TTS. A Rally-Version, by a start at a trafficlight a porsche and other sportscar had no chance, for then first hundert meters.

[@cg7975]

The camshaft was strap driven by eccentric drive mechanism. Valve guides often gave have problems requiring head removal. Those unfamiliar with the mechanism were able to disassemble it - but unable to put it back together. My father was a distributor - and frequently got the job of reassembly for other garages. The P4, 1000, Typ110 and 1200 all had serious rust problems. Four cylinder air cooled engines went well and could take a hammering. Nice to see one again.

[@chrisrumble2665]

If I remember correctly, the original Bentleys had eccentric rod oprated valve gear. BTW we had neighbour with an earlier type inthe 60's. Unusual indeed here in Australia. Cars are all so homogenised these days...

[@davidking9707]

The rotating knob for the quarter lights is similar to the Rover P6 and Triumph Stag. Nice

[@EricksonJunior]

These are my favourite HubNut videos! Where you go abroad and test drive different cars on different locations 😃

[@Invisibleman7]

Another one ticked off the list Ian. Beautiful car

[@colinblick8946]

I remember these well…..but don’t forget the early Skodas… also rear engine . Great little car 😎👌🏽

[@arieplomp8906]

Welcome 🤗 in the Netherlands 🇳🇱 Ian ! And yes we’ve got also lovely rainy weather! 😢 So you must feel al little bit at home 😂😂😂 Sadly without your lovely family! What an amazing 🤩 brown super car! Lovely lines , so sad that so many brands don’t exist anymore! Luckily there are still survivors like this example! Looking forward for your next adventure here in the Netherlands 🇳🇱! And don’t forget to buy something nice for the family! Iets lekkers 😋! Stroopwafels, Jodenkoeken, drop , zwartwit! And eat some poffertjes! 👍🏻👍🏻🆙

[@davidcooke6803]

What a lovely exhaust note! Nice one Ian, keep them coming, thank you!🙏

[@franhiatt1]

My father had a 1965 one of these back in the late-1960s and they were probably one of the most economical cars you could buy, with up to 60 mpg on a run. Unfortunately spares were an issue as was the noise, and when he used to drop me off at the school bus-stop the other kids would take cover thinking it was about to blow-up. They later christened it The Buzz-Bomb. It eventually failed altogether and he gave it away to the garage who were struggling to try and fix it. From the ridiculous to the sublime, the Buzz-Bomb was replaced by a luxurious 1968 Vauxhall Ventora 3.3 litre automatic, with Powerglide power steering. Now that was a very good car.

[@anthonystevens8683]

What a great step back in time Ian, a lovely little car that is great to see on the road. I really like it. Many thanks for sharing.

[@wacholder5690]

For NSU: they also brought the NSU K70 into the band with VW, which was a 4-cylinder, watercooled, frontwheel driven sedan - which directly competed with the Audi 80 / VW Passat that were just on the brink after the VW / Audi merger. It was sold for a few years and then discontinued, even though it was more modern and spacier than the Audi 80 was. But it was just a stepchild of a former competitior and handled as such. The bigger rear engined NSU 1000 / 1200 was used as a racecar. The 1200 TTS and TTS-E dominated round track races or slalom. The 4 cylinder engine was the technical base for the Münch motorcycles - the first "Superbike" of sorts. NSU had a rich history - all eliminated for and by VAG mediocrity. Thanks for showing though !

[@walkinginthesun]

Great video I like the older cars more better than the newer ones the good old days of the car with no computers on board 😂

[@roykenney4178]

I owned a NSU 1200C whilst in Germany in the early 70’s. My very first car, did several trips to and from UK with no problems, with the exception of my 18 month old son being car sick on one of our return trips back to Germany, so not the cars fault (could have been my enthusiastic driving). In conclusion a great little car.

[@colinwest3773]

Had a red one did an engine overhaul, novel cam drive system. Later on went to work at a VW dealer and worked on lots of NSU RO 80s !

[@ElTelT4ELO]

Absolutely your best review yet on a fantastic little car. I'm totally biased in this as an NSU Prinz 4L was my first car in which I learnt to drive in 1982. It was totally gutless, but this just taught me how to anticipate. Also, much like I believe Citroens of the time, the indicators are not self cancelling. So to this day I always cancel the indicator myself, no matter what I'm driving. It had its flaws, but I have nothing except fond memories of my NSU.

[@FourIntoOne]

That may be the brownest car I have seen. Delightful! I used to see a few of these around in my mechanining days in the eighties, completely forgotten about them till now so thanks for the reminder👍

[@ol2892]

Gloriously delightful!

[@vwestlife]

The styling of the Soviet ZAZ Zaporozhets was also heavily inspired by the Corvair, Imp, and Prinz.

[@BillMalcolm-tn3kq]

Well, since the Corvair arrived in Sept '59, ALL the cars that looked like it were derivative. A derivative of a derivative is a derivative of the original, not of the copies, surely? Copying an Imp is not logical because the Imp isn't original. That's my logic, anyway. Renault 8, Simca 1000, Fiat 1300/1500, BMW 1500/1800/1602/2002. Imp, NSU Prinz the most egregious, and the Zappo. Plus any I missed. By the time all these were fully on the market, the Corvair had moved on to the MkII in Sept '64 -- Hubnut tested one of those down under. It was a gorgeous looking car, better than the original, and had a decent rear suspension finally. Never saw the NSU in the part of Canada I lived in in the '60s, don't think anyone was brave enough to sell them. But every 40 or 50 miles out in the rural sticks of Canada in a bigger town, there would be a Chevy dealer, so Corvairs were common-ish. Most people bought the Chevy II instead or a Vauxhall Victor or a Viva, noth badged as Envoys. The Vauxhalls themselves were at the less common Pontiac dealers. Badge engineering at its finest.

[@richardulrich6089]

Love these simple utilitarian cars but which also have an element of elegance attached to them.

[@markhealey9409]

Cool little cute car! It even looks cute in brown,not usually a car colour I like! 😍😍

[@VanCleef-bf5xz]

Another brilliant review. Lovely car so well made for its day. When I was 8 my dad had an NSU 1200C. Great car and very nippy and rare even then. Would have one now.

[@chriscalkin1735]

My dad had a 1968 NSU 1200C between about 1971 and 1975. I see lots of retro stuff about the Prinz, but nothing ever about the 1200C. I was starting to wonder if I imagined the car as I was only 9 when he sold it. Do you know if there are any still in existence?

[@VanCleef-bf5xz]

Not seen any for a long time and have looked for adverts for sale in UK but mostly all in Europe I think. Ours was a 69 I think, (H) bright red it it felt very fast! I remember working on it. Great fun. Still got the owners manual. Remember seeing them being raced. It was sold to a family member and can never remember it breaking down. Always liked them so you are not imagining things!

[@andrewf4797]

Great video, thanks. I had an NSU Supermax motorbike 250cc single cylinder with the same overhead camshaft drive system. Always marveled at it, but it made skimming the head a difficult job as you had to then reset the camshaft con rods

[@danmccarthy4700]

Between this and your latest acquisition your channel has been positively bursting with adorability.

[@jdtseventyfour]

What a lovely little car. I love the variety of what you get to drive Ian. Hubnut at its best!!!

[@patricksmodels]

The Prinz 4 was quite a popular car in Italy at the time. There were still plenty on the road in the 80s.

[@CaptHollister]

That method of spinning the camshaft via connecting rods was first employed by NSU on their motorcycles. I can remember the first time I saw an NSU Prinz in a photograph, or rather a slide, sometime in the late 1960s. A family friend had returned from a vacation in Italy and was showing slides of his trip. There in the background was a white Prinz. My brother and me got quite excited in the manner that only car-mad little boys of single-digit age can get, over this little European Corvair. We knew all about Fiat 600s and 500s also visible in that pic because our relatives in the old country drove them and Corvairs were a common sight in Canada at the time, but now the existence of this shrunken Euro Corvair was a new and exciting development. I remember we had a hard time processing that it wasn't a Corvair at all, but some obscure (to us) European brand.

[@Burninhellscrootoob]

By the way, theyre called eccentrics and straps, not rods. I've had 2 of these, a 59 and 60 with the first body style

[@martinfletcher8275]

The camshaft drive was actually designed by an English bloke called Walter Moore for Norton motorcycles. The bike was called a CS1 (camshaft 1!). He was lured away by NSU and designed a very similar bike, the NSU 500 SS. The joke back in the day was NSU stood for Norton Spares Used....so there ya go..

[@ablestringer9063]

Awesome little motor for pootling around the polders. I don't remember seeing them back in the day. Mother had a Fiat 850 which was quite similar.

[@toenhev17]

In the 70s my mate's mum left her husband & lived with someone else, this man bought her a NSU Prinz but even though she didn't have a car she turned her nose up at it & got him to take it back! I can't remember what she drove after that for certain but I think it was an old Ford Anglia, so she went from a new car to a 2nd hand one!

[@bloodybrit]

What a delightful little thing.

[@BigPaul62]

Around 1970 when I was a lad, there was an NSU dealer just round the corner from where we lived and mum and dad were seriously thinking of buying one of these for mum. They were then offered a year old Mini Countryman (the woody one!) by a family friend, chickened out of the NSU and went for the mini instead. The example you are testing looks to be in amazing condition.

[@2tone209]

I HAD A NSU LAMBRETTA SCOOTER BACK INTHE DAY.VERY NICE LITTLE CAR AND A LOVELY BROWN.

[@robertwillis4061]

I owned a sky blue one of these back in 1981. My first car. Unfortunately I had it in the winter time. The heater was not good. The fan was too slow and the heat exchanger took too long to warm up. We added a fan off an old caravan fridge 12v. Only thing was the car used a Dyno starter that at max put out 30amps. At traffic lights it was best to turn off your headlights to keep the battery charged. This car similarly too mine is missing the oiled cardboard engine cover. Rain gets in the vents and gets on the coils ( yes there are 2x one for each cylinder). My Grandfather had a door pocket from an Hillman Imp. This covered the vents nicely once riveted on. Sadly the very narrow Crossply tyres had little wet weather grip. I came round a corner, turned onto some very smooth granite cobbles and the car spun into a lamp post. This took out the nearside headlight n wing.

[@Tom-Lahaye]

I remember these as a child, the styling always has been attractive to me. Nice to see one of the humble small version preserved like that, usually it's the NSU 1000 and then especially the TT/TTS models which get recognition.

[@fulwell1]

What a charming little thing!

[@janwestra8255]

My dad had one in the sixties. Bought him the model 10 years ago and shared the Dutch version of the Hayes manual with the NS U club. My son still has my grandfather's Quickly moped.

[@Burninhellscrootoob]

My first car was a 1959 prinz, I later had a 1960....very rare in the states....I loved it , also had a 65 Renault dauphine gordini....

[@steverolfeca]

It's like a miniature version of the 1964 Renault R8 I bought in high school. Lovely little car, as long as you didn't lift in the middle of sharp corners (swing axles!).

[@rubbersoul3723]

American watching from the State of Rhode Island in the U.S.-New to the channel-bro-that thing is a trip-in a half! Never-seen-or-heard-of this company-or-car! It's an-air-cooled-Baby-Beemer! Very nice review-comprehensive-I feel-don't think you left anything out-yet succinct-you gave a nice tour of the engine-& specs-seems is left out of many others' similar postings. Peace!

[@alastairwilson457]

Love these cars. Always reminded me of a bathtub...in a good way

[@TonyJewell0]

I've always admired the curved rear window and rear roof detail on these. A lovely thing.

[@markwoodward7195]

We had white one after a one owner left with many issues. The pins that allowed the wheels to turn were totally gone Water came through the floor frosted maps were order of the day. Funnily my wife locked herself out and police came and after gaining access. She drove off with his hat on the roof, hasn't lived it down since 1979, daughter now a senior officer haha.

[@floycewhite6991]

You needed the repair manual. They were available from some West German company.

[@firsteerr]

my mates dad had an NSU the bigger one i can remember it being very smart and a lovely ride we spent most of our time in it playing hot wheels so dont remember much more

[@paulie-Gualtieri.]

Lovely little car

[@glennlambert5112]

My father had one of these at the end of the seventies. As he was six foot one I do not know how he managed. I can remember going on holiday with my sister and myself in the back. I am now six foot three and was always a tall child. The front boot full and a roof rack with a full size suitcase on top. I can remember him having to change down to third to get up any road with a slight incline. He went from that to a Vauxhall Ventora with the 3 litre six cylinder engine cylinder.

[@HubNut]

That's some change!

[@robertngreen6]

What a fantastic little car! Doesn't it sound WONDERFUL!

[@Tardistravels-d5b]

my mum and dad had one. Then it was off road for a few years in the back garden, then my dad decided to get it back on the road again. It was a funny old car. One time fumes entered into the car itself and i remember winding down the windows.

[@davefrench3608]

Wow, what a stunning example.

[@Alan-lv9rw]

I love small cars! My first car was a 1966 VW Beetle. It was blue with a white interior.

[@twocvbloke]

That diagram of the engine was useful, I was wondering whether it had the pistons going up and down together or were 180 out, but nope, they're together, hence the vibrations with everything rattling away at low revs...

[@BillMalcolm-tn3kq]

If the crank was 180, then there'd be 540 degrees of crank rotation without a power stroke, then teo bursts, then that lull. This MSU parallel twin gives one firing stroke per revolution, the best compromise. Used by everyone from old BSA twins to the Fiat TwinAir. But of course you end up with two pistons bounding up and down in unison, so not smooth. The 2CV and BMW motorcycle engines are flat-wins and avoid the mechanical imbalance at the expense of mechanical bulk.

[@MattBrownbill]

And of course the Renault 8. My granny had one, and I almost fell out the back door having found how the door handle worked... I was young.

[@timevans815]

Back in the day I used to buy and sell a few of the most unusual cars at the local auction rooms (Shoreham) and the Prinz was one of them. A fascinating little car however the 1200 SC was so good that I was asked to supply a second one. I found one with a slipping clutch which I mention because changing the clutch was a 30 minute job achieved by removing a cover unit under a rear wing . Why arent they all so simple! I wish I still had the immaculate 2 stroke Saab I bought and sold. Those were the days.

[@allanfoster6965]

Lovely little car❤

[@alansmith1770]

Lovely little car Ian

[@theclocker7406]

I had a white NSU 1000C called Casper, back in 2004 for a few years, what a fabulous little car. Amazingly good brakes, great gearbox, a fantastic heater, with a great sounding engine that loved to rev. Brilliant car to drive and have fun days out in. I loved mine and was absolutely delighted to see one on Hubnut. NSU's are so overlooked, and yet they were so well engineered. Sadly an impatient Audi driver shoved a Mazda MX5 straight into the front of mine. The MX5 was totally crushed, and the Audi was a write off. All I had a buckled wing and a broken indicator, and few dents. However, I didn't fair quite so well and it ruined my experience with the car at the time and so I ended up selling it to the President of the owners club. I still miss that little car.

[@HubNut]

Aw!

[@HowardLeVert]

Oh, I want one! I remember them from my youth. That boot lid mechanism works the same way that the lid stays on some of my radiograms do. What a beautiful little car - and just look how good the visibility is with all that glass and thin pillars. Such a contrast to modern cars (Mini, I'm looking at you) where rollover protection has ruined it all. As for rear engines, you omitted a lot of Renaults from your list - 4CV, Dauphine, 8/10...

[@colrhodes377]

My grandad bought three of these to do up and sell. He liked them so much that he kept one for my grandma to drive.

[@bleachyberserko4191]

That's such a charming little thing, absolutely delightful 👌

[@reddermot]

A few weekends ago, I was parked next to a Prinz TT. These had a very successful Motorsport career.

[@worldhello1234]

@5:50 That oddly reminds me of The Flintstones. 😘

[@tomoreilly9932]

Sat there all chocolatey like a luxury biscuit 😀

[@DavidGraham-gp7qh]

My first car was a red 1971 NSU Prinz. I remember it driving more smoothly than this, there were no vibrations at idle. Maybe this one needs tuning ? The heater was useless at low speed as the fan was engine driven and it was not very fast but it could get to 70 on the flat eventually. It was economical though, 50mpg although the fuel gauge needle would swing about with the fuel moving in the tank. The main area that seemed to corrode on these was the sills. There are still a few around in the uk. Apparently Stirling Moss owned one in the 60s and the way to drive it was to use the high reving engine to its max.

[@JosephWood1941-iz6mi]

My first new car in 1964. Bright red. I Ioved it.