Update 6/27/08. Seller decided to keep the car. Bravo! Unfortunately he couldn’t actually end the auction in time due to the need to cancel bids and there is a time window that it all has to be done in. Should be interesting for him to dig out of. Sale price was $5100 after a few cancelled bids, who knows where it would have gone if the auction had played out.
NSU type 41 Sport Prinz Nr. 4109649. This car is available right now on eBay out of Sacramento. I know what you are thinking, why am I writing about a German mid-sized microcar? Turns out this little car is a second cousin of the Giulietta Sprint and first cousin of the Sprint Speciale. It also turns out I’ve owned an NSU Prinz I and have owned a group of NSU motorcycles, mopeds and scooters. Last, turns out I was on the California Melee the year this car was dragged against its will to Red Bluff resulting in the destruction of its original low-mileage engine.
Handsome little guy whose sporting look would probably be improved by removing part or all of the extensive front bumper, though it may upset the steering geometry to lose all that weight up there. Bumper is reminiscent of an SS front bumper. I’d be surprised if the paint color wasn’t the very same red as my 59 Sprint.
A nicer example would be difficult to find, but not impossible, considering they made over 20,000 of these, the first 250 at Bertone, the rest in Germany.
I don’t want to get too long winded about NSU history, for our purposes knowing they were a successful German manufacturer of everything from sewing machines (their name-sake) to cars, though famous mostly for motorcycles and in the 1950’s scooters. NSU was keen on racing and projecting a sporting image in the 1950’s, having successfully set several land speed records, one of which has only recently fallen: the 50cc fully steamlined motorcycle record, and who better to contract to build a sporting coupe version of your car than the Bertone, who was growing by leaps at this point trying to keep up with demand for several successful Alfa Romeo models in addition to generating new designs. Franco Scaglione, designer of such masterpieces as the Alfa romeo Disco Volante and BAT cars, the Sprint Speciale and later some Ferraris, ended up with the task of making a beautiful sporty version of the humble Prinz.
The Sport Prinz is a very odd car to see in person. It is small, being both short of wheelbase and low of roof line, but at the same time it has a large presence, being curvaceously aerodynamic and stylish. A successful design if you can appreciate small cars. A spider version was naturally added to the Prinz line-up and it has some styling similarities to this coupe, some (maybe all, not sure) of them were rotary powered.
Tail lights, vaguely Giulietta Sprint shaped, are neatly faired in, more busy bumper work to remove back here. The trunk lid is very flimsy metal on the standard Prinz, I wonder if it is here too.
There is something of the SS in the way the leading edge of the door penetrates the front fender. Window surround trim is typical Bertone from this period. Paint looks very shiny and I believe it is original.
Dash is simple and unremarkable for this period. I would think the a Sporting version of a car would have a tach and some vital function gauges. Note the same radio surround is used as on Giulietta Sprints.
If not the same, these door controls are remarkable similar to Giulietta Sprint items. Trimming around the dash, door edge and at the top of the door where the panel tucks in are all pure Bertone of this period as used on the Giulietta Sprint.
Headlining material is the same as a 750 series Sprint. Compare this photograph with the same area on a Sprint or Sprint Speciale, the similarities of design and construction are remarkable.
Wood chipper style cool air intake is charming. Many German companies were dedicated to air-cooled designs, everyone I know can name at least one. I am pretty sure these also had roller-bearing crank shafts, allowing them to rev freely.
Cam drive is via a pair of eccentric rods bushed 180 degrees apart, with a center bushed locating rod in the middle. This may sound complicated but it’s pretty similar to the pair of rods that drive the wheels on a locomotive.
When I had my Prinz I was amazed by the lightness of everything. The gauge of the sheetmetal they made them from was very thin. The doors shut with the authority of a moped glove-box and opening the trunk lid to access the rear mounted engine was like putting up an umbrella. All of this aside, the car was fairly peppy grocery getter and never failed to generate excitement among other motorists and pedestrians, which shouldn’t be surprising as it looked like a 1/2 scale late 50’s Mercedes Benz 190 or Peugeot 403 in light lime green.
I would love to have one of these and my current fleet would be well complimented by another Bertone from the late 1950’s but I just can’t see spending more than a couple thousand dollars on something I would regard like a toy. There is a restored one available here for 11,500 Euros. I’ll be surprised if this car gets past $8000.
The one you found is a wankel spider based on your link. Did they remove the Sport Prinz? I’ve looked all over for a SP for sale and haven’t seen any. I don’t want to sell this car. It is really neat and a lot of fun. It is too nice for me. When I’m back from my trip I’d like to find a beat up SP. It is super light and a toy. Man, I’m close to canceling the auction just so I can take the front bumper off.
Sadly, it’s been painted. The POs PO painted it although my PO told the guy not to do it. You can only mess up original once and he did.
Thanks for the mention.
–Dave
Based on emails I got, I think it would’ve gone for around $6,500 if I didn’t start canceling bids. So far, I think the bidders who know what an NSU is understood, but the people who just wanted an old car with great gas mileage got a bit pissy. It’s understandable. I haven’t heard back from the high bidder so I don’t know how mad they are.
I am looking for a red sport prinz. Email me if you have one or can get one.
I had one of these as my first car. It was blue. I loved it. I surfed and carried my 9 ft board on top. People teased me saying the board was bigger than the car. When it came to parking in a tight space a couple of my friends would pick it up and put it in the parking spot. I really like the car, but it was in my dad’s name and he got mad at me and sold it. I am 59 yrs old and would love to have it back. It was my favorite car of all. So much fun to drive. Keep your car if you love it. I still have my pictures of it.
I’m glad to see this great car stayed with the original owner, who appreciates it for it’s own great qualities. I could have slipped into the hands of an Alfa owner with a snobbish view towards the car like the person who wrote this article. While the car may seem “odd” or “like a toy” to someone who prefers other cars, maybe a true NSU enthusiast would think of your beloved Alfas with a similar negative view. To think that someone would consider owning this car to complement a “more significant” model (in their view) is really an insult to the car and to the people who fully appreciate NSU. This snobbery is precisely why many European car enthusiasts get turned off to specific brands. I know I would not want to drive a Alfa Gulietta only to be thought of as a snob that looks down their nose at cars they consider “lessor” than theirs. If rarity means anything in the big scope of things these neat little NSU’s are far more valuable than many of the currently coveted European snob cars. If you think of this car as “just a toy” please do the rest of us a favor and let someone else who will truely love the car have it. Take a trip to the Wine store instead and pick up a good expensive bottle and cigar and go home and pat yourself on the back for owning a more significant car. That will help boost your ego far more than buying an NSU.
Tom,
Thanks for the thrashing! Warranted? -maybe slightly- but as someone who has owned and driven a Prinz I can say with authority that this is not a car you want to be dicing with modern traffic in -hence the ‘toy’ comment -my appraisal of its strengths and weaknesses is accurate -and I think if you took the time to read my commentary you would find mostly praise for this car and NSU in general. I drive old cars and the drive-ability combined with affordability of Alfa’s is why I am into them.
As far as snobbery about particular makes of old cars goes – I am an equal opportunity enthusiast -having owned and driven more old cars by more makers than just about anyone I know -and likely you as well.
You -your just the average sour troll unless you can prove otherwise.
Hello to you.
I set this message in here not beeing sure if anyone will read it.
The reason is : I hafe to sell a complete engine for a sportprinz in excelent condition an want him to get by someone who really loves these cars.
If none will answer within 2 weeks, the engine will be sold at ebay germany
So far Rainer
Güglingen/Germany 14 november 2012