Audi Tradition App Opens Doors of Ingolstadt Museum
The first exhibit featured in the Audi Tradition app will be will be “Der fünfte Ring,” and it will focus on NSU.
As any Audi aficionado knows, the famous Four Rings logo represents the quartet of German auto brands which became Auto Union AG. So long before we were watching the quattro S1 dominate rally stages, or lusting after ferocious machines like the R8 V10 and the RS6 Avant, DKW, Horch, and Wanderer were producing some of the most interesting vehicles of their day. If you’ve ever been to the museum in Ingolstadt, you know the facility has loads of treasures from Audi’s past on display. And if you’ve never been? Well, you’re in luck, because Audi Tradition has just launched a new app which allows enthusiasts to explore it like never before.
The first exhibit which will offer immersive experience offered by the app will be “Der fünfte Ring,” and it will focus on NSU, an established German brand which was merged into the company in 1969. Those unfamiliar with the marque — which includes yours truly — will be surprised to learn that cars actually make up less than half of the hardware featured in the exhibition. Most of the vehicles are actually of the two-wheeled variety, as there are 23 motorcycles and 11 cars.
Of the motorcycles, the highlight is a 1914 twin-cylinder machine that made eight horsepower, and cost more than the average German made in a year. On the surface, this machine looks similar to the bikes Harley-Davidson was putting together an ocean away, though features like the innovative double-spring rear suspension made them more advanced than NSU’s American competitors. Along with that brass-age ride, there’s also a supercharged 500 cc racer, and a fully fared Delphin III, which owned the motorcycle speed top-speed record in the 1950s.
That said, the cars are pretty cool too. If you didn’t know better, you might actually mistake the 1963 NSU Wankel Spider on display for something from Alfa Romero, which given that it was designed by Giuseppe Bertone, wouldn’t be too far off the mark. This gorgeous machine was actually the first car equipped with a Wankel engine, and while those mills are somewhat of a failed experiment, it remains a fantastic curiosity from a supremely interesting era. Head to the Apple or Android store to download the Audi Tradition app, and start exploring the museum today!
Photos: Audi
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