The Cousin to Audi That Crowned You a King
Audi ceased to exist during the war years, and when it came back in the 1960s its models were based on the DKW F102, and the planned successor to the NSU Prinz. This unique little Audi cousin had a surprisingly long and interesting life.
Just turn the key
In 1958, a German advertisement that translated to "Drive a Prince and You're a King" was all over the streets of Frankfurt. The advertisement marketed the 150 trial-run of these cars, which was followed by many more. Just like that, the NSU Prinz was officially a thing.
NSU Motorenwerke
The NSU Prinz (which means Prince) was offered by NSU Motorenwerke AG, formerly the largest producer of motorcycles in Germany. Later bought out by Volkswagen in 1969 and merged with Auto Union, they were completely absorbed by Audi by 1973. The NSU Prinz was in production for only 15 years, from 1958 to 1973.
The Prinz l
The very first Prinz was produced from 1958 to 1962, and it featured a tiny body, with only two doors. The rear seats could fit two-people, but to be comfortable there they had better be small. Under the rear hood of this innocent creature was a two-cylinder 583cc engine, which developed 20-horsepower. The Prinz was not the most comfortable of its time, it was extremely noisy, but it was great on fuel, as well as reliable and easy to work on. In 1959, NSU introduced the Prinz ll, which was advertised as the luxury version, and an even better equipped Prinz III came out in 1960, developing a whooping 30-horsepower. To deal with all that extra power the suspension was revised and a stabilizer bar added.
NSU Sport Prinz
From 1958 to 1968, the 2-seat, fastback, NSU Sport Prinz was introduced, to reach out to a much different audience than the thrifty Prinz l. The coupe was equipped with the same 583cc motor as the sedan, though for 1962 it got a boost to 598cc, and they claimed a top speed of 99 mph. Over 20,831 NSU Sport Prinz were made between 1958 and 1968. With the top removed and an experimental 50hp Wankle rotary engine installed in the back, this car became the NSU Spyder, of which 2,400 were made.
NSU Prinz 4
Powered by a new larger version of the air-cooled rear engine, The Prinz 4 was slightly larger and much better looking than the older models, and remained in production from 1961 to 1973 with few changes. Contemporary reports compared it favorably with vehicles like the Mini Cooper, say the Prinz wasn't more than its competition, but it also wasn't less. The styling of Prinz 4 has been described as a much smaller version of the Chevrolet Corvair of the time.
NSU Prinz 1000 TT
In 1962 the Prinz 4 was revised to be a bit bigger and a four-cylinder motor with 1000cc was installed, now called the Prinz 1000 it was advertised as their performance Prinz. Originally with just 40 horsepower, the engine evolved and was tuned to produce the 1100 TT with 54 hp, the 1200 TT with 64 hp, and the 1000 TTS with 69 hp. The Prinz 1000 TT was a well-rounded vehicle, offering great handling, and decent performance, as well as economical operation and the ability to seat four. While not fast by today's standards, 0 to 62 mph in 15.1 seconds was competitive with a lot of small cars of the era.
The End of the Prinz's Reign
VW purchased 50% of Auto Union and NSU in 1964, and the rest by 1969, which spelled doom for the Prinz as it was very similar to the VW Beetle. During its run the Prinz was also produced in Argentine, Yugoslavia, and was the first car ever built in Egypt, where it was called the Ramses and built in a factory right next to the pyramids. Development of a front-engined, front-wheel drive successor to the Prinz had already started though, and along with a new water-cooled 4 stroke motor designed by Mercedes-Benz, this car became the Audi 50 in 1974, and the VW Polo in 1975.
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