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Thomas Ammerschläger - the NSU years

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Created on January 14, 2020

Reading time 16min

Written by:

Daniel Koch

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

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Thomas Ammerschläger

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Bruno von Rotz

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unbekannt

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Archiv

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Daniel Reinhard

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Thomas Ammerschläger

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Bruno von Rotz

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unbekannt

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Archiv

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Sieg am Flugplatzrennen Ulm-Laupheim (1970)

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6-Stunden-Rennen Nürburgring (1968)

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Eilenriederennen (1954)

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Heinkel Perle (1954)

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Thomas Ammerschläger, stolz neben dem ersten Auto der Familie, einem Fiat 600 (1958)

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Pico de Veleta, Spanien, 3200 M. ü. Meer (1958)

Bild von Partner Planai Classic 2025 Inline 1

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Fahrt nach Paris (1955)

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Kontrolle Tour d´Europe (1960)

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Sonderprüfung (1960)

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12-Stunden-Rennen Nürburgring (1963)

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Flugplatzrennen Achum (1963)

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NSU Prinz 4 mit selbstgebautem Schalensitz (1963)

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Wunstorf (1964)

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6-Stunden-Rennen Nürburgring (1966)

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Analyse nach dem Crashtest (1967)

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Bergpreis Lautenbach (1967)

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Motorenprüfstand (1967)

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Thomas Ammerschläger auf der selbst konstruierten Crash-Testanlage (1967)

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Mit Heisswasserrakete auf 50 KMH beschleunigt und in eine Betonbarriere gefahren (1968)

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3. Platz mit dem NSU TT in Zolder (1969)

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Thoams Ammerschläger (1969)

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Ulm-Laupheim, Sieg in der 1150 ccm Klasse (1970)

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NSU nach Kaltverformung (1970)

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Unfall beim Grossen Preis der Tourenwagen am Nürburgring, mit Axel Bonin und Jürgen Wirthmüller (1970)

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Massenkollision Nürburgring Südschleife (1970)

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Sepp Greger, Baron de Graffenried, Huschke von Hanstein, Peter-Max Müller, Fürst von Metternich, Helmut Polensky (1970)

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Brixner Spyder von Rocco Zibaldone (1975) - aufgebaut auf Thomas Ammerschlägers Chassis des NSU 1100 TT

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Werkstatt Wirthmüller (1968)

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Thomas Ammerschläger (1946)

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Thomas auf dem Fahrrad (1952)

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Thomas Ammerschläger (1957)

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Thomas Ammerschläger (1965)

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Preisverleihung in Ulm-Laupheim (1970)

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Programmheft Eilenriederennen (1955)

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Führerschein (1956)

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Führerschein, ausgestellt am 8. September 1956

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M. Pierburg und J. Stockmar (1967)

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Leistungsdiagramm NSU TTS (1967)

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NSU Ro 80 (1967)

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Sportabzeichen (1967)

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Ohne Werksteam, aber stolz auf die Erfolge der Privatfahrer (1969)

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Carl H. Hahn, Vorstandsmitglied von Volkswagen, bedankt sich (1970)

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Heilbornner Stimme (1970)

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Heilbronner Stimme (1970)

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NSU TT 1150 "Ammerschläger" (1970)

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Rheinpokalrennen (1970)

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Stuttgarter Nachrichten (1970)

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Sammlung der Auszeichnungen (2019)

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kreative Visitenkarte zum Karriere-Ende (1970)

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NSU Ro 80 (1973) - auf dem Club-Stand - an der Retro Classics Stuttgart 2013

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NSU Ro 80 (1972) - den Spruch kennt man doch noch von anderswo ...

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NSU Ro 80 (1972) - luxuriöses, aber schlichtes Interieur

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NSU Ro 80 (1972) - damals beschäftigte man noch keine Designer für den Motorraum

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NSU Ro 80 (1972) - spätere Baujahre hatten grossere Heckleuchten

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NSU Ro 80 (1972) - elegant und schlicht war die Aussenhaut des Ro 80 gezeichnet

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NSU Ro 80 (1972) - NSU erlaubte sich den Luxus, ein Fahrzeug nur für den Wankelmotor zu entwickeln

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NSU Ro 80 (1972) - trieb die Firma NSU in die Arme des Volkswagen-Werkes

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NSU Ro 80 (1972) - lässt schnelle Reisedurchschnitte zu

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NSU Ro 80 (1968) - Durchsichtszeichnung - Technik sichtbar gemacht

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NSU Ro 80 (1967) - Erklärungen zur Technik - aus der Pressemappe

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NSU Ro 80 (1967) - der schlussendlich gewählte Interieur-Entwurf

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NSU Ro 80 (1967) - Skizze - lenkungskonstruktion

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NSU Ro 80 (1967) - Skizze - Bremssystem

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NSU Ro 80 (1967) - verworfene Studien für die Innenraumgestaltung

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NSU Ro 80 (1967) - Skizze - Lufteinlässe im Armaturenbrett

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NSU Ro 80 (1968) - Blick auf die Technik

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NSU Ro 80 (1967) - für den Heckabschluss entstanden verschiedene Entwürfe - gewählt wurde eine schichte Gestaltung der Leuchteinheiten

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NSU Ro 80 (1970) - Durchsichtszeichnung - besondere Attribute der Wankel-Limousine

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Reifenwerbung - MIchelin 1975

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Summary

Even the young Thomas knew what he wanted to be one day: an engineer who developed cars. He did not deviate from this wish, studied mechanical engineering, was first successful as a navigator in rallies, and later as a driver in NSU circuit races. He also had a promising career at NSU until the merger with Audi heralded changes at the end of the 1960s. We tell the exciting story of the young Thomas Ammerschläger and his beginnings at NSU with the TT and the Ro 80, in the second part we will focus on the Ford years and the Turbo Capri, and in the third part we will look at the BMW years with the M3 of the E30 series.

This article contains the following chapters

The Bible
First motor vehicle
Off to Spain
First optimizations with the second car
The NSU era begins
The unexpected often happens
NSU Ro 80, the Wankel hope
With big steps into a racing career
Advantage through knowledge
Diverse starting field
Soon on everyone's lips
The Italians pull away
New class
Full season
Season continued successfully
NSU era comes to an end
Change

Estimated reading time: 16min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Born on 24.11.1937 in the German town of Altefeld, now called Herleshausen, Thomas Ammerschläger already knew at the age of seven that he wanted to develop cars one day. And this despite the fact that no one in his family had ever had anything to do with cars or owned one. Just four years later, he set off on his own to attend the only car race in his region, the Maschsee race in Hanover. After that he was hooked, and from then on he also attended the Hanover Eilenrieder races for motorcycles, where he always made his way to the track without having the necessary change for a ticket. At the time, the magazine "Das Auto" gave him a glimpse into the big, wide world of automobiles. As he couldn't afford to buy the issues, he rode his bike to his friend and classmate Philipp-Axel Bonin every 14 days to take a look at the latest issue.

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