NSU engine tuner and racing driver Siegfried Spiess (obituary)
10/20/2021
Former NSU racer and gifted engine tuner Siegfried Spiess passed away on Saturday, October 16, 2021 at the age of 86.
After winning the German Hill Climb Championship title in 1963 in an NSU Prinz, Spiess repeated the feat in an NSU 1000 TT tuned by him in 1965. In order to prove the suitability of the NSU/Wankel engine developed by NSU at the time, the NSU factory in Neckarsulm was able to persuade Spiess to compete for the German Hill Climb Championship in the then sensational NSU Wankel Spider. The meticulous racing driver more than succeeded in winning the championship in 1967 and 1968 and was runner-up in the German Hill Climb Championship of all classes in 1966.
At the same time, the Swabian inventor initially created outstanding racing engines based on the air-cooled NSU engines, which were used with great success all over the world.
The name Siegfried Spiess has a formative influence on motor racing. His company in Ditzingen near Stuttgart has been producing racing engines for various racing series since the end of the 1960s. Siegfried Spiess' involvement in Formula 3, in which almost all well-known future Formula 1 racing drivers, including Michael Schuhmacher, relied on the proven and powerful engines, earned him a worldwide reputation as one of the best engine technicians.
Spiess always maintained close ties with the NSU/Wankel Spider Club and the entire NSU scene. Despite many years of health problems, we were often able to welcome him as a guest at the annual NSU racing drivers' get-together during the Retro Classic trade fair in Stuttgart.
In 2018, the NSU/Wankel Spider Club honored his special services to motorsport with a special exhibition at the Car and Clock Museum in Schramberg, where his impressive career from private racing driver to renowned engine tuner was presented.
The members of the NSU/Wankel-Spider-Club Deutschland e.V. , together with the entire NSU scene, mourn the loss of the great motor sportsman and friend of the NSU brand.
