In 1932, the four companies Audi, DKW, Horch and Wanderer merge to form Auto Union AG - their trademark becomes the four rings. In March 1969, Auto Union GmbH, Ingolstadt, merged with NSU Motorenwerke AG, Neckarsulm. The new Audi NSU Auto Union AG, based in Neckarsulm, was created with retroactive effect from January 1. NSU is the oldest predecessor brand in the history of today's Audi AG and is still inextricably linked with the Audi site in Neckarsulm: The three letters NSU stand for the town where the Neckar and Sulm rivers meet. NSU was founded in Riedlingen in 1873 as a "mechanical workshop for the manufacture of knitting machines". Audi Tradition is now dedicating the new special exhibition "The Fifth Ring" to the historic brand. It features eleven automobiles, 23 motorcycles, a bicycle and a knitting machine - and not only there...
New Audi Tradition app: launch for the special exhibition
The new Audi Tradition app is also being launched at the same time as the exhibition. On the one hand, it serves as a digital companion in the Audi museum mobile: visitors receive in-depth content on the exhibited vehicles in text form, for selected models via audio guide and even via 360-degree panoramic view. What museum visitors are not allowed to do on site, they can experience on the screen of their smartphone: get into the vehicle and inspect the interior. The Audi Tradition app also offers lots of exciting content from home or on the move. In addition to the exhibits from "The Fifth Ring", there will be further multimedia content for the special show, such as a drone flight through the exhibition.
Stefan Trauf, Managing Director of Auto Union GmbH: "Even if the coronavirus pandemic is making many things impossible or only possible to a limited extent in social life at the moment, we have stuck to our starting date for the exhibition and are thus offering culture and history a stage - especially in these times. I am particularly pleased that we now have a digital feature with our new Audi Tradition app: With the app, we are not only making the visit to the museum even more interactive and multimedia-based, but also enabling visitors to experience the exhibition digitally while on the move or simply from the comfort of their couch at home. At the same time, of course, we hope that the app will arouse curiosity about visiting the museum. Experiencing the exhibition on site with all your senses is and remains a special experience."
2023: 150th anniversary of NSU with exhibition in Neckarsulm
NSU's journey has led from knitting machines to bicycles and motorcycles to automobiles. The history of this brand illustrates the development of mobility in Germany. The curator of the exhibition, Stefan Felber, comments: "The NSU brand impressively demonstrates how much mobility has changed over the past 150 years. Our special exhibition in Ingolstadt is also a prologue to the NSU brand's anniversary next year - which we will celebrate in 2023 with a major exhibition at the Audi Forum Neckarsulm."
The current special show in Ingolstadt includes eleven automobiles, 23 motorcycles, a bicycle and a knitting machine. One highlight is the NSU Wankel Spider, the first automobile with a standard rotary engine. The two-seater convertible, designed by Italian design legend Giuseppe Bertone, was a sensation at the 1963 IAA. Also on display is a Volkswagen K 70, the last model developed at NSU. The four-door saloon with three side windows and harmonious design was shaped by Claus Luthe, the chief designer at NSU at the time, who also gave the Ro 80 its pioneering shape. A Ro 80 from 1977 can also be seen in the special exhibition.
Further highlights of the special exhibition: the fastest motorcycles of their time
Among the numerous motorcycles on display, the exhibition features the largest-displacement motorcycle ever built by NSU: the two-cylinder machine from 1914 has 8 hp and was the most powerful, fastest and most expensive production motorcycle of its time. At the time, a worker had to work for almost two years for the 1,575 marks it cost, as they earned an average of just 900 marks a year. The fastest motorcycle of the 1950s can also be seen in the new special exhibition: the NSU record-breaking Delphin III, which reached a top speed of 339 km/h in 1956. In addition to the exhibits, large-format display walls and four multimedia stations provide further information.
"The Fifth Ring" can be seen at the Audi museum mobile from February 2 to September 24, 2022; the 2G+ rule currently applies to visits there.
