The NSU Ro 80 is a classic car legend. Thanks to new shock absorbers from Bilstein, it now drives better than ever before.
When the NSU Ro 80 first hit the road in 1967, it had a futuristic look with its streamlined body and exotic 115 hp rotary piston engine. However, due to its only partially justified reputation for technical unreliability, the car, which was built until 1977, did not become a bestseller. This makes the remaining vehicles all the more sought-after by classic car fans. As the spare parts situation is tight, the "Ro 80 Club International e.V." based in Hard, Austria, is working hard to procure components. Thanks to the Bilstein Customer Special Requests (KSW) department, the shock absorber problem has finally been solved and a joint solution can now be offered.
The first spare parts shortages for the Ro 80 became apparent 25 years ago when the original manufacturer of the standard dampers stopped producing them. Another supplier took over the baton, but never really made the club happy, as the minimum purchase quantities were relatively high and ultimately led to the end of the business relationship. Another problem was that it was not possible to influence the setup. "This solution was too soft at the front and brutally hard at the rear, with the rear axle quickly tending to rumble," recalls 2nd Chairman Andreas Meyer, who was nevertheless happy to be able to keep as many Ro80s as possible in running order. Thanks to the cooperation with us, the old problems have now been overcome and product quality, logistics, setup and opportunities to have a say have greatly improved. Our KSW division builds and delivers batches of 20 to 50 units, which is easy for the club to handle. In addition, unlike the originals and the replicas used in the meantime, our new products are gas pressure shock absorbers that do not tend to foam up even under heavy loads, which would lead to a loss of damping force. Jan Fork: "The custom-made product designed by us even exceeds our own standards for gas pressure shock absorbers in normal replacements and corresponds to the improved series replacement product B6 in terms of design."
Andreas Meyer is highly satisfied with the result: "In my opinion, the set-up, which is just a touch harder than the original shock absorbers, is ideal." Incidentally, we also recommend our B6 shock absorbers for trailer operation in particular. At first glance, this may not seem very relevant for classic car owners. However, according to Meyer, Ro-80 drivers often travel to meetings with a caravan or tow a smaller NSU Prinz or Wankel Spider on a trailer. In this context, our new solution is convincing across the board, whereas the Ro 80 used to bend at the rear. The front axle, which was relieved in this way, then impaired the handling. Together with the Ro 80 Club, we are now working on the next challenge, as the Wankel car was available ex works with three spring rates. While the softer versions already harmonize perfectly with the new dampers, a separate setup is now being carried out for the harder ones.
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