Description
This car is Lot 104 to be auctioned by Bonhams|Cars at The Bonmont Sale on 29 June, please see the Bonhams website for full details.
Public Viewing:
Available Friday 27 June from 13:00 until 19:00, Saturday 28 June from 10:00 until 18:00 and Sunday 29 June from 10:00, at The Golf & Country Club de Bonmont.
Lot 104
1966 NSU Wankel Spyder
Registration no.
Chassis no. 5601727
First rotary-engined production car
Present ownership since 2022
Offered from a significant private collection
Registered in Switzerland
A rare survivor
With the launch of the Ewald Praxl-designed Prinz in 1957, NSU had re-established itself as a car manufacturer in its own. Only a few years later, the German firm would stun the motoring world when it introduced the first rotary-engined production car: the Wankel Spider. Launched in 1963, the Spider was the first motoring application of Dr Wankel's rotary 'piston' concept, which used a rotor with three convex sides rotating eccentrically in a figure-of-eight-shaped chamber. Its first application was as a compressor or supercharger, the first actual engine being tested in 1957. This new power unit went into a roadster version of the Bertone-styled Sport-Prinz.
Sadly, Wankel's concept was ahead of the available technology, and the engine was bedevilled by rotor tip sealing problems. Subsequent developments by Mazda would see these largely overcome, and the latest tip-seal technology has been incorporated into this car's engine. Modern improvements mean that rotary engines are now regularly running for 100, 000 miles. In three years of production, NSU sold somewhere between 2, 000 and 2, 500 Wankel Spiders; survivors are relatively rare today.
Beautifully finished in red with a red/ black vinyl interior and black hood, this very rare NSU was purchased for the vendor's stunning collection in 2022. A real head turner, the car is offered with Swiss registration documents.
All lots are sold 'as is/ where is' and Bidders must satisfy themselves as to the provenance, condition, age, completeness and originality prior to bidding. Visit the Bonhams|Cars website for all pertinent auction information.
