NSU Prinz 4 - 1961

The NSU Prinz is an automobile produced in West

Germany by the NSU Motorenwerke AG. The car was built

from 1957 to 1973, and received a model change in 1961

(the old model was continued until 1962).

One of the revelations of the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 1961, the Prinz 4 replaced 

the original Prinz. Its new body closely resembled the then fashionable Chevrolet Corvair, but 

was of course much smaller. Like the original Prinz, it was powered by a two-cylinder air- 

cooled engine in the rear. The Prinz 4 was much improved and continued to be a well- 

engineered car, like its predecessors. The engine carried on the tradition of eccentric rod 

driven camshaft inherited from NSU motorcycle engines and interestingly had a dynastart 

(combined starter/generator) built into the crankcase. Later four-cylinder engines adopted 

the more conventional (pre-engaged) separate starter motor and alternator.

In 1968, Britain's Autocar road tested a Super Prinz. They had tested a Prinz 4 in 1962, and in 

commenting on how little the car had changed in the intervening six years quipped some of 

their road testers appeared to have gained more weight than the commendably light-weight 

Prinz in that period. The test car achieved a top speed of 113 km/h (70 mph) and accelerated 

to 97 km/h (60 mph) in 35.7 seconds. The home grown Mini 850 reached 97 km/h (60 mph) in 

29.5 seconds in an equivalent recent test and also managed to beat the NSU's top speed, 

albeit only by about 3%. At this time, the UK car market was heavily protected by tariffs, and 

the Prinz's UK manufacturer's recommended retail price was £597, which was more than the 

(possibly below cost) £561 asked for the 850 cc Mini, but certainly not completely out of 

touch with it. The testers concluded their report that the car was competitively priced in its

class and performed adequately. They opined, cautiously, it offered 'no more than the rest' 

but neither did it 'lack anything important'. 

1961

Engine 598 cc Top speed 113 km/h Lenght/width 3,4 m/1,49 m