Audi is celebrating the 150th anniversary of its Neckarsulm factory in Germany with an electrified restomod concept car.
NSU was a German car, motorcycle and bicycle manufacturer which merged with Auto Union in 1969, resulting in Audi becoming its own brand for the first time in the post-war era.
It was at one point the world’s largest motorcycle manufacturer and also one of the first to produce a car powered by a Wankel engine.
NSU owned and was headquartered at the Neckarsulm plant, which now produces the likes of the Audi A4, A5 Cabriolet, A6, A7, A8 and R8.
The NSU brand died in 1973 and one of the last models to be produced was the NSU Prinz 4, a small two-door sedan powered by a rear-mounted 600cc two-cylinder air-cooled petrol engine.
12 Audi apprentices set about in January this year to take a 1971 NSU Prinz 4L and reinvent it for the modern, electrified era.
Dubbed the NSU EP4, the car’s original two-cylinder air-cooled engine was replaced by a 176kW electric motor from a 2020 Audi e-tron.
This electric motor is fed by a battery pack from the Audi Q7 TFSI e quattro plug-in hybrid (PHEV) that’s mounted under the front bonnet.
There’s a wide air intake at the bottom of the front bumper, plus the tailgate can be fixed in a half-open position allowing for additional cooling and showing off the electric motor.
Not much of the original NSU Prinz 4L is left as the Audi apprentices used a modified Audi A1 floor pan, axles and brakes in the electric restomod.
There are also swollen fenders, produced using a 3D printer, which cover wide wheels wrapped in modern performance tyres. There’s also a 3D-printed carbon-fibre front bonnet.
Inside, there’s a single-board computer and corresponding screen serving as the instrument cluster, as well as Recaro Podium bucket seats.
The NSU EP4 is finished in Suzuka Grey and Brilliant Black, with Signal Yellow on highlight elements like the rear wing, roll cage, tyres, side mirrors, and circular front air intakes.
