Between 1967 and 1972 German car maker NSU produced over fifty thousand TT’s; a sporty passenger car which proved to be a success in everyday traffic as well as on the race track. In theory an NSU TT-owner could drive his children to school and go racing in the same car. But that is just a theory…

The NSU brand was founded in 1892 from the letters of its name Neckarsulm, a small village near Heilbronn in Germay. The TT and TTS were sporty versions of the NSU Prinz 1000, named after the Tourist Trophy in which NSU had celebrated successes in 1954 with its motorcycles. Powered by an air-cooled 1200 cc 4-cylinder engine with double Weber carburettors the TT produced around 65 horsepower at a weight of just 685 kilograms. It proved a formidable weapon for German car racers.

In the '70s and '80s one of those racers was Wolfgang Schneider. His father had started racing the NSU 1000 in the 60s and Wolfgang continued the family affair by using the same car to race up hill and on race tracks, both on- and off-road. Wolfgang eventually made a profession out of restoring and preparing NSU’s for racing, even preparing cars for the ‘Audi Tradition’ collection. Meanwhile Wolfgang’s wife Jutta drove their son Alex to primary school in the family’s NSU TT. Alex inherited the racing virus and after starting out in karting, at twenty years old Alex won the NSU TT Trophy and took the overall victory in the ‘Kampf der Zwerge’ racing class.

NSU made its first motorcycle in 1900 and in 1906 the first car was produced. After the merger in 1969 to the brand Audi NSU Auto Union, in 1972 the production of small types of NSU's stopped. Only the NSU Ro 80 was made until 1977.

This blue-and-white 1970 NSU TT 1300 is actually the car in which Alex Schneider was driven to primary school everyday. After the Schneider family prepped it for racing it currently produces well over 100 horsepower which Alex will put to good use racing in the ‘Kampf der Zwerge’ during the TABAC Classic GP Assen. The NSU TT is truly a family affair..