Most articles ever written about the NSU Ro 80 focused on the technical side, mainly the futuristic rotary engine designed by Felix Wankel. The design pinned by Claus Luthe was also praised for being ahead of the game, too – back in the time when the car was new. When I was a young boy, frequently riding shotgun in our neighbors’ lime green metallic Ro 80 in the 1980’s, it was just an old and somewhat anachronistic car. Always maintained by the (ex-) NSU dealership, the car was in great shape and absolutely spotless, but in my eyes it lacked something I could never really pinpoint back then. Now, three decades later, I know what it was: presence – or rather the lack thereof. The upright greenhouse with the slim pillars and chrome trim, the narrow track and the huge ground clearance made the still modern looking shape of the body feel aged.
In this photoshop chop, I adressed the above points and as a result the car has a lot more presence. Most obviously the ride height has been altered and the track widened. Apart from that I fixed the greenhouse by performing a top chop and modifying the rake of all pillars. To tie in the design of the pre-facelift taillights with the widened track, they have been modified as well instead of opting for the ugly facelift parts.
