The world’s first production car with a Wankel engine
A technical milestone from NSU
One of only 2,375 Spiders built
Exciting Bertone design
Matching numbers
Introduced in 1964, the NSU Wankel Spider was the world’s first series-production car powered by a Wankel engine and marked an important milestone in automotive history. At its heart was the rotary-piston engine conceived by Felix Wankel, which NSU had worked with Wankel to develop into a production-ready unit from 1957 onwards. The Wankel Spider was based on the NSU Sport Prinz, itself introduced in 1957, whose bodywork had been reworked by Franco Scaglione at Bertone. The elegant two-seat convertible featured a rear-mounted, single-rotor Wankel engine with a chamber volume of 498 cc, producing 50 hp.
Series production began in 1964, with a total of 2,375 examples built by 1967. Alongside its compact, free-revving rotary engine, the Wankel Spider was distinguished by its low weight, sporting handling and fully retractable soft top. It remained the only production model of its time to use this form of propulsion and also served NSU as an important test bed for the further development of Wankel technology. In 1967, the NSU Ro 80 represented the next major step, taking the principle into large-scale production with a twin-rotor engine.
According to the NSU/Wankel Spider Register, this NSU Wankel Spider, chassis number 560-2625, was built on 8 December 1966. Originally delivered in Glacier White, colour code 531, the Spider still presents today in its factory colour. According to the accompanying documentation, its Wankel engine, number 5020-2686, is also the original unit.
The car’s original country of destination has not been verified by the register, although delivery to Austria appears to be a possibility. From 1970 onwards, its history can be traced through the surviving Italian registration documents. Its first documented keeper, born in 1926, registered the Spider in Asti, Piedmont, on 16 February 1970. On 2 December 1992, it changed hands within Asti.
In 2003, the Spider made its way to the province of Cremona. It was registered in Vailate on 31 January, before changing hands again on 22 April that same year and moving just a few kilometres away to Rivolta d’Adda. The most recent document on file dates from 2023 and records its last Italian owner.
With its documented original colour, original engine and traceable history, this Spider represents a particularly interesting surviving example. Of the 2,375 cars originally built, the NSU/Wankel Spider Register currently records just 708 as still surviving.