It all began with a knitting machine factory in Riedlingen on the Danube. After the move to Neckarsulm, bicycles followed, then motorcycles – and finally, in 1906, the start of the company’s own automobile manufacturing with the “Original Neckarsulmer Motorwagen”. Ten years after the end of the Second World War and the partial destruction of the production facilities, NSU Werke was the largest two-wheeler factory in the world. In 1958, car production also resumed with the NSU Prinz. In 1969, NSU merged with Auto Union GmbH Ingolstadt to form Audi NSU Auto Union AG.
To mark the 150th anniversary of Audi’s Neckarsulm site, twelve apprentices from the fields of automotive mechatronics, bodywork and vehicle construction mechanics, and painting have electrified a Neckarsulm classic car and given it a major makeover. The basis for this “restomod”, as such hybrids of restoration and modification are called, was an NSU Prinz 4L built in 1971, resulting in the “EP4” (the “E” stands for the electric motor, “P4” for the “Prinz 4” built in Neckarsulm from 1961 to 1973). In order to create a solid basis for the later conversions, (the 4L had been out of service for many years) the bodywork was first put in order. While the budding bodywork and paint specialists took care of the chassis and the outer skin of the classic, the future automotive mechatronics technicians tackled the drive, the battery and the chassis.
Whereas a two-cylinder gasoline engine with an output of 30 hp used to work in the rear of the “Prince,” it now houses an electric motor with 240 hp from a 2020 Audi e-tron. It is fed by a battery from the plug-in hybrid Audi Q7 TFSI e quattro housed under the front hood. Cooling air flows in through a wide air intake in the bumper and out again through a generously sized opening in the front hood. The tailgate can be fixed in a half-open position and further improves cooling, which incidentally is reminiscent of racing cars based on the sporty NSU Prinz 1000. The EP 4 has not only gained in performance; the formerly well-behaved everyday model also looks like the Prinz has done a lot of bodybuilding in its exterior. The body has been widened and fitted with “muscular fenders”; the modified underbody comes from an Audi A1 including brakes and axles. The interior is also reduced in racing style; the roll cage in signal yellow sets an accent. “The eye goes with you! So we wanted the EP4 to look good from every angle,” explains Cynthia Huster, apprentice painter.
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