The Be-1 was the first of the “Pike Factory” cars. It created quite a stir at the 1985 Tokyo Motor Show. The public loved the retro styling, and when the order taking process began, all of the planned 10,000 Be-1’s were spoken for in just a few days.
The PAO was introduced to an adoring public at the 1987 Tokyo Motor Show alongside the S-Cargo. The retro styling of the hugely popular Be-1 was continued and taken even further.
As the popularity of Sport Utility Vehicles (or SUVs) grew in the 1990s, Nissan realized it needed a small four-wheel drive SUV to augment sales of its larger Nissan Patrol.
The Nissan S-Cargo was first shown at the 1987 Tokyo Motor Show. From 1989 until 1992, only about 8,000 were produced. The small size but tall cargo area made it an ideal delivery vehicle in urban areas, with payload limited to 660 pounds.
Designed in Finland and built in China, the Norster 600R seen here may look like, and even drive like, a normal passenger car but it is actually registered in Europe as a “heavy quad” (All Terrain Vehicle in the US).
In the 1950s, NSU was the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world. Management was still looking into the future, and was concerned that small cars were going to replace the motorcycle as a means of transport.
The NSU trademark was first used in 1892. Motorcycle production began in 1901, and the first NSU-badged car was introduced at the Berlin Motor Show in 1907.
While the NSU Prinz 1, 2, and 3 were inexpensive, economical cars, they were not considered stylish. NSU realized that if they sought to sell small cars in volume numbers they needed a car with a more appealing style.
The Ro-80 was a truly advanced front-wheel drive saloon. It combined the first commercially developed twin-rotor Wankel engine with front-wheel drive and semi-automatic transmission, a spacious interior, and a low-drag body shape.
A derivative of the Prinz, the Sport Prinz was built on the Prinz platform. Designed by Franco Scaglione while at the Bertone studios in Turin, this new sporty NSU was a hit at the 1958 Frankfurt Motor Show.
The Wankel-Spider was the world’s first rotary-engined production car. NSU had been experimenting with Wankel-patent rotary engines since the mid-1950s.
