THE CARS THAT SAVED OR SHAMED THE COMPANY: NO.17 NSU Ro80 - The Ro80 nearly started a revolution, but its rotary engine had other ideas

摘要

Every couple of decades or so the four-stroke piston engine's century-long reign as the dominant power source of cars comes under light threat. Right now it's the electric motor doing the threatening, though even the most optimistic peddlers of volt-propelled motors don't see them winning more than a five to 10 per cent chunk of the market - at the most - by 2020. Rewind 20 years and there was a mild frenzy surrounding a new kind of two-stroke as plenty of car makers bet on a reinvented, super-economical version of this engine. Ford even got as far as testing two-stroke Fiestas on British roads. We're still waiting...