Sixty-eight was a wild year, people tried out all sorts of things - in the political or interpersonal sphere, or even in boating.
In issue 6 of that year, BOOTE magazine (itself still young at the time) presented not only the "rocket boat of the future" and tips on how to combine inflatable boating and surfing, but also NSU's official attempt to bring the Wankel engine to the water.
Next to the photo above, the editors wrote at the time:This is the test boat in which NSU-Motorenwerke tested the new marinised version of the Wankel engine from the RO-80 saloon under the toughest saltwater conditions in the Adriatic.
After NSU Wankel engines had already been offered for some time under the brand name Skicraft for water ski sleds or as slack water pushers, NSU has now taken the step of producing its own marine engines.
The RO-80 boat engine (with ZF drive) delivers 115 genuine (DIN) hp, has dual-circuit cooling, weighs only approx. 110 kg and runs quietly, almost like a turbine. Two of them take the Coronet day cruiser up to 70 km/h.
Long life seems to be built in: The engine's performance is throttled. And: even in a car, where the engine is subjected to more abuse than in a boat, NSU gives a one-and-a-half year guarantee.
So far, so good! It is no longer possible to say how durable the boat RO-80 actually was - at least on land, the new technology initially had to overcome a number of teething troubles.
Although another model, the 135 hp NSU Marine RO 135, was launched on the market, Felix Wankel's innovative rotary piston engines ultimately remained a passing phenomenon in boating.
Christian Tiedt
Editor Travel
