
Well, this is a turn up: a tunnel. The car is detonating sound. like buckshot. You W swear you can hear every firing stroke, but then so can the poor office workers who are decamping to see what is causing the commotion. Oh, and it's getting a bit smoky in here, and this black vinyl is hotter than the sun. Our NSU 1000TTS wants to bolt, initial hesitation leading to a pronounced lunge with only a few millimetres of throttle travel. This is an angry buzzbomb when prodded. Just one more run, the snapper suggests, you know, to go with the last half a dozen 'one last runs'. Sorry everyone, please don't judge.
Out come the phones to record the moment, each onlooker seemingly astounded that something so small can make so much noise. That and perhaps marvelling at the driver who appears to have taken a turn for the salmon pink and sprung a leak. Yeah, sure, heaven forbid we should have the windows down for the photography. That would be awful. Just 10 minutes in and it's as though you have been mainlining espresso. We're buzzing, but so far we haven't left the environs of an industrial estate somewhere in Lisbon, Portugal, its exact whereabouts, we are afraid, top secret (except to those who work nearby, obviously).
What is telling is that on our arrival this car is the one nearest the door. It belongs to a candidate for 'world's nicest man', Manuel Ferrão, a publishing magnate whose collecting instincts stretch to the obligatory Ferraris, Astons, Maseratis and the like. He also has a Cobra 427, a Ford GT40, assorted Lotus and Lola sports-racers, Group B rally cars (with works warpaint and without) and lots and lots of Abarths. The point is that this isn't a car you would associate with someone whose cache is dripping with exotica, but, as he is quick to point out, it's fun. Think of the NSU as a German Abarth - a car whose praises are rarely sung outside its homeland, but which deserve to be.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June 2023-Ausgabe von Classic & Sports Car.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June 2023-Ausgabe von Classic & Sports Car.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden

HIRED MUSCLE
Vauxhall's rebadging of an Australian V8 coupé was an ingenious corporate coup that also inspired its fiery VXR performance sub-brand

'The mighty motor punches this legendary car through the air'
This magnificent Bentley 8 Litre spent much of its life being honed for speed-record success, and its performance is still remarkable today.

MADE TO MAKE YOUR MOUTH WATER
An 'Opal Fruit green' Ford Capri II sparked a Liverpudlian schoolboy's fantasy that would one day become reality

NEW BLOOD TO LIGHT UP HISTORICS
Recent tweaks to the structure of international historic competition are good news for fans of variety

Charge of the light brigade
The Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 Club Sport's 'less is more' philosophy resulted in a line of revered CS models, led by the 968 and 993

ANGLES OF DESTINY
The wedge-shaped ADO71 could have restored British Leyland's fortunes, but bad timing and an image problem conspired against it

So you want to be a RALLY DRIVER?
If so, the Historic Rally Car Register's Clubmans events are a great place to start. C&SC has partnered with the series for 2025, so let's meet the runners and riders

GRAN DEUR OUT OF A CRISIS
The Mercury Monarch and its Ford Granada twin were products of postFuel Crisis austerity, with compact luxury designed to rival Europe's best

Warts and all
This ex-John Surtees Ferrari 330GT's highly original patina has remained through various owners, and its current custodian plans to keep it that way.

SOME LIKE IT HOT
The United Arab Emirates has been hosting a Middle Eastern take on an Italian classic since 2022, and the event is developing a character all of its own