Citroen XM Forum

Despite being a little unlucky with my own cars I have had a good run of other spots lately including the Aston Martin Lagonda recently highlighted! Last week on my work trip to Suffolk travelling along a remote county lane I spotted something almost as rare and exotic as the Aston! As I cannot currently load the photos anyone want to guess and the clues are German, early 1970s and innovative! Regards, Matthew T.

NSU RO80?

That is very impressive Dean - you got it first time!! Not really what you expect to see sitting on a grass verge down a Suffolk lane! I will keep trying to add the photos! With regards, Matthew T.

I know, im sad.
maybe he had just run out of engine? dont get me wrong, ive never driven or owned such a car but i believe back in the day owners would end up by the side of the road after running out of engine fairly regularly.

D

I do believe owners who passed each other used to hold up their fingers in relation to how many engines they have had!

There used to be a dark green RO80 that roamed Cheltenham. I nearly crashed the car (not the Xm, the R21) when I saw it for the first time!

There are some cool YouTube videos of owners driving them really hard.

Here are the photos at last as promised and I am sure that you will agree the car appears to be in reasonable shape! I am not sure about the engine, or even if there is one under the bonnet! It is quite surprising the car is not under cover or even on a private driveway and it seems to have been sitting there a while. The last Ro80 I saw was a very tidy example at a car show a couple of years ago near Chelmsford. There was also a chap very locally to me who had one under tarpaulins behind his house recently purchased on the bay that now seems to have gone! With regards, Matthew T.

Wow, nice find. It needs some work, has some missing trim, but looks very good generally.
They used to bung Ford V4s in if they were fed up of the rotary.

Many thanks Russ and next time I am passing I shall try to dig out the owner for a chat! The other more recent encounter was with a late 1980s turbo-charged cabriolet - any ideas? Regards, Matthew T.

Saab 900?

I wonder if the RO80 was actually that bad or if its 70% myth?

Do excuse me, i do like the idea of rotary, even if its always been a bit fragile but the RO80 (i think) is just ugly, anyone else just seeing the back of a BMW 2002 glued to the front of a 504 Pug?

D

That is correct again Dean and I will try and attach some photos! One of the compensations of breaking down in Yorkshire was that my acquaintance who ferried me to Hull for the rotor arm owned a nice 1989 900 turbo that was the taxi!!

On the Ro80 I understand the problems with rotor tip wear were later sorted and cars are now quite reliable. I agree the looks from some angles are not great, but still a distinctive and well-balanced design. I have just watched an interesting Top Gear programme with Quentin Willson that gives good background.

With regards,

Matthew T.