Neckar Mistral

1965 Neckar Mistral

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Essen, Germany | March 26-27, 2020

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

NSU was a German car company founded in 1873 to produce knitting machines. They turned to motorcycles in 1901 and cars in 1905. Based in Neckarsulm, Germany, the company was acquired by Volkswagen in 1969 and merged into Auto Union. This was sort of the genesis of the current Audi brand.

I told you that to tell you this: in 1932, NSU’s first run at automobile manufacture failed, and their Heilbronn factory was sold to Fiat. Between 1929 and 1957, cars produced at this plant were called NSU-Fiats. In 1957, the Fiat-designed cars produced at this plant were sold under the Neckar brand. This lasted until 1971.

The Mistral was the Neckar-branded version of the Siata 1500 TS, which itself was a Michelotti-styled derivative of the Fiat 1500. Power is from a 1.5-liter inline-four that made 94 horsepower. Like its Siata twin, this is a rare car today. It’s now offered at no reserve. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $12,031.

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