The Thurner RS, an Insurance man's dream

The Thurner RS

The Thurner RS was a sports car produced in Germany in the early 1970's. It was the vision of insurance salesman, Rudolf Thurner, and was first introduced in 1969. In order produce the RS, Thurner founded his own company called "Rudolf Thurner, Karosseriebau & Sportwagen" that same year.

The prototype along with the first six production models of the cars were built in an old forge near Munich-Riem, but the remaining cars were produced in the buildings of an old spinning mill in Bernbeuren.

The RS was a two-seater sports car with gull-wing doors. It used the double headlights of the NSU TT, which were located under plexiglass covers in its front fascia, while the windshield came from a Porsche 904.

The Thurner RS

The prototype was manufactured on the chassis of an NSU TT but the NSU 1200 C (shortened by 100 mm) served as the basis of the production cars. The body was made of fiberglass/glass fiber reinforced plastic (GRP), which was mounted on a steel tubular frame.

The Thurner RS

In addition to the road version, a racing version, the Thurner RS-R, was also produced with an NSU fuel injected engine, which developed 135 hp. Another project was planned, with the chassis of the VW Beetle 1303 and the engine of the Porsche 914/6, but was ultimately cancelled. 

The Thurner RS, with updated custom bodywork

The oil crisis had made manufacturing costs considerably more expensive and, tragically, Thurner's chief financial officer died in a car accident. With these setbacks, the company folded in 1974.

In total, 121 models were built. 

The cars are celebrated in Munich to this day, with a fairly large number of them still operating in Germany and throughout Europe. They have a small but dedicated owners club and have garnered a share of the NSU marque's fandom as well. 

Sources:

Classic Driver
Wikipedia - German edition

The Thurner RS, in a German Museum

The Thurner RS, with custom bodywork

The Thurner RS, showing off its rear mounted engine and gull-wing doors

The Thurner RS

The Thurner RS

The Thurner RS, with custom bodywork

The Thurner RS

The Thurner RS, from the rear