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Kohlmus Scirocco - short wheelbase coupe body - manufactured in 1978
Sometimes the difference between having an entry in the car history books and to pass into oblivion can be very small. Such is the case with two German manufacturers of NSU-based sportscars: Thurner and Kohlmus. Both cars were to all intents and purposes virtually the same but the Thurner made the history books and the Kohlmus didn't. The story behind the cars is controversial and revolves about two man claiming the same design: Rudolf Thurner and Dieter Kohlmus.
Dieter Kohlmus had a specialized firm which made polyester products like hulls of ships and aerodynamic fairing for motorcycles. He was contacted by Rudolf Thurner to create a prototype of the polyester body he planned for his gull-winged RS coupe in the late 1960s. After the prototype had been made the two men fell in disagreement and Kohlmus refused to return the moulds of the body to Thurner. Then a bitter struggle started about who was entitled to what and, more importantly, who had the rights to produce the car. Ultimately a judge had to intervene and ruled in King Salomon style: both could produce the car but Kohlmus had to change the rear of the design and Thurner the front.
In 1969 both introduced their NSU specials, Kohlmus named his version the Scirocco, well before Volkswagen used this model name. The design looked much like the Porsche 904, which was stressed by the use of identical headlights and windshield. Of more common origin was its rear window, which came from the Fiat 850, and of course its underpinnings which was taken from the NSU 1200 C. It was an incredibly low and lightweight vehicle at 105 cm height and 600 kg weight; powered by the NSU 1200 TT engine it could reach a maximum speed of over 185 kph.
An important distinction between the Thurner RS and the Kohlmus Scirocco was the way the cars were sold. Thurner only offered complete cars while Kohlmus also offered his model as a kit. It was advertized as being easy to assemble but in fact it took quite a lot of work to make a Scirocco from the crude, unfinished bodyparts and an used NSU chassis. A complete car costed about three times as much as the kit, but saved a lot of time and headache.
A result of selling cars this way was the variety in quality and appearance of the Sciroccos, which perhaps lead to it being regarded as a "mere kit car" while the Thurner RS enjoyed more respect as a proper car. Even though it's said that the Scirocco's body was a better construction. Still, production of the Scirocco only amounted to something from 25 to 48 cars with the majority produced between 1969 and 1973 while Thurner produced 121 cars in the same period. This ensured the Thurner a small entry in the history books and rendered Kohlmus almost forgotten.
Almost, but not quite forgotten because there are NSU enthusiasts who like the obscure and keep the remaining Sciroccos alive. The car shown here is a good example, it's the last Kohlmus produced body and features an unique short wheelbase design. It makes the proportions of the car look awkward but places the engine directly behind the rear seats which turns the car from rear engined into mid engined, resulting in better weight distribution and roadholding. It was Dieter Kohlmus' personal car and probably meant for competition but it was never raced.
Unlike Thurner Kohlmus didn't go bankrupt, he just stopped making cars and continued with other polyester products. This probably illustrates the difference between the two men and their cars: the dreamer versus the entrepreneur.
© André Ritzinger, Amsterdam, Holland
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