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NSU 350 Supercharged 1939
From the moment NSU began producing motorcycles, it was
chiefly concerned with racing vehicles.
Its first Grand Prix motorcycles appeared about 1910. They were fairly advanced
for the time, with a two-cylinder V engine (only 500-cc. but modeled after
American motorcycles) and a rigid chassis with front fork elastic suspension.
In 1930 NSU challenged Norton with a single-cylinder single-shaft model designed
by Walter Moore. This vehicle had its moment of glory when the British racer Tom
Bullus rode it to a 500-class victory at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, Italy,
in 1930. In 1936 the NSU 350 single-shaft motorcycle registered the fastest lap
at Monza. The following year both the 350 and the 500 were equipped with
two-shaft distribution.
But the engine that was to lead to a series of top-notch
racing motorcycles was not built until 1939. It was a four-stroke, two-cylinder
engine with two-shaft overhead distribution and a volumetric vane supercharger.
A 350-cc. version was readied first and then a 500-cc. model.
The NSU two-cylinder with supercharger competed in the 1939 European
championship, but it did not achieve brilliant results, and there was nothing to
indicate that it would be the ancestor of a series of engines that would win
world championships and set records.
Motorcycle: NSU 350 with Supercharger Manufacturer: NSU,
Neckarsulm Type: Racing Year: 1939
Engine: NSU two-cylinder, four-stroke, with two-shaft overhead distribution with
two bevel gear shafts. Displacement 344.82 cc. (56 mm. x 70 mm.)
Cooling: Air
Transmission: Four-speed block
Power: About 60 h.p.
Maximum speed: About 125 m.p.h.
Chassis: Continuous double cradle, tubular elements. Front and rear, elastic
suspension
Brakes: Front and rear, side drum
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