Thurner RS: Germany’s Forgotten Sports Car with a Rebel Soul

Garage Grit - Not every great car begins in a high-tech factory or a massive design studio. Some start their journey in workshops, powered more by passion than budget, built by people whose imagination goes far beyond the expected. That’s exactly where the story of the Thurner RS begins—but before this German sports car ever hit the road, its roots first took shape in Spain, under the banner of Hispano Alemán.

The Thurner RS was produced by Rudolf Thurner Karosseriebau & Sportwagen between 1969 and 1974, with a total of 121 units built. (Picture from: RareComponentCars)

It was Werner Bernhard Heiderich, founder of Hispano Alemán, who became the first to bring the design to the public eye. Inspired by a prototype originally crafted by German coachbuilder Dieter Kohlmus, Heiderich launched a small production model called the Hispano Alemán Scirocco. Built on the foundation of the NSU TT 1200, the Scirocco combined German engineering with a Mediterranean flair, offering a lightweight fiberglass body and a distinctive silhouette. It wasn’t a mass-market car, but it stood out with a confident blend of sportiness and style—traits that would echo in what came next.

The Thurner RS features gullwing doors and twin headlights from the NSU TT, housed under Plexiglas covers in its flat nose, along with a windshield sourced from the Porsche 904. (Picture from: RareComponentCars)

That original prototype came from the hands of Kohlmus, whose Munich-based firm Kohlmus Kunststofftechnik KG specialized in fiberglass bodywork. Using the compact yet capable NSU TT as a base, he created a sleek sports coupe that balanced innovation with visual punch. But when Kohlmus’s partnership with collaborator Rudolf Thurner ended, the project split in two directions. Kohlmus refined his version, and Heiderich brought it to life in Spain under the Scirocco name—while Thurner, on the other hand, chose to go his own way and created something entirely new: the Thurner RS. 

The Thurner RS's body is made of fiberglass, which was stretched over a tubular steel frame. (Picture from: RareComponentCars)

Rudolf Thurner didn’t come from an automotive background—he worked in insurance—but that didn’t stop him from founding his own company, Rudolf Thurner, Karosseriebau & Sportwagen, in 1969. His vision was ambitious: a German-made sports car with unique styling, modern materials, and a racing spirit. The Thurner RS was the result. Built initially in an old forge near Munich-Riem, and later in a converted spinning mill in Bernbeuren, the RS carried forward some visual DNA from the Kohlmus prototype but took a bold step forward.

The Thurner RS was based on the shortened floorpan of the NSU 1200 C, with the NSU TT engine installed in the rear. (Picture from: RareComponentCars)

This was a car designed to be different. Its body was molded from fiberglass-reinforced plastic and mounted on a tubular steel frame. It featured gull-wing doors, double headlights under smooth plexiglass covers—borrowed from the NSU TT—and even a windshield sourced from the Porsche 904. The prototype sat on an NSU TT chassis, while production models were built using a shortened NSU 1200 C platform. Thurner wasn't just thinking of road-going fun; he also had motorsport in mind. 

The Thurner RS-R, a race-spec variant featuring an NSU Abt fuel-injected engine, delivering up to 135 horsepower—a respectable figure for such a lightweight machine. (Picture from: Perico001 in Flickr)

A race-spec variant, the Thurner RS-R, was introduced with an NSU engine fitted with fuel injection, delivering up to 135 horsepower—a respectable figure for such a lightweight machine. Some sources claim that only three units of the RS-R were actually produced in 1971. Thurner had even more daring plans: another model built on a VW Beetle 1303 chassis, powered by a Porsche 914/6 engine. Sadly, this version never made it past the planning phase. 

The Thurner RS-R, a race-spec variant of the original model, was a highly limited edition with only three units believed to have been produced in 1971. (Picture from: ClassicDriver)

As with many independent efforts of the time, external forces soon took their toll. The oil crisis of the early 1970s drove up production costs, and tragedy struck when Thurner’s chief financial officer died in a car accident. With these setbacks compounding, the company closed its doors in 1974. Only 121 units of the Thurner RS were ever built. 

The 1971 Thurner RS-R may have been Rudolf Thurner's personal car, used by him in both hill climb and slalom events.  (Picture from: RareComponentCars)

Today, these cars live on as rare and fascinating examples of what can happen when creativity meets courage. They’re celebrated by a small but passionate circle of enthusiasts, especially in Munich and across Europe, where a surprising number of these handmade machines are still running. | kc2S16hOIjQ |

More than just a quirky footnote in automotive history, the Thurner RS represents a time when boundaries were made to be challenged—when visionaries could take big risks and occasionally, just occasionally, bring something truly special to life on four wheels. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | RARECOMPONENTCARS | CLASSICDRIVER | PERICO001 IN FLICKR | WIKIPEDIA ]

Note: This blog can be accessed via your smart phone.