
Mercedes R-Class W251 Obsidian Black Minichamps 1:18
You save 38.00 €
Lowest price in the 30 days before the reduction: 189.00 €

This model is currently sold out. Enter your email and we'll let you know when it's back in stock.
TL;DR: Minichamps' 1:18 diecast NSU Ro80 in Blue Metallic reproduces the wedge-nosed, rotary-engine sedan that pushed automotive aerodynamics forward in the late 1960s. Diecast construction suits the Ro80's smooth surfacing, and the piece rewards collectors interested in genuinely innovative, less mainstream European classics.
The Ro80 arrived in 1967 looking like nothing else on the road, its low nose and cab-forward greenhouse anticipating aerodynamic sedan design by more than a decade.
The Ro80's smooth, low-drag body is a rewarding subject for diecast tooling precisely because its surfaces are so deliberately simple, with none of the added trim or brightwork that complicates many period sedans. Minichamps' casting holds that clean profile well, and the Blue Metallic finish shows genuine depth under direct light against the car's large, uninterrupted panels. Diecast construction gives the model real heft, and opening doors reveal a cabin styled with the same forward-looking simplicity NSU applied to the exterior. At roughly 24cm in 1:18, the Ro80's long, low proportions stand apart from the boxier sedans typical of its era, making it an immediately identifiable piece even to collectors unfamiliar with the model's engineering history.
NSU's decision to power the Ro80 with a Wankel rotary engine was genuinely bold for a mainstream sedan, and while reliability issues with the engine ultimately hurt the brand commercially, the car's styling and aerodynamic thinking influenced sedan design well beyond NSU's own lifespan as an independent company. That combination of technical ambition and commercial difficulty is exactly the kind of story that rewards a collector who enjoys discovery pieces over headline names. Displayed alongside more common German sedans of the 1970s, the Ro80's shape alone tells a story most viewers won't expect, a genuinely different design philosophy from the same decade that produced far more conventional three-box saloons.