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- In order to quickly present potential Wankel licensees with an exemplary vehicle in the upper middle class, the Ro 80 was launched in 1967, before it was fully developed.
- Although the much-cited engine seal problems were completely under control by 1970, they ruined the reputation of the Ro 80 for good.
- Many drivers were also unable to handle the new type of drive properly. Worn out engines due to lack of oil and over revving were the result.
- The NSU workshops, which up to then had to deal mainly with small cars and motorcycles, mostly did not get along with the Wankel engine.
- For this reason, NSU showed extreme goodwill when replacing engines - and in doing so nurtured the myth of high engine wear. (More than 75% of the "broken" engines only needed a new adjustment of carburettor and ignition).
- When the NSU engineers had finally fixed all technical problems, the oil price crisis of 1973 came and made the Ro 80 unattractive due to its comparatively high consumption.
- However, the final end of the Ro 80 was a corporate policy decision: since the merger of NSU and Auto Union, the new Audi NSU Auto Union AG had two models in the same vehicle class - and so the Ro 80 eventually had to make way for the Audi 100.
