The sporting fame of the Neckarsulm vehicles began in the same year that motorbike production started: 1901. Victories in track races drew attention to the motor vehicles of this brand for the first time.

Gold medals followed as a reward for remarkable achievements. Martin Geiger, for example, won the Feldberg test in 1904 with his Neckarsulm motorbike, covering the almost 10 km long distance with gradients of up to 12 percent at an average of 38 km/h. Gertrud Eisemann, one of the first and most successful female motorcycle racers in Germany, also caused a stir in these early years. She set several records, and her record of victories in long-distance rides was considerable. Incidentally, she also drove in numerous competitions on Horch cars during these years.

Neckarsulm automobiles took part in sporting activities for the first time at the Prinz-Heinrich-Fahrten. In 1909, the NSU team of three cars completed the entire route without any penalty

points. These cars also survived other major long-distance journeys gloriously, for example the quality test drive from Moscow to Orel with the result of two first prizes. Nevertheless, the NSU brand’s sporting reputation was primarily tied to its two-wheelers, which were also successful on racetracks in other countries. This was true both for the English Tourist Trophy, which Karl Gassert on NSU finished victoriously with the gold medal in 1911, and for the Semmering Race in Austria. In the 1913/14 season, 375 first prizes made up the magnificent haul of NSU motorbike racers in Germany alone.

Gertrud Eisemann, one of the first female motorcyclists, won the long-distance Eisenach-Berlin-Eisenach race in 1905 on an NSU 2 HP motorbike.