The reaction of six ?-substituted norbornadienes with seven sulfonyl azides has been investigated. The products consist of either the novel azatetracyclic system 1 or the stereoisomeric bicycles 2 or of a mixture of them. The chemical behaviour of 1 has been studied. Mechanistically the results may be rationalized within the frame of the Mazzocchi-Houk model. The theoretical predictions of this model, concerning the K* and cr* energies, were confirmed experimentally by using electron-transmission spectroscopy.1,3-Dipolar cycloadditions to 7-substituted norbornadienes do not exclusively follow Alder's exo rule2), but show a complex stereochemical behaviour with regard to their exo/endo and synlanti stereosclectivity. Thus, for the addition of phenyl azide to 7-tertbutoxynorbornadiene Klumpp et al. 3, found 55% syn-endo, 30% anti-exo, and even 15% of the sterically demanding syn-exo adduct.Contrary to this, Fran~k-Neumann~), Wilt 'I, and co-workers reported on a stereoselcctive endo-anti cycloaddition of diazoalkanes to 7-chloronorbornadiene. However, such a stereoselectivity was not found for 7-oxygenated norbornadienes.Kinetic studies on cycloadditions of hexachlorocyclopentadiene6.'' showed that the reactivity decreases with increasing electronegativity of the substituent in the 7-position and that the exoanti attack is strongly inhibited. These findings were confirmed by recent investigations performed by De Micheli, Gandolfi, and Houk concerning the addition of mesitylenecarbonitrile oxide to 7-substituted norbornadienes.The addition of sulfonyl azides to norbornadienes is particularly intercsting since the resulting unstable triazolines undergo remarkable rearrangement reactions. Thus, Franz and Osuch') found that the addition of phenylsulfonyl azide to 7-substituted norbornadienes afforded the azabicycles 2 in 68% yield besides an isomeric sideproduct which displayed only signals of aliphatic hydrogen atoms in its 'H-NMR spectrum and for which one of the two tetracyclic structures 1 or 3 was assumed, Scheme 1