German car maker
NSU ("Neckarsulm Strickmaschinen Union", founded in 1873, first car in
1905) originally intended to present their new NSU K70 in March 1969
at the Geneva Motor Show. At the last minute, the K70 was removed
from the NSU show stand, probably by the new owner Volkswagen.
Volkswagen acquired NSU Motorenwerke in 1969 and merged it with Auto
Union (acquired in 1964), creating Audi NSU Auto Union AG, in 1985
renamed as Audi AG.
The development of
the NSU K70 began in 1964. Designed by NSU engineer Ewald Praxl and
styled by Claus Luthe as a four-door saloon (and three-door estate)
it was intended to complement the NSU range between the NSU 1000/1200
and the NSU Ro80. The name of the car finds its origin in German,
with K denoting the German word “Kolben” (piston) and 70
designating an engine output of 70 PS (51 kW). The Ro80 name meaning
“Rotationskolben” typ 80. The K70 featured front wheel drive,
strong road holding, a very roomy interior, and a large luggage
compartment. The car also had, for that period, high standard safety
features such as a fuel tank mounted directly ahead of the rear axle,
and a steering column angled in order to reduce the risk of its being
pushed too far back into the passenger cabin. 23 NSU K70's were
produced.
 |
| NSU K70 promo |
 |
| NSU K70 advert |
 |
| NSU K70 Estate prototype |
 |
| NSU K70 Estate prototype |
The NSU K70 would
ultimately become the first Volkswagen with a front-mounted engine,
water cooling and front wheel drive in August 1970. It competed with
Volkswagen brand cars like the Volkswagen 411 (1968) and the Audi 100
(C1) (1968). The estate version, which would have competed directly
against the Volkswagen 411 estate, was never produced. The Volkswagen
K70 was launched with a 1605 cc four-cylinder water-cooled engine,
developed from the four-cylinder engine mounted in the rear of the
NSU 1200. In 1973 the 1807 cc version (K70 LS) was introduced with
100 PS (74 kW).
 |
| Volkswagen K70 (1970) |
 |
| Volkswagen K70 L (1970) |
 |
| Volkswagen K70 with competitors Audi 100 (C1) and Volkswagen 411 |
 |
| Volkswagen K70 L (1973) |
 |
| Volkswagen K70 LS 100 PS (1973) |
The Volkswagen K70
was replaced in 1973 by the Volkswagen Passat, although production
continued until February 1975 with a minor facelift in 1973. A total
of 211,127 K70's were manufactured from 1970 until 1975.
Volkswagen K70 Bundesarchiv (1970)
I had one for about 4 years great car Done about 80,000 but a we bit prone for rust
ReplyDeleteSandy