Volkswagen K 70
(1970 - 1974)
Brand:
Volkswagen (also known as VW)
Country:
Germany
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The VW K 70 was preceded by the reputation of being a miracle car - would it be able to live up to these expectations, the magazine 'hobby' asked itself in 1970. A pre-production vehicle was taken for a test drive and the conclusions were thoroughly positive, even if the new Volkswagen was by no means able to drive away from the now stronger competition. This vehicle report reproduces the original comments of the 'hobby' tester and is extensively illustrated with historical pictures and a sales brochure.
The sensation did not happen. It was planned for the 1969 Geneva Motor Show and the star was the NSU K 70, the new mid-range saloon from Neckarsulm. The premiere was canceled at short notice, not by NSU, but by Volkswagen, as VW had merged with NSU shortly before. But a year later, the K 70 was reborn as a Volkswagen and launched on the market. This report describes the history of the NSU/VW K 70 and shows an early example from 1970 in many pictures. The report is supplemented with archive photos and advertisements from the period.
Thanks to a third-party development, modernity had suddenly dawned at Volkswagen. The water-cooled and front-wheel-drive NSU stepchild made all of Wolfsburg's own developments look even more outdated than they already were in 1970. The VW K 70 was not only modern and spacious, but also impressed with handling characteristics that would otherwise have been expected from models from south of the Alps. Even as a pre-production vehicle, the ex-NSU knew how to impress, as this historical test report shows in detail.
A bourgeois today, one might exclaim in view of the Volkswagen K70 and Audi 80 LS. But the two notchback saloons stand for much more than conservative mid-range fare. They heralded a new beginning for the Volkswagen Group at the start of the 1970s. But two competing car designs could not be a good idea for a group that was not bedded on roses. Only one could survive. This article compares the two mid-range saloons and shows them in many pictures.
After its launch in 1970, the K 70 taken over from NSU matured into Volkswagen's family-friendly and moderately sporty flagship. Auto Revue tested the K 70 L in the summer of 1973 and found that most of the weaknesses had been eliminated and the advantages outweighed the weaknesses. This report reproduces the newly edited original text and supplements it with archive photos and the original brochure.
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