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Tue Nov 13, 2007 11:36 pm

Dad learned to work on vws at the local supplier in lebanon back in the seventies.
He said he heard someone saying that Volkswagen compagny stopped producing the K70 because mercedes-benz & Bmw paid a lot of money for that cuz if they didnt, the k70 furtherly developped wud drive them out of buisness (which i really wish happened :P )
Is that somewhat of reality? does it even make sense?
Just checking.
Thank you.
Bassam

Fri Nov 30, 2007 10:53 pm

I have read several places that the K70 was a pile of crap.
But I did a search & found this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_K70
Quote: The Volkswagen K70 (pronounced as "ka siebzig" in German) is a sedan automobile produced by both NSU and Volkswagen from 1969 to 1974. The K70 was the first VW to have a front-mounted watercooled engine.

The K70 was originally developed by NSU as a smaller brother to the more famous Ro 80, the main difference being that the K70 used a conventional piston engine instead of the Ro80's more complicated Wankel rotary engine. The name "K70" referred to the fact that the engine had a power output of 70 hp (52 kW), the "K" denoting the German word "Kolben", meaning piston.

In 1969, just as the car was about to be launched, NSU was taken over by Volkswagen, who integrated the Neckarsulm company with Auto-Union/Audi, which it had acquired in 1964. VW was in desperate need for a new family sedan to replace the unsuccessful Type 4, which itself was intended to replace the Beetle. Thinking that the K70, featuring front wheel drive and modern styling, was the perfect way to transform its image, the Wolfsburg firm quickly scrapped publicity material showing the K70 badged as an NSU, and instead put it into production as a Volkswagen.

Despite the different badging, buyers tarred the K70 with the same brush as its unreliable Ro 80 sister car, leading to poor sales. It was replaced in 1973 by the Audi-based Volkswagen Passat.

Volkswagen sold 210,082 copies of the K70.

Sat Dec 01, 2007 11:26 am

Quote: VW was in desperate need for a new family sedan to replace the unsuccessful Type 4, which itself was intended to replace the Beetle.

Just goes to show Wiki is not always fact-checked. The Type 4 was never intended as a Beetle replacement. It was a compliment to the Bug, allowing VW to offer "a complete line" of cars. They were at the opposite spectrum in cost and size.

Tue Aug 04, 2009 6:44 am

My VW (NSU) K70 is not a piece of crap. It's much more refined than an air cooled VW. It was a NSU when VW swooped in and purchased Audi/NSU and re badged it. It has some VW (Beetle) parts but it mostly engineered by NSU. Look at your history dude. The RO80 Wankel power killed the K70. It has nothing to do with the quality of the car. http://www.vwk70.com/my70.jpg

KTPhil wrote: Quote: VW was in desperate need for a new family sedan to replace the unsuccessful Type 4, which itself was intended to replace the Beetle.

Just goes to show Wiki is not always fact-checked. The Type 4 was never intended as a Beetle replacement. It was a compliment to the Bug, allowing VW to offer "a complete line" of cars. They were at the opposite spectrum in cost and size.

Mon Aug 10, 2009 8:05 pm

I'd kill for a K-70 no matter how bad their rep is. I do wonder what happened to the blue one that hit our shores a few years back though.

Tue Aug 11, 2009 4:50 am

There are 2 that I know of. The Blue one is in as bad of shape as the other. One in Jersey and one in Montana. They both have cracked windshields and are rusty non-runners. The bad rep was from the twin car the NSU RO80. It was wankel powered and very unreliable. The K70 looks like a baby RO. Mine runs smooth and fast (for 70hp) and makes a delightful whirring/whizzing noise.

-kurt in New Hampshire

Tue Aug 11, 2009 7:04 pm

Hey Kurt I've got your car in miniature..

1/87th scale

1/66th scale

I'd love to see more pictures of yours. I had a '74 Audi Fox and the K-70 surely opened the door for more technology to end up in the Rabbit/Scirocco/Dasher/Fox.

Tue Sep 22, 2009 11:35 am

Kewl man! Same color and everything! I lucked into mine. I have to say it is difficult to deal with the club in Germany though. I'll be at the Lars Anderson show in Boston in about 2 weeks if you want to see it in person. I'm going to drive it down. I sometimes think of trading it for a Doka someday. I don't like owning a one of a kind treasure. It makes me nervous!

If ya got a nice Doka, give me a shout :-)

Wed Sep 23, 2009 8:26 am

I have never seen a K70 in person but those are some of the best pics I have ever seen. Thanks!