Volks Wagen K70, 1970

VW K70, 1970

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, 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. The K70 also became notorious for serious corrosion problems, and very few have survived as a result. It was replaced in 1973 by the Audi-based Volkswagen Passat.

Citroen DS 21 Cabrio1970

Citroen DS 21 Cabrio1970

The Citroën DS (also known as Déesse, or Goddess, after the punning initials in French) was an automobile produced by the French manufacturer Citroën between 1955 and 1975. Citroën sold nearly 1.5 million D-series during its 20 years of production.The DS is well-known for its futuristic, aerodynamic body design, and for its innovative technology (including its hydropneumatic self-leveling suspension system).

The DS advanced the achievable standards in terms of ride quality, roadholding, handling, and braking in an automobile. Automotive journalists of the time often noted that competitors took decades to adapt to the higher standards it set. The smooth, aerodynamic body lines gave the car a futuristic appearance. While it looked very unusual in 1955, public tastes appear to have caught up with the DS in the post-Ford Taurus/Audi 100 era.

Model history
After 18 years of development in secret as the successor to the venerable Traction Avant, the DS 19 was introduced on October 5, 1955 at the Paris Motor Show. The car's appearance and innovative engineering captured the imagination of the public and the automobile industry almost overnight. 743 orders were taken in the first 15 minutes of the show, and orders for the first day totalled 12,000.

The high price tag, however, hurt general sales in a country still recovering from World War II 10 years earlier, and a submodel, the ID (another pun: in French, Idée, or Idea), was introduced in 1957 to appeal to more cost-conscious buyers. The ID shared the same body with the DS, but had more traditional features under the hood. It had no power steering (though this was added as an option later), and instead of the hydraulically controlled manual transmission and clutch, it had a conventional clutch and transmission. Interestingly, the first model series was called 11D, a clear reminder of the last model of the Traction Avant, the 11C. A station wagon variant, the ID Break, was introduced in 1958.

Outside of France, the car's radical and cosmopolitan design appealed to non-conformists. A United States advertisement summarised this selling point: "It takes a special person to drive a special car".
Despite the rather leisurely acceleration afforded by its small four-cylinder engine, the DS was successful in motorsports like rallying, where sustained speeds on poor surfaces are paramount.

Technical innovations
Hydraulic system
The hydraulic system of the DS 19 was a revolution. Previously hydraulics had been restricted to use in brakes and power steering; the DS used them for the suspension, clutch and transmission. The later ID19 had manual steering and a simplified power braking system.

Suspension
At a time when few passenger vehicles had caught up with the four-wheel independent suspension of the Traction Avant, the application of the hydraulic system to the car's suspension system to provide true self-levelling was a stunning move. This application - 'hydropneumatic suspension' - was pioneered the year before on the rear of the top of range Traction Avant 15CV-H.

Each wheel was connected not to a spring, but to a hydraulic suspension unit consisting of:
    * a sphere of about 12 cm in diameter containing pressurised nitrogen
    * a cylinder containing hydraulic fluid screwed to the suspension sphere
    * a piston inside the cylinder connected by levers to the suspension itself
    * a damper valve between the piston and the sphere

A membrane in the sphere prevented the nitrogen from escaping. The motion of the wheels translated to a motion of the piston, which acted on the oil in the nitrogen cushion and provided the spring effect. The damper valve took place of the shock absorber in conventional suspensions.

The hydraulic cylinder was fed with hydraulic fluid from the main pressure reservoir via a height corrector, a valve controlled by the mid-position of the anti-roll bar connected to the axle. If the suspension was too low, the height corrector introduced high-pressure fluid. If it was too high, it released fluid back to the fluid reservoir. In this manner, it maintained a constant height. A control in the cabin allowed the driver to select one of five heights:
    * normal riding height.
    * two slightly higher riding heights, for poor terrain.
    * two extreme positions for changing wheels.

Hydraulic fluid
The original hydropneumatic system used a vegetable oil (LHV or liquide hydraulique végétale) similar to that used in other cars at the time. Very soon, Citroën changed to using a synthetic fluid (LHS or liquide hydraulique synthétique). Both of these had the disadvantage that they are hygroscopic, as is the case with most brake fluids. Disuse allows water to enter the hydraulic components causing deterioration and expensive maintenance work. The difficulty with hygroscopic hydraulic fluid was exacerbated in the DS/ID due to the extreme rise and fall in the fluid level in the reservoir, which went from nearly full to nearly empty when the suspension "got up" and the 6 accumulators in the system filled with fluid. With every "inhalation" of fresh moisture- (and dust-) laden air, the fluid absorbed more water. In August 1967, Citroën introduced a new mineral oil-based fluid LHM, or liquide hydraulique minérale. This fluid was much less aggressive on the system and it remains in use to the present day.

Briefly illegal in the United States (US federal law requires motor vehicle brake fluid to be red - an exception had to be granted to Citroën), LHM has since been adopted by manufacturers like Rolls-Royce, Jaguar, BMW, and Audi under different labels, like "Total," "Pentosin," and others.

LHM required completely different materials for the seals. Using either fluid in the incorrect system would completely destroy the hydraulic seals very quickly. To help avoid this problem, Citroën added a bright green dye to the LHM fluid and also painted all hydraulic elements bright green. The former LHS parts were painted black.

Gearbox and clutch
The mechanical aspects of the gearbox and clutch were completely conventional and the same elements were used in the ID 19.

The gear change control consisted of:
    * Hydraulic gear selector.
    * Clutch control. This was the most complicated part. The speed of engagement of the clutch was controlled by:
    * A centrifugal regulator, sensing engine rpm and driven off the camshaft by a belt
    * The position of the butterfly valve in the carburettor (i.e. the position of the accelerator)
    * The brake circuit: when the brake was pressed, the engine idle speed dropped to a rpm below the clutch engagement speed, thus preventing friction while stopped in gear at traffic lights. When the brake was released, the idle speed increased to the clutch dragging speed. The car would then "creep" much like automatic transmission cars. This drop in idle throttle position also caused the car to have more engine drag when the brakes were applied even before the car slowed to the idle speed in gear, preventing the engine from "pulling" against the brakes.

Impact on Citroën brand development
The 1955 DS in one stroke cemented the Citroën brand name as an automotive innovator. In fact, the DS caused such a huge sensation that Citroën was fearful future models would not be bold enough. Other than variations on the very basic 2 cylinder economy car Citroën 2CV, like the Citroën Ami, no new models were introduced from 1955 to 1970.

Design variations
The DS always maintained its size and shape, with easily removable, unstressed body panels, but certain design changes did occur.
A station wagon version was introduced in 1958. It was known by various names in different markets (Break in France, Safari and Familiale in the UK, Wagon in the US, and Citroën Australia used the terms Safari and Station-Wagon). It had a steel roof to support the standard roof rack.

In September 1962, the DS was restyled with a more aerodynamically efficient nose, better ventilation and other improvements. It retained the open two headlamp appearance, but was available with an optional set of driving lights mounted on the front fenders. In 1965 a luxury upgrade kit, the DS Pallas (after Greek goddess Pallas), was introduced. This included comfort features such as better noise insulation, leather upholstery and external trim embellishments.

In 1967, the DS and ID was again restyled. This version had a more streamlined headlamp design, giving the car a notably shark-like appearance. This design had four headlights under a smooth glass canopy, and the inner set swivelled with the steering wheel. This allowed the driver to see 'around' turns, especially valuable on twisting roads driven at high speed at night.

However, this feature was not allowed in the US at the time (see World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations), so a version with four exposed headlights that did not swivel was made for the US market.
The station wagon edition, the Break (called the ID Safari on the UK market) and "Familiale", was also upgraded. The hydraulic fluid changed in all markets (except the US) to the technically superior LHM (Liquide Hydraulique Minérale).

DS engines
As with all French cars, the DS design was impacted by the tax horsepower system, which effectively mandated very small engines.

Like the Traction Avant, the DS had the gearbox mounted in front of the engine, with the differential in between. Thus the DS is a really a mid engine front wheel drive car. It initially had a four-speed transmission and clutch, operated by a hydraulic controller. To change gears, the driver flicked a lever behind the steering wheel to the next position and eased-up on the accelerator pedal. The hydraulic controller disengaged the clutch, engaged the nominated gear, and re-engaged the clutch. Manual transmission control was a lower-cost option. The later and simpler ID19 also had the same gearbox and clutch, manually operated. In the 1970s a five-speed manual and 3-speed fully-automatic were introduced, in addition to the original four-speed unit.

The DS and ID powerplants evolved throughout its 20 year production life. The car was underpowered and faced constant mechanical changes to boost the performance of the four-cylinder engine. The initial 1911 cc 3 main bearing engine (carried forward from the Traction Avant) of the DS 19 was replaced in 1965 with the 1985 cc 5 bearing motor of the DS 19a (called DS20 from September 1969).

The DS 21 was also introduced for model year 1965. This was a 2175 cc, 5 main bearing engine. This engine received a substantial increase in power with the introduction of Bosch electronic fuel injection for 1970, making the DS one of the first mass-market cars to use electronic fuel injection.

Dodge Challenger TA, 1970

Dodge Challenger TA, 1970

The first Challenger was the division's late entrant to the pony car market segment in the United States, launched for the 1970 model year.

It was strongly based on the similar Plymouth Barracuda's new E-body but with two inches (51 mm) of extra wheelbase and somewhat different outer sheetmetal. Exterior design was done by Carl "CAM'" Cameron, whom also did the exterior for the 1966 Dodge Charger. For the 1970 Challenger grille, CAM' based it off of an older sketch of his of a 1966 Charger prototype that was designed to have a turbine engine. The Charger never got the turbine, but the Challenger got that car's grille. Although the Challenger was well-received by the public (with 80,000 sales in 1970 alone), it was criticized by the press, and the pony car segment was already declining by the time the Challenger arrived. Challenger production ceased after the 1974 model year, only having lasted five years; performance dropped off dramatically after the 1971 models. About 165,500 Challengers were sold over this model's lifespan.

Challengers could either be hardtop coupes or convertibles (through 1971 only). The performance model was the R/T (Road/Track), available in both body styles; both standard and R/T hardtops could be ordered as the more luxurious SE specification, which included leather seats, a vinyl roof and a smaller 'formal' rear window. The convertible Challnger was only available as an R/T in 1970. In 1972, Dodge dropped the R/T badging and now called it the "Rallye". Other options, as well as engines and a manual transmission, included steeper rear axle ratios, a limited-slip differential, and a shaker hood scoop were gone for 1972.

A 1970-only model was the Dodge Challenger T/A (Trans Am) racing homologation car, which used a specially tuned Six-Pack version of the 340 in³ (5.6 L) engine, topped with a giant hood scoop on a fiberglass hood. 'Megaphone' exhaust outlets were fitted in front of the rear wheels. These cars came standard with front and rear sway bars to enhance handling. Unusually, different-sized wheels were fitted front and back, with very fat rubber on the rear. The T/A also came with a rear ducktail spoiler and front ground effect spoilers as standard equipment.

By 1972, all big-block engines were gone, maximum power was down to 240 hp, and production ceased in mid-1974.

Although the body style remained the same throughout the 5 year run, there were two notable changes to the front grille. 1971 models had a more stylized "split" grille, and the final manipulation coming in 1972, with the incorporation of the "sad-mouth" design. With this change to the front end, 1972 through 1974 models had little to no variation. The only way to properly distinguish said models is by the front and rear "bumperettes" which exponentially increased in size during each consecutive year. These changes were made to meet US regulations regarding crash test safety.

The 1970 taillights went all the way across the back of the car, with the backup light in the middle of the rear. In 1971, the backup lights were on the left and right instead of the middle. The taillight array also changed for 1972 onwards, with the Challenger now having four individual lamps similar to the mid-size Mercurys of the time.

Collector's value
As the Chrysler E-body line reaches legendary proportions, so too do the prices to buy them. 1970 and 1971 models tend to generate more attention from potential (and usually deep pocketed) buyers, as the performance and style options had not yet been toned down. However, with the popularity of these vehicles on the increase, coupled with the number of useable and restorable Challengers being on the decrease, many collectors have begun looking towards the later models to create their own customizable dream machines. Indeed, many "clones" of the more visceral 1970 and 1971 Challengers have been created by using 1972 through 1974 donors; The front and rear grilles/bumpers on these vehicles are easily interchangeable. However, the tail panel is not so easy to change, since the 1970 and 1971 tail panels are quite different from the 1972 to 1974 models.

Pontiac GTO, 1970

Pontiac GTO, 1970

The Pontiac GTO was an automobile built by Pontiac from 1964 to 1974, and by General Motors Holden in Australia from 2003 to 2006. It is often considered the first true muscle car. From 1964 until 1973.5, it was closely related to the Pontiac Tempest, but for its final year it was based on the Pontiac Ventura. The 21st century GTO is essentially a left hand drive Holden Monaro, itself a coupe variant of the Holden Commodore.

Second generation
1968
GM redesigned its A-body line for 1968, with more curvaceous, "bustleback" fastback styling. The previous 115 inch (292 cm) wheelbase was shortened to 112 inches (284 cm) for all two-door models. Overall length was reduced 5.9 inches (150 mm) and height dropped half an inch (12 mm), but overall weight was up about 75 pounds (34 kg). Pontiac abandoned the familiar stacked headlights for hidden headlights behind the split grille (actually a US$52.66 option, but seen on many GTOs). The signature hood scoop was replaced by dual scoops on either side of a prominent hood bulge extending from the protruding nose.

Powertrain options remained substantially the same as in 1967, but the standard GTO engine rose to 350 hp (261 kW) @ 5,000 rpm. At mid-year, a new Ram Air package became available with freer-breathing cylinder heads, round port exhaust and the 744 cam and 3.90:1 rear differential. Horsepower rating was not changed, although actual output was likely somewhat higher, especially with open exhausts. Another carry-over from 1967 was the 4-piston caliper disc brake option. While most 1968 models had drum brakes all around, this rare option provided greater stopping power and could be found on other GM A-Body vehicles of the same period. 1968 was also the last year the GTOs offered separate vent, or "wing", windows—and the only year for crank-operated vent windows.

1969
The 1969 model did not have the vent windows, had a slight grille and taillight revision, moved the ignition key from the dashboard to the steering column, and the gauge faces changed from steel blue to black. In addition, the rear quarter-panel mounted side marker lamps changed from a red lens shaped like the Pontiac "V" crest to one shaped like the broad GTO badge.

The previous economy engine and standard 350 hp 400 in³ V8 remained, but the 360 hp engine was dropped in favor of a pair of new Ram Air engines. The 400 in³ Ram Air III was rated at 366 hp (273 kW) @ 5,100 rpm, while the top option was the 370 hp (276 kW) Ram Air IV, which featured special header-like high-flow exhaust manifolds, high-flow cylinder heads, a specific high-rise aluminum intake manifold, larger Rochester QuadraJet four-barrel carburetor, high-lift/long-duration camshaft, forged steel crankshaft plus various internal components capable of withstanding higher engine speeds and power output. Unlike the big-block Chevy and Hemi motors, the Ram Air IV utilized hydraulic lifters. As a result, it did not overheat in traffic, nor did it foul spark plugs, which set it apart from the large-displacement performance engines seen in other muscle cars.

1970
The Tempest line received another facelift for the 1970 model year. Hidden headlights were deleted in favor of four exposed round headlamps outboard of narrower grille openings. The nose retained the protruding vertical prow theme, although it was less prominent. While the standard Tempest and LeMans had chrome grilles, the GTO retained the Endura urethane cover around the headlamps and grille.

The suspension was upgraded with the addition of a rear anti-roll bar, essentially the same bar as used on the Oldsmobile 442 and Buick Gran Sport. The front anti-roll bar was slightly stiffer. The result was a useful reduction in body lean in turns and a modest reduction of understeer.

Another handling-related improvement was optional variable-ratio power steering. Rather than a fixed ratio of 17.5:1, requiring four turns lock-to-lock, the new system varied its ratio from 14.6:1 to 18.9:1, needing 3.5 turns lock-to-lock. Turning diameter was reduced from 40.9 feet (12.5 m) to 37.4 feet (11.4 m).

The Judge remained available as a separate model. The Judge came standard with the Ram Air III, while the Ram Air IV was optional. Though the 455 in³ was available as an option on the standard GTO throughout the entire model year, the 455 was not offered on The Judge until late in the year. "Orbit Orange" became the new standard color for the '70 Judge, but any GTO color was available on The Judge. Striping was relocated to the upper wheelwell brows.

An Orbit Orange 1970 GTO Judge with the 455 engine and Turbo Hydra-Matic transmission was one of the featured cars in the movie "Two-Lane Blacktop", which depicted a cross-country race between the new GTO and a 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air.

The new styling did little to help declining sales, which were now being hit by sagging buyer interest in all musclecars and by the punitive surcharges levied by automobile insurance companies, which sometimes resulted in insurance payments higher than car payments for some drivers. Sales were down to 40,149, of which 3,797 were The Judge. The GTO remained the third best-selling intermediate musclecar, outsold by the Chevrolet Chevelle SS 396/454 and Plymouth Road Runner.

Citroen DS 21 Cabrio, 1970

Citroen DS 21 Cabrio, 1970

The Citroën DS (also known as Déesse, or Goddess, after the punning initials in French) was an automobile produced by the French manufacturer Citroën between 1955 and 1975. Citroën sold nearly 1.5 million D-series during its 20 years of production.The DS is well-known for its futuristic, aerodynamic body design, and for its innovative technology (including its hydropneumatic self-leveling suspension system).

Technical innovations

Hydraulic system
The hydraulic system of the DS 19 was a revolution. Previously hydraulics had been restricted to use in brakes and power steering; the DS used them for the suspension, clutch and transmission. The later ID19 had manual steering and a simplified power braking system.

Suspension
At a time when few passenger vehicles had caught up with the four-wheel independent suspension of the Traction Avant, the application of the hydraulic system to the car's suspension system to provide true self-levelling was a stunning move. This application - 'hydropneumatic suspension' - was pioneered the year before on the rear of the top of range Traction Avant 15CV-H.

Each wheel was connected not to a spring, but to a hydraulic suspension unit consisting of:
* a sphere of about 12 cm in diameter containing pressurised nitrogen
* a cylinder containing hydraulic fluid screwed to the suspension sphere
* a piston inside the cylinder connected by levers to the suspension itself
* a damper valve between the piston and the sphere

A membrane in the sphere prevented the nitrogen from escaping. The motion of the wheels translated to a motion of the piston, which acted on the oil in the nitrogen cushion and provided the spring effect. The damper valve took place of the shock absorber in conventional suspensions.

The hydraulic cylinder was fed with hydraulic fluid from the main pressure reservoir via a height corrector, a valve controlled by the mid-position of the anti-roll bar connected to the axle. If the suspension was too low, the height corrector introduced high-pressure fluid. If it was too high, it released fluid back to the fluid reservoir.

A control in the cabin allowed the driver to select one of five heights:

• normal riding height.
• two slightly higher riding heights, for poor terrain.
• two extreme positions for changing wheels.

The DS did not have a jack for lifting the car off the ground. Instead, the hydraulic system enabled wheel changes with the aid of a simple adjustable stand.

Source and reserve of pressure
The central part of the hydraulic system was the high pressure reservoir, which maintained a pressure of between 130 and 150 bar in two accumulators. These accumulators were very similar in construction to the suspension spheres. One was dedicated to the brakes, and the other ran the other hydraulic systems. Thus in case of a hydraulic failure (a surprisingly infrequent occurrence), the first indication would be that the steering became heavy, followed by the gearbox not working; only later would the brakes fail.

Hydraulic fluid
The original hydropneumatic system used a vegetable oil (LHV or liquide hydraulique végétale) similar to that used in other cars at the time. Very soon, Citroën changed to using a synthetic fluid (LHS or liquide hydraulique synthétique). Both of these had the disadvantage that they are hygroscopic, as is the case with most brake fluids. Disuse allows water to enter the hydraulic components causing deterioration and expensive maintenance work. The difficulty with hygroscopic hydraulic fluid was exacerbated in the DS/ID due to the extreme rise and fall in the fluid level in the reservoir, which went from nearly full to nearly empty when the suspension "got up" and the 6 accumulators in the system filled with fluid. With every "inhalation" of fresh moisture- (and dust-) laden air, the fluid absorbed more water. In August 1967, Citroën introduced a new mineral oil-based fluid LHM, or liquide hydraulique minérale. This fluid was much less aggressive on the system and it remains in use to the present day.

Gearbox and clutch
The mechanical aspects of the gearbox and clutch were completely conventional and the same elements were used in the ID 19.

The gear change control consisted of:
* Hydraulic gear selector.
* Clutch control. This was the most complicated part. The speed of engagement of the clutch was controlled by:
* A centrifugal regulator, sensing engine rpm and driven off the camshaft by a belt
* The position of the butterfly valve in the carburettor (i.e. the position of the accelerator)
* The brake circuit: when the brake was pressed, the engine idle speed dropped to a rpm below the clutch engagement speed, thus preventing friction while stopped in gear at traffic lights. When the brake was released, the idle speed increased to the clutch dragging speed. The car would then "creep" much like automatic transmission cars. This drop in idle throttle position also caused the car to have more engine drag when the brakes were applied even before the car slowed to the idle speed in gear, preventing the engine from "pulling" against the brakes.

DS in the US
While the DS was a hit in Europe, it seemed rather odd in the United States. Ostensibly a luxurious car, it did not have the basic features that buyers of that era expected to find on such a vehicle - fully automatic transmission, air conditioning, power windows and a reasonably powerful engine. The DS price point was similar to the contemporary Cadillac luxury car. Also, people at the time wanted only the newest models, which changed every year, like fashion, yet the DS appeared vaguely derivative of the 1950 Hudson Hornet step-down design.

Outdated US legislation also banned one of the car's more advanced features, aerodynamic headlamps, now common in US automobiles. Ultimately, 38,000 units were sold. The first year of the aerodynamic glass over the DS' headlights along with driving lights turned by the steering, was also the first year these features were outlawed in the US.

Design variations
The DS always maintained its size and shape, with easily removable, unstressed body panels, but certain design changes did occur.

A station wagon version was introduced in 1958. It was known by various names in different markets (Break in France, Safari and Familiale in the UK, Wagon in the US, and Citroën Australia used the terms Safari and Station-Wagon). It had a steel roof to support the standard roof rack.

In September 1962, the DS was restyled with a more aerodynamically efficient nose, better ventilation and other improvements. It retained the open two headlamp appearance, but was available with an optional set of driving lights mounted on the front fenders. In 1965 a luxury upgrade kit, the DS Pallas (after Greek goddess Pallas), was introduced. This included comfort features such as better noise insulation, leather upholstery and external trim embellishments.

In 1967, the DS and ID was again restyled. This version had a more streamlined headlamp design, giving the car a notably shark-like appearance. This design had four headlights under a smooth glass canopy, and the inner set swivelled with the steering wheel. This allowed the driver to see 'around' turns, especially valuable on twisting roads driven at high speed at night.

However, this feature was not allowed in the US at the time (see World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations), so a version with four exposed headlights that did not swivel was made for the US market.

The station wagon edition, the Break (called the ID Safari on the UK market) and "Familiale", was also upgraded. The hydraulic fluid changed in all markets (except the US) to the technically superior LHM (Liquide Hydraulique Minérale).

Rarest and most collectible of all DS variants, a convertible was offered from 1958 until 1973. The convertibles were built in small series by French carrossier Henri Chapron, for the Citroën factory. In addition, Chapron also produced a few coupés, non-works convertibles and special sedans (DS Lorraine for instance).

VW K70

VW K70, 1970

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. The K70 became notorious for serious corrosion problems, and very few have survived as a result. It was replaced in 1973 by the Audi-based Volkswagen Passat.