Volkswagen K70
The Volkswagen K70 (pronounced as "ka siebzig" in German) was a sedan produced by both NSU and Volkswagen from 1969 to 1974. The K70 was originally developed by NSU as a smaller version of the well-known Ro 80, but the main difference between them was that the K70 had a conventional cylinder engine, not a Wankel rotary engine. It was also the first VW to have a front-mounted watercooled engine. The name "K70" referred to the fact that the engine produced 70 hp (52 kW) – "K" being the German word for "Piston".
In 1969, just before the car's launch, NSU was taken over by Volkswagen, which integrated the Neckarsulm company with Auto-Union/Audi. VW was searching for a family sedan to substitute the Type 4, so it grabbed the chance to promote the K70 – which featured front wheel drive and a modern design – to transform its image. As soon as the takeover happened, all publicity material showing the K70 as an NSU was scrapped and the car was released as a Volkswagen.
Unfortunately, K70 buyers stigmatized it as a member of the unreliable Ro 80 family, which caused poor sales. It also became notorious as a victim of heavy corrosion and hardly any of them survived. Thus, in 1973 it was replaced by the Volkswagen Passat, which was based on the Audi platform.
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