The K70 is one of the rarest Volkswagens in the UK and Michael McLean’s L version is one of only 11 of all types believed to remain on the road. It is also a model that played a vital role in the company’s history, as it predates the Passat, Scirocco and Golf as the first front-wheel-drive VW.
The development of the K70 is mired in confusion, for it was created not by Volkswagen but by NSU, which planned to launch it at the 1969 Geneva motor show. However, shortly before that event, VW acquired NSU and merged the company with its Audi subsidiary. Then it was decided that the K70 would be sold as a Volkswagen, to test the public’s reaction to front-wheel-drive products.
The K70 made its debut on July 2 1970, with the slogan “A new Volkswagen, different to all the others made to date.” The K in the name stood for Kolben (piston) and 70 for the intended horsepower. The Daily Telegraph reported: “Volkswagen sprang a surprise on the motor industry last night.” The front-drive layout certainly astounded many Beetle owners as much as the fitment of a watercooled 1,605cc engine in the front.
British sales began on February 21 1972. VW dealers could point out the large boot, independent suspension and luxury touches such as a folding backrest for the rear seat. Motor thought the K70 represented “a sound formula if not an exciting one”. Car praised its construction, interior and driving position but complained about the high-speed handling and the ride.
Meanwhile, this newspaper complained about the K70’s price of £1,584.50. In 1972, it was £227 more expensive than the desirable Renault 16 TS, while potential customers might also have considered the Saab 99 for £1,567. At the same time, the latest VW had considerable in-house competition from the Audi 100 LS, which cost £1,669. The launch of the Passat in 1973 marked the K70’s swansong, with production ending in February 1975 after 210,082 units.
Volkswagen GB is believed to have sold only 800 right-hand-drive examples, as the K70 was destined to be a niche product in this country. The Telegraph’s motoring correspondent wrote: “As a representative of a ‘new wave’ design philosophy, it seemed to me disappointing in some ways; perhaps we had expected too much.” Within a few years, the K70 had faded from the public’s memory; an apparent talent to corrode at will did not assist its profile.
Today, the first front-drive VW has a loyal coterie of owners, including McLean, whose K70 L was a 40th birthday present from his wife last year. “She had said to me when we first met back in 2008 that when I turned 40, she’d buy me a Fastback Mustang from the Sixties or a Seventies Audi 100 Coupé, which are my two dream cars,” he says. “Fifteen years, three children and a mortgage later, those dream cars were now out of budget.”
But the K70 L, discovered at an auction in Scotland, proved somewhat more affordable. In terms of its engineering, McLean says: “I’m glad NSU recognised the failings of their rotary engines, it means this car is pretty reliable. I’ve clocked up a few miles since purchase, although my first trip after the drive down from Scotland was to drop off the kids at school.
“It’s comfortable up to about 60mph but I haven’t really pushed it, nor do I feel the need to go above that.”
Some surviving K70s endure customisation of varying degrees of awfulness, but McLean wishes to keep his looking original. He says: “I had ambitions of putting it on bags [lowered air suspension] but the cost and the abuse to its looks prompted me to keep it as standard as possible.” His Volkswagen is one of only three of the upmarket L specification believed to remain on the road, with a decadent passenger vanity mirror and carpeted floor among its fittings.
As for the public reaction, McLean finds: “Often people will think it looks a bit Soviet, like a Lada Riva, or even an early Ford Cortina.” Finding parts for such a rare vehicle is a considerable challenge: “I plan to build up an inventory of spares so I can keep the car on the road as long as possible.”
After all, this is a far more exclusive machine than any Ford Mustang or Audi 100 Coupé.
