![]() It had a transverse engine, and was styled by Giugiaro. So VW started development of a new middle-class FWD car of its own, the EA 272 (1972). The K70 did not get off to a promising start. By when it became obvious that the 411/412 was not impressing buyers, VW changed its mind and slapped its own logo on the grille, and sold it as the VW K70 VW’s first borrowed FWD car. ![]() VW pulled the NSU K70 from the market just before it was to go into production, in part because it was seen to be too close to their own new Audi 100. And the K70s construction was rather complex, so it was hardly a cheap car to build. NSU didn’t quite have the resources to turn an advanced design into a real-world winner. Its 1605cc was a development of the one used in its NSU1200, and ended up being rather thirsty itself, and performance wasn’t really all that great either. Designed by Claus Luthe, the K70 had some very advanced features, an Audi-like longitudinal engine, and was very space-efficient. This was just as NSU was about to launch its very advanced FWD K70, to slot in below the rotary-engine Ro80. In 1969, NSU was taken over by VW, and rolled into Audi. And it was essentially DOA in 1968, with its modest performance, relatively thirsty engine, and the other intrinsic shortcomings of the rear-engined car. VW colossally botched its entrance into the true middle-class with its 411/412, it was still air-cooled and rear engined essentially a Super Beetle on steroids. Why bother?īy the mid-late 60s, VW’s bigger and more immediate problem was in the classes above the Beetle, as buyers had higher expectations and the competition from more advanced designs was brutal. But in 1955, VW couldn’t even keep up with the demand for the Beetle, so the EA 48 project was ditched. This sub-Beetle class and rather Mini-ish EA 48 was developed during the 1953-1955 period, and was powered by a 700cc air-cooled twin (essentially one-half of the Beetle four) mounted ahead of the wheels and used McPherson struts on the front, a first anywhere for a FWD vehicle. Most were rear or underfloor designs, but FWD was given some consideration too. But eventually the wolf did appear, and VW took the easy way out, with a Fox.Įven though VW developed the rep for being very conservative back then, it (and Porsche) created a constant stream of quite advanced prototypes. But VW was so addicted to its cash-cow Beetle, and its plants were spitting them out so profitably at full capacity, it just couldn’t ever really be bothered to make the leap. Most were still rear-engined, but there were a few FWD ones too. (First Posted December 30, 2014) Procrastination is an evolutionary trait why expend energy now when the wolf isn’t yet at the door? From the mid-50s on, VW knew it needed to eventually find a true successor to their aging air-cooled rear-engined cars, and spent some twenty years exploring various new designs and prototypes.
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