German citizens in possession of a passenger car. The best-seller in 1970 was the VW K 70, which NSU actually wanted to bring onto the market as the little brother of the RO 80 as early as 1969. But the takeover of Volkswagen at the same time delayed this innovative new development with completely new technology, which was then also the basis for the Golf and Passat models that followed a few years later.
From the house Opel came the Coupe Manta A on Ascona basis which should be as answer to the Ford Capri. Coupes came more in fashion, why also Japan did not wait long and Toyota sent the Celica into the race. This is by the way in contrast to the German models still today on the market. The good old Beetle got a bigger trunk thanks to a new front axle and the VW Porsche had given the new model 914/4 a fuel injection system and thus reached the top speed of 177 km/h, which is surely ridiculed today. Less sporty was Ford with the new Taunus TC. A mid-range car that, despite the "silver lemon", was a real success because of quality deficiencies of the AD/AC for many years a success guarantor for Ford was. The further German car marks do not have to be mentioned in the car year 1970 necessarily; Neither BMW nor the VW Porsche Audi brought noteworthy innovations or even new models on the market. Mercedes only brought out the prototype C111-II and introduced a new braking system, which today is indispensable, the ABS. Even across the pond there was nothing new.
Neither Chevrolet nor Chrysler introduced new models. From France came an unnoticed sensation, the Citroën DS had the "automatic cornering light the German TÜV
Citroen DS
However a refusal gave. Sensationally therefore because nowadays, more than 30 years later, car companies with this "innovation" are still in the market boast. Sports coupe Montreal with its 200 horsepower. With a top speed of 219 km/h, the company launched an automotive gem on the market. Another Italian delicacy was shown at the New York Auto Show, the De Tomaso Pantera. However, this was not built and sold in series until 1971 and thus falls into the car year 1971. For the well-heeled car lovers there was since this year the new Rolls-Royce Corniche, and as coupé and as convertible. The other noble brands like z.B. Jaguar still relied on their previous year models.
Nothing new in the East either. In the other part of Germany, a new car had been announced for 1970 Trabant model planned, but ultimately failed due to the economic situation. In addition, politics saw no reason to offer the citizen some luxury like z.B. To offer an electric windshield wiper washer system.
There was a special feature in Formula 1 this year. As the first and only driver Jochen Rindt (* 18. April 1942) on Lotus-Ford after his death Formula 1 world champion, as his points lead was enough to. In the racing year Ferrari gave the answer to the Porsche 911, which won the 24 hours race of Le Mans, with the Ferrari 512S. The engines had by the way at that time over 1000 HP. In 1970, a liter of diesel cost approx.