The Volkswagen Scirocco, the sporty coupe that tested the Golf's parts first
Volkswagen launched its sleek Scirocco coupe six months ahead of the Golf, partly so any teething problems would surface on the smaller-volume car first. It also beat the famous Golf GTI to market with a hot GTi version, and across three generations and a decade-long gap it earned a loyal following before bowing out without a successor.
Work began in the early 1970s on a replacement for the ageing Karmann Ghia. Though it sat on Golf underpinnings, nearly everything was reworked beneath sharper bodywork by Giorgetto Giugiaro, and the car, named after a Mediterranean wind, debuted at the 1973 Geneva show. Sales started in Europe in 1974 and North America in 1975, with small four-cylinder engines. American rules lacked approved rectangular headlights, so US cars wore four round lamps, and some European owners of weaker models fitted the same to look like the faster versions.
Production of the hot GTi version started in summer 1976, before the Golf GTI was even unveiled that autumn, with a fuel-injected 1.6-litre engine, ventilated front discs and anti-roll bars. American engines shifted with emissions rules: a 1.6 in 1976 and 1977, a smaller short-stroke 1.5 in 1978 that cost power, then the 1.6 again in 1979 after buyers complained. Japanese buyers could order one through Yanase dealerships from 1976.
A redesigned second generation, still assembled by Karmann in Osnabrück, appeared at Geneva in March 1981 with more headroom, more luggage space and less drag, plus a spoiler set halfway up the rear glass. Eleven engines were offered over its life, and a 16-valve head first developed by the tuner Oettinger reached showrooms in 1985. Special editions carried names like White Cat and Tropic. The pricier Corrado effectively replaced it, with sales ending in 1992 in Europe.
After a long pause, Volkswagen announced in June 2006 that a new Scirocco would be built in Palmela, Portugal. Based on the Golf V platform and unveiled at Geneva in 2008, it won Top Gear Magazine's Car of the Year 2008 and a five-star Euro NCAP rating. The top Scirocco R eventually reached 206 kW after a 2014 facelift, and production ended in 2018.
Source: Volkswagen Scirocco
