The VW Scirocco R is back this September as part of a range refresh that hands the hottest model the newest version of VW's two-litre turbo engine, now making 280hp. The current 265hp R version of the Golf-based coupe was actually
dropped last year
as part of an EU-imposed timeout because the engine wasn't clean enough.
Engines now up to date, styling left alone
The new one, due to be revealed at the Geneva motor show, solves that with the inclusion of the E888 unit that also does service in the
Golf R
GTI
. So expect an even quicker dash to 62mph than
the old R
's 5.8 second sprint, even if the limited top speed will stay at 155mph, and "19 per cent better fuel economy".
What the Scirocco won't get is the trick active limited-slip differential available as a option on the Golf GTI and standard on the new SEAT Leon Cupra. This is likely because the Scirocco is still based on the old Mk6 Golf and doesn't use the much shared MQB platform used by the current Golf. Elsewhere in the new all-turbo Scirocco range, there's a lower-powered version of that E888 2.0-litre engine making 220hp, up from the 210hp in the equivalent current car.
There's also a new 180hp 2.0-litre turbo petrol that busts all downsizing conventions by actually replacing the 160hp supercharged and turbocharged 1.4-litre engine but also offering better economy (no figures were given). If you can handle more line-up confusion, the entry 1.4 TSI stays, but now gets 125hp instead of 122hp. There's also a 2.0-litre diesel in two states of tune.
More dials = more power in the retro mould
The facelift would be tricky to spot without a side-by-side comparison, but look carefully at the R's upper engine grille and you can spot uprights where before there were none and the bumper is a tad more pronounced. Same for the back bumper, where two grilles have sprung up either side. The rear lights on all the new cars are now LEDs, with the LED driving lights up front incorporated into the headlights.
Inside the tweaked dash is given a new dashtop pod of instruments, consisting of chronometer, charge pressure and oil temperature gauges, in what VW calls a tribute to the 1974 model.
The Scirocco isn't a massive seller, shifting just 11,700 in the whole of Europe last year, but the changes should keep things fresh until (hopefully) VW can build a new coupe off the MQB platform and do things like strip weight and add even more power, as VW is reportedly doing with the Golf in an storming Evo version to be shown at Geneva in March.