VW to revive Scirocco

Iconic coupé emerges from Wolfsburg in 2008

By PH Staff / Wednesday, 31 May 2006 / Loading comments

VW Scirocco GTL

VW is to revive the Scirocco -- the coupé that preceded the much-loved and now mourned Corrado -- and which was first launched in 1979.

The Scirocco will be Golf-based and, not unconnected with that choice, the decision to build it follows some serious haggling and argument within the Wolfsburg-based company. The outcome was some serious cost-cutting, according to Autocar.

By all accounts, it'll be characterised by short overhangs, low height and tautly drawn surfaces with a steeply raked windscreen. Production's expected to start un 2008, and no more than 150,000 will be made, some 30,000 of which will make it to these shores.

The Golf hardware has been beefed up to suit the new machine's need for sharp ride and handling characteristics. It'll be a bit wider and longer than the Golf, with MacPherson struts at the front and the much acclaimed multi-link rear suspension.

Motive power for the base model will probably come from the Golf GT's super- and turbo-charged 1.4-litre FSI Twincharger, which provides plenty of power for its weight. Higher up the scale, it could get the 2.0-litre four-pot from the Golf GTi, plus a 4Motion version at the top end using the 280bhp 3.6-litre V6.

We'll wait for an official announcement from VW before celebrating, though: in August 2004, Autocar predicted the return of a rear-wheel-drive version of the Corrado, which we've yet to see...

^{Photo by Richard Markham-Smith}