VW Debuts New Scirocco Concept

Don’t be fooled by the name. VW is dubbing its latest concept vehicle the Iroc, but it’s really an early look at the soon-to-be-revived Scirocco sports car. The easy giveaway — besides the mentions in the press release — is the license plate that reads “SCIROCCO.”

With concept cars we don’t think too much about the engine or most of the mechanicals because they can change greatly, as can the design. This new Scirocco though will definitely keep the four-seats and hatchback layout; other elements will change but count on that. The engine talked about is a combination turbocharged and supercharged four-cylinder already seeing use in European VW models, but we expect a more powerful version by the time this makes production.

When will it be produced?

Comments

No doubt this Scirocco will just as unreliable as the three VW's I have owned over the past ten years. One of life's greatest achievements is dumping a VW/Saab/Volvo and buying a Toyota/Honda. In the beginning I didn't know what to do with all of my extra free time. To date I still don't know anyone at the Honda dealer on a first name basis. Unlike my VW dealer service manager who hinted at inviting me to his wedding. Anyone remember that other great success, the Corrado? Wait and see, VW will soon be in a similiar position as Ford.

Brian's got a point about quality, I too knew my service manager quite well but my honda's were blessed with issues too although not as many. My '94 accord coupe was the first to throw an automatic tranny. While the VW mechanicals aren't as reliable as other fine german subjects, they are fun to drive and becoming more stylish. Maybe there's hope...perhaps our first glimpse will be the 2008 chrysler/VW minivan

Rick and Brian,
Yes in all my blogging days no other automaker had so many people complain about reliability. But I think the vocal people will always outshout the quiet and pleased voices.

That doesn't mean VW doesn't need to do better. It does. Its too bad too because almost universally I love testing all of their products.

Maybe Honda's have less issues (I had my GLI for 2.5 years, just one minor glitch, am I just lucky?), but I can tell you that handeling, body rigidity and fun to drive effect are uncomparable...

This vehical is *&^%$£^ AMAZING!!! I want to get one in '08 when it comes out. Whoever redesigned it done very very well!!! Any deals available please for promotions, i need this car to complete me... I have to have this car, please feel free to email promotions, informations or deals...

This is a great looking car. I think it will do well when released. Volkswagen always makes driving a fun thing.

Basically VW recreated one of the greatest cars they've ver made. What they need to do though, is take the Corrado, and reproduce it exactly like it was, then we will all be happy

To the guy that wanted to praise Hondas well maybe they are better now but when I owned Hondas they weren't any better than any VW that I have ever owned I had a Civic with a 3 cylinder engine(was supposed to be a 4 ) and a Prelude that was so rusted after only a few years that it had to be junked because the undercarriage fell out from underneath.....VW's don't rust near as bad as Hondas

I just came across this site because my nephew told me a couple of weeks ago that VW was resurrecting the Scirocco name and I just remembered now to google it to see what it looked like.

Back in late 1980, I really wanted that beautiful '81 model Cirrus Grey Scirocco S (with the red and black Recaro seats) in the showroom but I couldn't afford it. It was almost twice the price of an also-new '81 Rabbit with basically the same mechanicals (except the 5-speed transmission in the Scirocco). So I bought the Rabbit.

For the next 5 years, I dutifully scoured the classifieds every Saturday morning to keep up with the current used prices on '81 Scirrocos "just in case."

Finally in 1985, I had saved enough money and found and bought a '81 Cirrus Grey Scirocco S, lightly driven by a rich girl who was moving up to a BMW. I think the '81 only had about 74 HP, but since it also weighed only about 2100 lbs, it was still quite nimble and fun to drive. However, it was always the Giugiaro-designed body that I loved.

Anyway, just for kicks I continued my Saturday morning habit of perusing the auto classifieds over breakfast and wouldn't you know it, 4 weeks later there appears an '81 Silver Ice Blue (not the official color name but my best description of the second-best color that car came in) Scirocco S for sale that had an aftermarket TURBOCHARGER put into it, along with a lowered suspension and BBS wheels.

Now, this car I had to go see! After test-driving it, I decided to buy this turbo Scirocco with the full intention of selling my grey one. Well, you can guess how the story ends up -- I didn't sell the grey one, and the turbo one ended up being so fidgety and unreliable that it wasn't a daily driver.

Long story short -- throw in marriage, years and promotions in a long-hours corporate job, a few relocations, and a couple of kids, and I really no longer had time to work on the cars (at one point, I had my original '81 Rabbit and those two Sciroccos).

I gave the Rabbit to a needy family, garaged the two Sciroccos, and bought the new VR6 Corrado in late 1992. The narrow angle V6 made a big performance difference although I was still partial to the '81 body design.

Well, when it came time to move again in 1994 and the company would pay to only transport two cars (my Corrado and my wife's car), I made what I consider, looking back, one of my most regrettable decisions. I sold the two Sciroccos (at that time non-running) for about $500 each to a local guy who liked working on VWs.

Since that time, for these last 12 years, I've always dreamed that "maybe" one day I will come across an old '81 Cirrus Grey Scirocco S in excellent condition sitting in some geezer's old barn in Iowa but alas....

Moving squarely into my late 30's and 40's and with a family, I figured I really didn't want to spend all my Saturdays on my back under my cars, working on them. So, I ended up buying the first of the new generation Honda Odyssey minivans for my wife in late 2000 and a used 1999 BMW M3 red convertible for me in 2003. (I only bought the M3 when some teenager late for high school slammed her Jeep wrangler into my 10-year old Corrado and totalled it; the Jeep sustained no damage thanks to its 4-inch diameter heavy-duty brushguard bumper.)

So now we have the Honda for essentially carefree and reliable transportation, and the M3 convertible for fun (like the old Scirrocos and the Rabbit, the M3 really is a "family car" since it seats 4!).

Moral of this long and winding story for you younger whippersnappers -- hang on to your early dream car from your carefree single days. As beautiful as the '99 M3 convertible is, which I personally think was and still is BMW's best design work (go google it), and as fast and a great handler it is, I can't help but feel a slight twinge of loss and sadness every now and then knowing that I gave up my first automotive love '81 Cirrus Grey Scirocco S for a mere $500 and the "convenience" of not having to drag it around the country in future moves.

Yes, it's a little sad....but then I drop the top on the M3 and go for a quick, twisty long drive with the wind in my hair (what's left of it) and then it isn't quite so bad anymore.... ;->

Yummy... this car looks real hot...!
I have had an '87 Scirocco 16V since it was new and NEVER had any problems with it...! it is 20 years old and it has 54,000 ORIGINAL miles, perfect all original RED car...
I will definitely sell it and get me one of these new ones...! any buyers out there???
:-))

All these Honda lovers should keep their yappers shut. I owned a 84 and 87 16v at one time and miss them dearly. I'm obsessed with the Iroc concept and all that is being written about it. I hope they really drop something serious into this car for power. My only concern is the rear and the look of the hatch. Look they could put wooden wheels on it and just because the Sciroco badge is on it I'd love it. But that hatch has to go. There is a photo on the web from Auto Week where the hatch is similar to the orginal car. I don't like the idea of me driving a car that looks like a Mazda 3 or older civic from behind. Could someone tell the head designer. I pray this car will have the feel of the original. And all those previous owners out there know what I mean!!!

Robert Beauchamp.... I'd love to take a look at this `87 you have on your hands... I also own an `88 16V "Silver" Karman Sport Edition That I LOVE!... Where are you located? Have any pics. you can Email me? I as well will be looking to buy one of these new sc-IROC-co's as they are going to be so-called I heard. What are you looking to get out of it? Get Back To Me!!

Not clear on why the Honda lovers are talking about...have had 6 VW's (all watercooled) the Scriocco ('87 16V) being the most reliable car I've ever onwed. Always started, always ran, strong. Hell, I delivered pizza in the thing for 3years while in college. The only problem I ever had was the thermostat set temp, and I found that if I switched on the A/C and turned on the fan that would cool down the motor. Ran for 5 years like that. One of the great affordable German sporty cars of the 80's. I still haven't driven a car with better stock brakes than this car, and the motor winds like a top. A lot of fun, want to find another one before I die, glad to see VW bringing it back...

My 98 GTI is still running strong and I could drive it it 5 or 10 more years.. it has been extremely reliable but have had to replace the CSD joints in the front more often than I would like which is a result of driving on crappy roads in Illinois. Given the reliability of this car, yes I would definately buy another. I hope the new Scirocco is just as reliable.

What is the HP going to be on eash eng

It would be much love to the many people that once they decide upon a manufacturer(like a lot of people do)to bring the badge back ONLY as long as it can live up to the original badging.I.e. the NB sorry to say this but it was a slap in the face when the NB was revived in it's current configuration.I have owned 26 VDUB's to date some bought for parts for project cars , some just bought to be resold,some just needed minor work that the owners were told by their POS mechanics needed 1000USD invested to be road worthy which was total BS.I plan on owning and driving more A1's and A2's and if the badge lives up then possibly the new ROC.Point is all manufacturers have issues as all are mechanical creations and ALL will break down!But I have grasped the minds and concept of the designers and engineers and am on level with them and understand the vehicles they create so I continue to buy VW's!!So far I like the lines but desire to see more specs on the chassis and suspension designs.thank you and please don't hate cause you just reveal your immaturity!!!!

I'm missing where VWs are unreliable. I don't think there's a car company I've heard fewer complaints about, which is why I opted for a GTI MKV over a Civic SI. The car is so fun to drive that I put 5000 miles on it within about 1 month of purchase (yes, five thousand).

My brother owned an 05 civic that he ended up getting rid of at 35k miles because of so many issues that remained unresolved by multiple dealers. True, this seems to be a rare circumstance with honda, but still, no car company is perfect.

I agree that the loud mouth dissatisfied people will be heard more than the masses of quiet enthusiasts.

all VW's i have had were sterling in reliability. the same goes for any that my family has had. my uncle just replaced an '8 rabbit with 420K miles on it for an '08 Passat VR6. best car ever.

first, i wonder how many of the "unreliable" VW owners neglected to change the oil on time, etc. if you do that in any car, it will have problems.

second, the USD sucks, and the Euro is at the top of its heap,and the Yen is even worse than the USD. this makes parts coming over from Germany more expensive than those made in the US or Japan. people are more likley to complain if something costs more than they thought.

third, honda and toyota are not super reliable cars either. lets not forget the 15 recalls that toyota has had, or the horrible slip in its 4WD systems across its lineup. honda's acura division is acctually not that reliable. the MDX, RDX and RL are pluaged with electrical problems, and the discontinued RSX was a disaster in its last year.