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Volkswagen Scirocco

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Volkswagen Scirocco
1981 Volkswagen Scirocco S
Overview
ManufacturerVolkswagen
Production1974–1992
DesignerMk1 74-81 - Giorgetto Giugiaro / Mk2 82-92 VW design team
Body and chassis
ClassSports car
Body style3-door hatchback
PlatformFF A1
RelatedVolkswagen Rabbit
Volkswagen Jetta
Powertrain
Engine1.1 L I4
1.3 L I4
1.5 L I4
1.6 L I4
1.7 L I4
1.8 L I4
Chronology
PredecessorVolkswagen Karmann Ghia
SuccessorVolkswagen Corrado

The Volkswagen Scirocco was a sporty hatchback sold by Volkswagen from 1974 through 1992. The model was highly successful, and helped bolster VW's reputation. It will be revived with a third generation in 2008.

History

Volkswagen (VW) began work on the car during the early 1970s as the replacement for the aging Karmann Ghia coupe, and designated it the Type 53 internally. As a cost-saving method, VW choose to use the A1 chassis shared with the Rabbit and Jetta to underpin the new Scirocco, although most every part of the car was re-engineered in favor of a sporty-drive, and the model's all-new styling, penned by Giorgetto Giugiaro, was sleeker and sportier than that of either the Golf(Rabbit) or Jetta. The model went on sale in Europe in 1974 and in North America in 1975.

A heavily re-designed "MKII" variant went on sale in 1982, although it remained on the MKI platform and a more mild, mid-cycle redesign occurred in 1984, which included few outward changes over the 82' model. A leather interior, power windows and mirrors, air conditioning, and a manual sunroof were options for all years.

1986 VW Scirocco II

MKI models featured a range of four-cylinder engines with displacements from 1.1 to 1.7 litres, all featuring a single-overhead camshaft and 2-valves per cylinder. The MKII generation brought with it a new 1.3 litre base engine and an optional 1.8 litre, double overhead camshaft motor featuring 4-valves per cylinder. Although the 16-valve 1.8 brought added performance to the range, it proved a somewhat questionable choice, as late A2 Golf GTIs were available with a more powerful 16-valve 2.0 litre motor. This was, however, not questionable at the time since the 2.0 litre 16V motor did not show up in America until 1990, two years before the demise of the Scirocco. Still, the European 1.8 16v that was fitted into the Scirocco GTX 16v model developed 139 BHP, surpassed only by the A3 generation 2.0 16v with 150 BHP.

Scirocco sales continued until 1988 in the United States, 1989 in Canada, and 1992 in Germany, it was replaced by the Corrado in all markets.

In Pop Culture

  • The car was mentioned on a Saturday Night Live sketch of a game show called, "Geek, Dweeb, or Spaz." A character played by David Spade suggested for a date, him, his cousin, and a potentional date hop in his Scirocco, go to the school soccer game and slide on his slip n' slide all night long.
  • On an episode of Family Guy, Stewie Griffin is at his grandparents and digs through the "old person's candy dish." In the candy dish, Stewie finds a Scirocco key, and says "A spare key for a Volkswagen Scirocco! They don't even make this anymore! They don't even MAKE this CAR anymore..!" The VW key is amongst other displeasing items, such as a stick of Freedent, a Luden's cough drop, a fishing lure, and an eyeglass lens.
  • In the 1978 cult classic "Dawn Of The Dead", four people have taken shelter from the living dead inside a large shopping mall. In one scene, they hotwire a brand new Scirocco (left on display) in order to get around the mall.
  • In 2004, the Norwegian cellphone network operator NetCom ran an ad campaign, where one of the ads feature three teenage boys cruising the countryside in a Scirocco. The short version of the slogan, "Ingen vits i å gjøre forskjell." translates best to English as "There's no point in discriminating.". The point they wanted to make with this campaign, is that they charge the same price for the call regardless of what operator the person you're calling uses (except foregin and special service numbers), and what time you place the call, simplifying call cost control for the consumer.[1] The video is posted on YouTube.

The New Scirocco

In June of 2006, VW officially announced[2] production of a new Scirocco model at the Autoeuropa assembly plant in Palmela, Portugal. Volume is expected to be 100,000 cars per year, with the first Scirocco rolling off the line in 2008.

A concept of the 2008 Scirocco was shown at the 2006 Paris Auto Show, called the Iroc, which was then renamed Scirocco. It is said to share more in spirit and name rather than form with the original design. The 2008 Scirocco will receive the option of two engines: Volkswagen's TSI twincharged inline 4-cylinder producing 168hp, and the 200hp 2.0T FSI engine currently featured in the MkV GTI, the Passat and Jetta.

In April 2007, VW America's vice president, Adrian Hallmark, stated that they did not want to bring the Scirocco to North America since it would likely have a negative effect on GTI sales.[3] It was later stated that the final decision would be made in 2008 by Martin Winterkorn (Volkswagen's CEO), not Volkswagen of America.[4]

More information:

Volkswagen IROC Concept: Fit to Carry the Scirocco Name? (Automobile Magazine article written by Jason Cammisa, a MKII owner)

Fast-Autos.net

Volkswagen Iroc Study

New Scirocco Blog The Latest News and Information About the Next Generation 2008/09 VW Scirocco

References

  1. ^ NetCom TV commercial on YouTube, featuring three teenage boys cruising in a Scirocco.
  2. ^ "New Volkswagen Scirocco to come from Portugal (German)". German publication Handelsblatt. June 20, 2006.
  3. ^ "Volkswagen won't bring Scirocco to the U.S." Motor Trend. 2007-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ "Report: Scirocco may still come to America". leftlanenews. 2007-05. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

External links



Template:Early European Volkswagen vehicles Template:Early North American Volkswagen vehicles Template:Modern European Volkswagen vehicles Template:Modern North American Volkswagen vehicles

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