Volkswagen Scirocco: Affordable Sports Car

Motoring Channel Staff - 4/March/2008

Geneva, Switzerland — Until Volkswagen unveiled the Scirocco, the Alfa Romeo Brera had the coupe-hatch sports car niche all to itself.

But the Italian style king now has a German-engineered 2+2 luxury sports hatch zeroing in on its tail in the form of the new Volkswagen Scirocco.

Launched at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show, the new model marks a major turning point in the design philosophy of one of Europe's largest car makers.

The Scirocco's major design elements include a slim line grille, simpler and more elegant lines and a more upmarket stance, all of which will permeate Volkswagen's new car designs into the future - including the next generation Golf.

With this new sports car Volkswagen is also re-awakening a model from it's past, as the original Scirocco was first seen in the mid '70s. 

Coincidentally Volkswagen launched the first Scirocco at the Geneva Motor Show in 1974.

This new 2-door sports coupe is based on the Golf platform and will be initially powered by a range of low emission 4-cylinder engines when it launches first in Germany in the third quarter of 2008 followed later in the year by other European countries.

Volkswagen's head honcho Dr. Martin Winterkorn said: "What we have done with the Scirocco is to put the kind of sports car in our showrooms that people have dreamed of owning. 

"A dream that a good deal of motorists – in spite of all the high-end engineering we have integrated – can actually afford."

That's the crux of the new model: it's an affordable sports car. European pricing will begin at €21,750, which at the time of writing translated to A$35,528.

Will it be coming to Australia? 

It's too early to tell at this stage, but Volkswagen Australia's general manager of PR told the Motoring Channel the company would "certainly consider it for our market."

Though he stated that no discussions for Australian market entry timing of the Scirocco have taken place, VW Australia was very excited about the sporty passenger car and had representatives in Geneva to talk about potential imports into Australia down the track.

Some of the features of the new model are as follows:

It will feature 'hidden' B-pillars for a sporty image
It will boast four sports seats to accommodate four adults
The boot has a 292 litre capacity
It will sit on sporty 17-inch wheels
It will get Adaptive Chassis Control

That final point, the Adaptive Chassis Control, has three settings (Normal, Sport and Comfort) which alter the steering and suspension settings on the fly.

Another new feature of the Scirocco is the design - it's unlike any other vehicle out there, with only the Alfa Romeo Brera coming close. 

Showing off the next generation of Volkswagen's design language, the front end has a sleek style, with a narrow grille. The VW badge has also moved up onto the engine hood.

The new look features the 'double band' of the grille and lower air dam, and as Volkswagen explains, "This narrow double band of the black radiator grille and bumper painted in car color, defined by sharp lines, will be used to identify other new models in the future."

It also has a low and wide stance, with both the front and rear end designs seeming to increase the car's horizontal volume. 

In all, it gives the car a very sporty image.

The Scirocco is our first look at how future Volkswagen's will be styled from now on, and the the majority of staffers at the Motoring Channel agree that it's a progressive and appealing design shift.

Volkswagen will initially launch the Scirocco with 4-cylinder TSI and TDI powerplants all with 6-speed gearboxes, details of which are as follows:

Petrol
90kW (122hp) TSI engine
- 200Nm of torque. 0-100km/h: 9.7 secs
- Fuel Economy: 6.1L/100km

118kW (160hp) TSI engine
- 240Nm of torque. 0-100km/h: 8.0 secs
- Fuel Economy: 6.5L/100km

147kW (200hp) TSI engine
- 280Nm of torque. 0-100km/h: 7.2 secs
- Fuel Economy: 7.6L/100km

Diesel
103kW (140hp) TDI engine
- 320Nm of torque. 0-100km/h: 9.3 secs
- Fuel Economy: 5.4L/100km

The 6-speed DSG (direct shift gearbox) will be offered on the 147kW TSI engine and the TDI diesel engine, and Volkswagen has stated that Scirocco could be one of the first vehicles to use the company's newly developed 7-speed DSG, to be offered on the mid-level 118kW TSI engine.

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