Damn, I thought you were going to post about this, the return of the Scirocco.
Man, I loved that car. The 1988 Scirocco was the first car I really ever wanted that I could afford.
http://www.speedtv.com/articles/newmodels/automotive/32335/
VW Iroc: The Scirocco Reborn
Wolfgang Bernard has only been calling the shots at Volkswagen for 18 months. Hardly long enough for him to warm the chairman’s seat, one would have thought. But in that time he has managed to set Europe’s No 1 car maker on a wildly different path from where it was headed before his arrival.
Proof of this is reflected in the unveiling of the reborn Scirocco – or, to give it its real name, the Iroc – in Berlin late last month. Bernhard’s aim? To make Volkswagen cool again. To hell with upmarket luxury; it’s affordable performance that sells, and Bernhard is so convinced about the smart new coupe that he has already given it the green light for production in 2008.
Autocar is the first magazine to gain access to this Iroc concept, which will be unveiled to the public at the Paris motor show later this month. If Bernhard’s plan comes to fruition, this car will do for Volkswagen what the TT has done for Audi over the past six years or so: provide it with a modern, relevant and desirable model upon which to build the rest of its lineup.
Original 1974 Scirocco is fondly remembered for its crisply sexy Giugiaro styling, it handling and the fuel-injected go of the GTi.
But before we get into the nuts and bolts of the new two-door, it’s worth examining the car that inspired it. The original Scirocco was the highlight of the Volkswagen lineup when it was launched back in 1974 as a replacement for the Karmann Ghia – an affordable Giugiaro-designed coupe that could seat four and, in 16-valve 2.0-liter form, hold its own against some of the best two-door offerings of the day. It never sold in the same numbers as the Golf, but the Scirocco’s presence served to invigorate the company’s fortunes, bolstering the brand’s image and helping to lay the foundations for some of its most successful years on record.
With the Iroc (no, not IROC – the name uses the middle four letters from the word Scirocco), Volkswagen is clearly seeking to recapture some of that old Scirocco magic. You can forget the concept car tag. While the official line suggests the new two-door has been created to test public reaction, Bernhard’s enthusiasm will see the new car head to showrooms by the end of 2008 – the same year Volkswagen plans to launch its new Land Rover Freelander-rivallng off-roader, the Tiguan.
The basic ingredients look right. After resurrecting the Beetle and threatening to revive the Microbus during the past decade, Wolfsburg has consciously steered away from giving the new Scirocco any throwback design cues, preferring to follow a contemporary route that will provide a new direction for future Volkswagen models, including the Mk6 Golf due out around the same time. About the only link between past and present is the exterior color of our car: the very same “viper green” offered on the original Scirocco.
Design boss Murat Gunak has used the new Scirocco to move further away from the voluptuous look that has characterized Volkswagens for the past decade, instilling it with the more chiseled appearance that first popped up on the Eco Racer at last year’s Tokyo motor show.
It’s the details that really steal the show, though. That prominent brushed aluminum single-frame grille is unlikely to win any beauty contests, but, combined with angular headlamps, a distinctive clamshell hood and heavily flared front wheel arches, it imbues the Iroc with plenty of presence. Move around the car and there are many other distinctive features to keep interest high, such as a heavily raked windshield, pronounced shoulder line, shallow side glass and long glass roofline. About the only weak point is the hatchback rear, which lacks the flair and imagination of the rest of the exterior, although we hear this will be addressed before the design is signed off later this year.
Although further refinement needs to be carried out to optimize the detailing, the proportions are said to mirror those of the production car. At 174in. in length, 71in. in width and 55in. in height, the Iroc is 0.4in. shorter than the Golf, but a good 1.6in. wider and 3.4in. lower.
Vertical hatchback is designed to provide interior space for four adults and sufficient luggage capacity.
Chassis/Engines
Beneath the Iroc’s arresting skin is a fairly straightforward front-wheel-drive mechanical package – the same PQ35 arrangement that underpins a whole bevy of Volkswagen models these days. It’s not particularly advanced but, as the latest Golf GTi has proven, it can be quite effective when tuned properly, with a combination of MacPherson struts up front and compact multi-links at the rear together with an electro-hydraulic steering system and drive-by-wire throttle.
To give the Iroc a further dynamic boost, the wheelbase and track widths have been extended slightly compared with the Golf, giving it a confident four-square stance. Further muscle building occurs underneath the wheel arches, where Volkswagen has placed gorgeous 19-in. wheels shod with chunky 235/35 tires. While we’d like to think they will be offered on production versions, it’s more likely they’ll be swapped for 17 (standard) and 18-in. (optional) items.
The entry-level model will be powered by an uprated version of Volkswagen’s supercharged and turbocharged 1.4-liter Twincharger engine, which has already impressed in the Golf GT. Mounted transversely, it is claimed to kick out 210hp, or a sturdy 151hp per liter. Combined with an estimated 206lb ft of torque, that should be enough to see the Iroc hit 60mph in around 7.0sec flat and a top speed close to 150mph.
The Twincharger may be joined by an uprated version of the Golf GTi’s turbocharged 2.0-liter four with 265bhp – as found in the latest Audi S3. Also likely is a performance diesel running VW’s forthcoming 170hp 2.0-liter unit.
A high-performance V6 model is also a possibility, VW admitting that there is a limited market for such a car. Rather than run the same 250hp 3.2-liter V6 used in the Golf R32, however, the range-topping Iroc is set to receive an even more powerful 3.6-liter version of Volkswagen’s 15-degree naturally aspirated V6 kicking out around 300hp and driving all four wheels.
The Iroc’s fascia is quite a departure for Volkswagen, with a more modern, technical look.
Transmission choices should include a standard six-speed manual and optional seven-speed double-clutch DSG unit – the latter set to get its first airing in the Passat next year.
Volkswagen isn’t giving much else away, but there’s little doubt that the Iroc will be built alongside the Eos at its Setubal plant in Portugal. It makes good economical sense, as the two cars share the same mechanical package and are likely to roll off the production line in similar volumes – all of which suggests there will be valuable economies of scale to pursue. An original plan to build the new coupe at Wolfsburg in Germany was abandoned earlier this year when Volkswagen bowed to union pressure and elected to build the Tiguan SUV there.
The business case for the Iroc is based around annual production of about 60,000 units. Given the popularity of the Mk5 Golf GTi, that’s probably not going to be enough. However, it will allow Volkswagen to pitch its new coupe a good deal higher than its hatchback sibling, as demand, at least in the first couple of years of sale, is likely to be quite strong. In the UK, let’s say £22,000 ($41,000) in base trim, depending on equipment and engine options. Considering what we’ve seen so far, that seems more than reasonable.
Volkswagen Iroc 1.4 Tsi
Engine: 1390cc I4, supercharged and turbocharged
Power: 210hp
Torque: 206lb-ft
0-62mph: 6.8sec (est)
Top speed: 150mph (est)
Avg. fuel economy: 35.7mpg
