The Volkswagen Scirocco is one of those cars I miss. True, they are selling a new version elsewhere in the world, but I still have fond memories of this fastback, which seems to have all but disappeared from today’s roads. Every now and then I’ll come across one in decent nick and this Scirocco Storm brought over from the United Kingdom caught my attention. For sale in Pennsylvania, it’s a right hand drive model, which could pose a problem in certain driving situations stateside. But for the Volkswagen enthusiast who has everything, this modern classic would raise some eyebrows at the next club meet.
Year: 1985
Model: Scirocco Storm
Engine: 1.8 liter inline four
Transmission: 5-speed manual
Mileage: 164,270 miles
Price: $5,700
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1985 Volkswagen Scirocco Storm on VW Vortex
My Scirocco Storm is up for sale. It’s a registered in 1985 Scirocco Storm, one of 600 total, and of 300 made in this colour. It has factory electric windows, matching blue interior (leather seats/door cards/carpet/dashboard/trunk cover etc), headlight washers and the awesome 112hp European Golf GTi 1.8L 8v non-catalyst and manual CIS injection engine. Everything works well, the windows, speedo, etc etc, although the MFA is hit-or-miss with what it want to display. Obviously it’s full European Spec so Euro bumpers, headlights, turn signals, taillights, body kit, etc.
It does have the original Storm logos on the front and rear. This was important to me when buying it. You can see more details on the well known special edition here: http://website.lineone.net/~dr.dub/mk2ext.htm. I imported it personally, with all federal importation paperwork completed. It has a standard Pennsylvania title in my name, which will be transferred to the new owner. I am asking $5,700 with the recently fitted coilovers and a set of standard wheels or BYOW). The 15″ European market forged Castellettes with good 165/45/15″ tires can be included for a additional $500.
The car has 160k miles on it, and has a recently fitted exhaust, water pump and other parts. It drives very well, and has been driven all over the East Coast when the weather’s been good. It was used by the assistant editor of Performance VW magazine for his trip to H2Oi last year, and was quoted as being the reason he sold his MkV and got into a older VW, which I thought was pretty cool.
I would describe it as a survivor – the original paint has clear issues on the horizontal surfaces (a-pillars, fenders, roof), and the roof paint has obvious imperfections too. The hood and cowl have been repainted by a previous owner. The interior is similar – it’s all original spec but the dash and leather wheel are showing some cracks, and the front seats have been re-dyed (they actually look quite similar in person). There is a spot of rust showing on the passenger door, and other small spots, underneath looks good. It’s ready to drive and maybe to show, and I do personally like it with age related slight-patina, but overall it’s very solid. You can see various scratches and marks on the body in the photos, but it has somehow stayed relatively ding free.
Test drives are welcome, on the passenger seat with no money, or you can drive if you’re serious and bring money. If you just want to do so because it’s a right-hand drive car, please be honest with me though. It is currently registered as a Antique vehicle in Pennsylvania and is on a classic insurance policy with a agreed value substantially higher than my asking price.
Last month we featured a 1984 Scirocco Wolfsburg Edition that sold for just over $4,600. That car had about 50,000 less miles on the clock. This Storm has the rarity factor going for it and I like the fact that it has been left fairly untouched cosmetically. You will, however, have to get used to driving a right-hand drive car in a left-hand drive country, which could be fun…until you get to a drive-thru window.
-Paul
Drive-through window inconvenience aside, the bigger concern with RHD in LHD countries is visibility when passing other cars on two-lane roads. You’re pretty far out into the oncoming traffic before you can see ahead. It’s do-able, of course, but patience and extra care are required.
I’ve mentioned before that I’m a big Scirocco fan, having owned several including a much loved 16V. So this example hits a lot of the right notes for me – and the Euro RHD special edition model is icing on the cake.
On the other hand, the mileage is considerable, and from the description, it sounds like a lot of minor things are going to need attention before they become major things. The interior is looking pretty tired also, which is a pain in the butt to sort out.
But, my biggest issue is how the seller is handling the tire/wheel combo. The rather lofty $5700 asking price apparently doesn’t include the wheel/tire combo shown in the photos (“the 15″ European market forged Castellettes with good 165/45/15″ tires can be included for a additional $500”). That tire size looks completely wrong on those wheels anyway, but if you don’t buy them, then the car comes with “a set of standard wheels or BYOW.” Sorry, but WTF?!? What exactly are the “standard wheels”? No photos or description provided. If not that, then I have to bring my own wheels? Are you serious?!? Sorry, but that’s pretty cheesy.
Of course, it’s on VWVortex, which is probably the perfect place (and perhaps the only place) to find a buyer willing to buy the car under these conditions for this kind of asking price. Personally, I’d lose interest somewhere in the $4K neighborhood.
great find guys!
The car didn’t float itself over here from the UK. It costs $3K+ to properly container, ship, and import a car into the US. When you add that to the fact that it’s a ~30 year old RARE model (there’s only a couple handfuls of these things left in the world), it puts the asking price into perspective. ‘Survivor’ is a perfectly fitting description considering where it hails from.
When are you going to see another one for sale in the US? For that matter, when have you ever seen one in the US?
And no I’m not the one selling it. 🙂 I just understand and appreciate what I’m looking at here. I do agree about the tire size, not a fan. At least the rare Euro wheels are being offered… It seems a large number of Vortex ads are “minus the wheels”.
And actually the mileage is not high at all for a 30 year old VW. The head may be getting a little tired, but the short block should easily have another 100K or more left in it before a rebuild, so long as somebody doesn’t do something dumb like run 87 octane in it. This shouldn’t really be a daily driver anyway, so as long as it’s as good mechanically as they say, not to worry.