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It’s hard to believe that the Volkswagen Scirocco has fully entered into mid-life crisis. When I was born, my family was lucky enough to have a few “classic cars”. My father, for example, still drove me around in a 1966 Mustang – considering the number which sold, probably not an unusual occurrence. But while those memories seem as fuzzy as the television broadcasts from the period, consider for a moment that when I was born, that “classic” Mustang was 11 years old. My current daily driver is 14 (technically, 15, soon to be 16) years old, so as I tote my son to school in the back of the Passat I’m wondering if his experiences will feel the same as mine did. Of course, in the 1970s cars seemed to age much more quickly; to the point that when I was forming most of my car-related memories in the 1980s, the Volkswagen Scirocco was well into its second iteration and a fair amount of the original models had already left the road. Survivors are few and far between, as mostly rust took them off the road. Finding a survivor – especially a pre-refresh Scirocco like this 1977 – is quite rare:
We don’t feature a lot of new cars on this site and one reason for this is that Germany is holding back when it comes to some of its newest and most interesting products. It was just announced that VW is pulling the plug on the two-door GTI. Never has there been a better time for Volkswagen to bring back over the Scirocco than now. While the company claimed the Portuguese-built coupe would be too expensive for the market here, another big reason was fear of cannibalizing GTI sales. A sports coupe is what Volkswagen could use right now to rejuvenate its lineup in the wake of the diesel emissions scandal. Will they listen to the enthusiasts cries? Probably not. So in the meantime, have a gander at what we can’t have in the US, this 2013 Scirocco 1.4 TSI 6-speed manual. It might not be the fastest version of the Scirocco, but it’s certainly capable and a good choice for those looking to spice up their daily drive.
Motorsports Monday has become a bit predictable. First, I am apparently the only one interested in it. Second, it probably involves a Porsche or BMW. And lastly, that means that it boils down to generally two models – the 911 or M3. Yet every week I still type “Race Car” into the search function of eBay, resilient in the belief that eventually something new will pop up. Every once in a while I’m rewarded with a GTi or very rarely an Audi that has been set up for track duty, but today’s feature is a pretty unique beast. Apparently raced since new, this Volkswagen Scirocco 16V was constructed to compete in IMSA. Normally the domain of Group C/GTP prototypes in the 1980s, IMSA had support series such as International Sedan (IS) and Radial Sedan (RS) race series, later to become the popular Showroom Stock class populated by more domesticated beasts you generally would see on the road:
Just three days ago we looked at an impressive 1980 Volkswagen Scirocco. Condition was great and it was full of period details, but I mentioned I’d prefer a stock example. My wish came true, as an absolutely stunning original 1981 came to market immediately after. Looking splendid in Alpine White over Gazelle cloth, it is presented in near stock configuration and really lets the near perfect lines Giugiaro penned show through. The 1980 failed to meet its reserve at $10,100, but this auction is a no reserve deal with very active bidding. How high will this perfect ’81 go?
Period modifications can be pretty hit or miss, and when you’re talking 1980s cars, it seems most weren’t on target. Sure, the AMG widebody and Ruf cars are spectacular, but many more suffered the ignominious fate of having tacky tacked-on plastic bits, wild and poor paint jobs, and “performance enhancements” that more often than not led to a protracted period of non-running conditions. But once in a while a period piece pops up that looks special, and this 1980 Scirocco spotted by our reader Wojciech is just that:
