Press "Enter" to skip to content
Warning!
We have 15 years of archives. Links older than a year may have been updated to point to similar cars available to bid on eBay.

Tag: VW Scirocco

This site contains Ebay partner affiliate links, which may earn us a commission at no additional cost to you.

Spring Project: 1980 Volkswagen Scirocco S

I’m going to get a bit gushy for a moment, if you’ll allow me. I love the original Scirocco. Considering I’m a huge fan of the similarly Giugiaro-designed Audi Coupe, that should come as no surprise. Both the GT and the Scirocco have some odd angles, and there is no argument here that they aren’t the prettiest designs ever to be penned by the Italians. However, it’s that awkwardness that adds to their appeal for me – they stand out not because they’re perfect, but because simply they stand out and not in a bad way. It’s something that the second-generation Scirocco wasn’t able to pull off, in my mind. The short and squat original model, though it lacked the performance of many of the top-tier Volkswagen products, has to go down as one of the prettiest Volkswagens ever made. While they were a popular coupe and in many ways helped to spawn the sedan-based 2-door market that was the rage in the 1980s and early 1990s, not many of the original Sciroccos remain thanks mostly to rust and electrical issues. To me, the best looking of the original models are the infrequently seen “S” models, such as the 1980 which popped up this week for sale. The S was mostly an appearance package but featured a front spoiler, some cool stripes, a 5-speed manual, and Recaro seats; it was also only available in three colors in 1980 – black, Alpine White, or today’s Mars Red:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1980 Volkswagen Scirocco S on eBay

2 Comments

1987 Volkswagen Scirocco 16V

The arrival of the second-generation Scirocco in 1982 was, to be honest, not much of a revelation. It’s not as though I don’t appreciate the design, though how it came about is somewhat suspect. Volkswagen canned Giugiaro as the replacement designer for the exceptionally beautiful and unique first-generation car, moving in-house to Karmann for the second go at the Golf-based sport coupe. The result looked rather suspiciously like Giugiaro’s Italdesign Asso di Fiori from 1979 and Asso di Quadri from 1976, though – the car that became the Isuzu Impulse. Two years later, and Viola! the Scirocco II debuts from Karmann with a near-identical shape. On top of that, the mechanicals continued to be based upon the first generation Golf.

It wasn’t until 1986 that VW coupe fans finally got to rejoice as the addition of the PL 1.8 liter dual-cam inline-4 finally joined the lineup. Based on Oettinger’s head design and now with 123 high-revving horsepower, the Scirocco went a bit more like the wind it was named after. The wide-ratio, economy-minded gearbox of yore was gone too, replaced by a close-ratio gearbox. Like the GTI and GLI, 14″ ‘Teardrop’ wheels and a new bodykit heightened the boy-racer appearance, and the 16V models got all matchy-matchy before the Golf and Jetta, too, with body-colored painted bumpers.

Today they’re hard to find in good condition at all. This Tornado Red example spotted by one of our readers sure is great, though!

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1987 Volkswagen Scirocco 16V on eBay

32 Comments

1978 Volkswagen Scirocco

Some cars you just can’t forget. The first-generation Scirocco is one of my favorite designs, but they’re so infrequently seen today that it’s easy to try to keep a mental map of the ones that pop up for sale. In the case of today’s car, though, that was assisted by the color. There were no British Racing Green Sciroccos that left the factory, but I’ve looked at one – more than once – and so when this car popped up for sale, I was sure I’d seen it before. I first looked at this car in February 2015, and it appeared again in March of the same year. Then, with A1 Avus wheels on it, it turned up on Bring a Trailer in 2017. The fourth time’s the charm?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: Link to 1978 Volkswagen Scirocco on eBay

2 Comments

1987 Volkswagen Scirocco 16V

I can say with utter confidence that I’ll never own a Scirocco II. Here’s the weird part – I’m not exactly sure why.

It’s not as though I don’t appreciate the design, though how it came about is somewhat suspect. Volkswagen canned Giugiaro as the replacement designer for the exceptionally beautiful and unique first generation car, moving in-house to Karmann for the second go at the Golf-based sport coupe. The result looked suspiciously like Giugiaro’s Italdesign Asso di Fiori from 1979, though – the car that became the Isuzu Impulse. Two years later, and Viola! the Scirocco II debuts from Karmann with a near identical shape. On top of that, the mechanicals continued to be based upon the first generation Golf, while the A2 series went upwards in refinement. To me, because of the short wheel base and long overhangs – especially highlighted with U.S. spec bumpers – the second-generation Scirocco has just never looked quite right. The visually similar Audi Coupe was better balanced both in design and driving characteristics, and ultimately there wasn’t a huge price gap between them. A 1986 Scirocco 16V, with a few options, was yours for about $13,500 – only about $2,500 shy of the basic Coupe GT. But the performance nod went to the later 16V version of the Scirocco.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1987 Volkswagen Scirocco 16V on eBay

2 Comments