So if this car is at the Nurburgring does that mean it’s going to be sporty?
It’ll be sporty, but not because it’s at the ‘Ring. You see the new Scirocco is meant to signal Volkswagen’s return to a younger, more stylish design direction, and with that will come a more sporting dynamic set-up. And there’s still room for a harder R version of the Scirocco, we hear. Back to the ‘Ring, and that’s where we’ve snapped VW’s long-awaited replacement for the Scirocco. We’ve caught the Scirocco before hot-weather testing in America, but the white paint on this car gives us a clearer indication of the final design. These shots also give us the first glimpse inside the Scirocco’s interior.
So what can we see of the interior?
Those air vents for a start. Standing out because of their metallic surrounds, the design is clearly carried over from the Iroc concept car first shown at the 2006 Paris Motor Show. The same design also features on the Eos; both cars were penned by the same man, Robert Lesnik. The vents don’t stand proud of the dash on this production car, but one feature that will be shared with the concept car is the dash architecture, whose low and recessed ventilation controls mirror those of the Audi TT. The package will include four seats – VW’s finally found its nerve and ruled out a full five-seat version. Looking at that roofline, there doesn’t appear to be too much room in the back so perhaps that’s the best solution.
At a glance it seems like it’ll look good…
Agreed. This white paint job reveals more of the curvature of the body and you can see the sculpted lower flanks and small glasshouse. These shots also show the production Scirocco keeps the concept’s slim wing mirrors, and a low, angular snout and aggressive headlights. This car is supposed to be VW’s TT. We’ve heard that a few times before, but if anyone can do it, it’s the people who own Audi. Hopefully some penny-pinching won’t make the car too different from the concept.
Not that I’m a bottom man, but I like that bottom…
We concur, but you must remember to ignore the swoopy black lines of the disguise, and the bump on the roof. The rear of this car will be angular, with a high boot opening running between the rear light clusters. Those rear lights also look nicely bejewelled. Very snazzy. Waste gases now only exit from one side, and the engines will range from 1.4 up to 2.0 litres. And don’t think that 1.4-litre engine will be weak – it’s VW’s Twincharger unit, with a supercharger and a turbocharger. That currently makes 170bhp in the Golf GT, but the Iroc concept ran it with 210 horses. A V6 is also on the cards, though rumours are the R version will run an enlarged version of Audi’s new 1.8-litre TFSI engine. Engineers have said a 2.0-litre version can make 295bhp. Either way, an R version is guaranteed, especially now even the Touareg is available as the R50.
How does Volkswagen cope with all this new metal?
We don’t know, but we hope they do. The Volkswagen group, and especially VW and Audi, are expanding like never before. But VW is also trying to cut costs, and we all know what happened to Mercedes when it tried the same; crummy quality and a reputation that hasn’t yet been fully repaired. On the way is the delayed Passat R36, a whole range of economical Bluemotion cars, and a new Golf. Busy times in Wolfsburg.