The Volkswagen Scirocco is missed by us here at Kerbside. It was interesting without being fascinating; it was good looking but not gorgeous, and most of all it seemed like it would be a consistent present on the road for a while.
This doesn’t sound all that complementary right? Well, you’d be right. But the longer a car is on the road, the more chance there is to bide your time before going in for the kill. The Scirocco seemed like a sure-fire long termer.
It was based on the proven underpinnings of the Mk5 Golf, just as the Mk6 stepped bravely into the limelight. It had a handsome two-door body and a pseudo-coupe image. The first Sciroccos weren’t particularly fast but eventually VW put down the pints of pilsner, and cracked on with a sporty model.
But first – a brief detour.
The Mk6 Golf was the first Golf to receive the Golf R as a hot version. The Mk6 R was an all-wheel drive, turbocharged honour guard to a VW institution: The VR6. Time’s were a-changing in Wolfsburg, and the legendary VR6 had run its course. In stepped the engine’s successor – an engine that has carved its own unique status in the performance car realm – the 296 BHP EA888.
The sporty Scirocco was powered by this engine, and too gained the R moniker. The Scirocco R had donned a sharper suit and now had some go to accompany its looks. But strangely, it was front-wheel drive.
This made it a bit of a damp squib, truthfully. But, with perspective the Mk6 Golf R wasn’t all that great either – but it was a far more promising car.
Then VW decided to kill the Scirocco, and the Golf continued on its journey alone. We saw the excellent Mk7 Golf GTi, GTi Clubsport S and R reaffirm the Golf’s dominance of the small car sector.
Unfortunately, the Scirocco never lived to see this halcyon age. In the years since its demise the EA888 and Haldex all-wheel drive combination, first seen in the Mk6 Golf R, has been deployed – in some form or another – in a car from every member of the VAG family, including Audi and Porsche, and even some Skodas.
But the Scirocco missed its chance to show what it was really made of.
If VW had taken the time to make the Scirocco a little bit more bespoke and really applied some engineering know-how, then we could have ended up with something completely amazing.
Imagine: three-hundred horsepower, all-wheel drive, less weight than a Golf but with a chassis less concerned with all-weather brilliance, but more concerned with fun. Imagine again if that Haldex all-wheel drive system was tuned to send far more power rearwards, and if the car had a far larger focus on agility.
It could have been a modern Escort RS Cosworth.
Bugger.
Kerbside 