The Volkswagen Scirocco was a sporty hatchback sold by Volkswagen from 1974 through 1992. The model was highly successful, and helped bolster VW's reputation. It will be revived with a third generation in 2008.
[] History
Volkswagen (VW) began work on the car during the early 1970s as the replacement for the aging Karmann Ghia coupe, and designated it the Type 53 internally. As a cost-saving method, VW choose to use the A1 chassis shared with the Golf and Jetta to underpin the new Scirocco, although most every part of the car was re-engineered in favor of a sporty-drive, and the model's all-new styling, penned by Giorgetto Giugiaro, was sleeker and sportier than that of either the Golf or Jetta. The model went on sale in Europe in 1974 and in North America in 1975.
A heavily re-designed "MKII" variant went on sale in 1982, although it remained on the MKI platform and a more mild, mid-cycle redesign occurred in 1984, which included few outward changes over the 82' model. A leather interior, power windows and mirrors, air conditioning, and a manual sunroof were options for all years.
MKI models featured a range of four-cylinder engines with displacements from 1.1 to 1.7 litres, all featuring a single-overhead camshaft and 2-valves per cylinder. The MKII generation brought with it a new 1.3 litre base engine and an optional 1.8 litre, double overhead camshaft motor featuring 4-valves per cylinder. Although the 16-valve 1.8 brought added performance to the range, it proved a somewhat questionable choice, as late A2 Golf GTIs were available with a more powerful 16-valve 2.0 litre motor. This was, however, not questionable at the time since the 2.0 litre 16V motor did not show up in America until 1990, two years before the demise of the Scirocco. Still, the European 1.8 16v that was fitted into the Scirocco GTX 16v model developed 139 BHP, surpassed only by the A3 generation 2.0 16v with 150 BHP.
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