• classic ad watch

    Jalopnik's 20 Favorite Classic Volkswagen Commercials

    The Datsun ads were fun, as were the Toyota ads, but it was Volkswagen that first made an art form out of the automotive television advertisement. More »
  • new cars

    2010 VW Scirocco R: 265 HP Nürburgring-Shredding Hot Hatch

    The long-awaited 2010 VW Scirocco R debuted today, sans the Italian flag, with a more powerful 265 HP 2.0 TSI, new body kit, upgraded suspension and the spirit of Germany. More »
  • rip

    VW To North America: No Scirocco For You!

    Any North American shoppers looking for a hot hatch should scratch the VW Scriocco off the list as VW has officially put the kibosh on the svelte VeeDub in favor of the GTI. Tear. More »
  • custom cars

    B&B Tuning Volkswagen Scirocco EVO R Gets Serious With 350HP

    B&B Tuning has announced a range of performance and styling options for the new Volkswagen Scirocco, starting with a mild upgrade to 235 HP all the way to a 350HP and 331 lb-ft kitted-out version. More »
  • 24 hours of lemons

    Squirrels Of Fury Scirocco Ventilates Engine Block, Goes Out In Blaze Of Glory

    We're in the final hour of racing here at Thunderhill, and we can't say who the favorite is at this point. What we can tell you is that oil-coated VWs burn really well.
  • retro

    Never Mind The Callaway Porsche 944: 1982 Callaway Scirocco!

    UDMan is writing for the CarDomain blog these days, but he's been kind enough to share some of his latest finds with us. The '83 Callaway Porsche 944 we saw earlier today got us in a German Callaway sort of mood, so let's check out this super-rare '82 Callaway Volkswagen Scirocco that UDMan spied while covering a Callaway event:
  • 2010 VW Scirocco R

    VW Scirocco Studie R Celebrates Historic German/Italian Alliances

    Realizing the Italian flag looks better on cars than the German flag, Volkswagen chose the Bologna Motor Show to launch the VW Scirocco Studie R. Essentially a hopped-up version of the standard car, it features a 270 HP version of the 2.0-liter TSI turbo-four sending its power through a 6-speed DSG gearbox. All the other additions are largely cosmetic, but are executed to an unusually classy standard. Aggressive air intakes and a carbon front splitter fill out the front of the Scirocco, while inside there’s a nice set of Recaro buckets finished up with Tricolore stitching. Expect a less Italiangasmic version of this car to arrive in showrooms next year as the 2010 VW Scirocco R, no, we won’t get that one either. The release follows the jump.

  • vw scirocco

    Affen-Geil! Need For Speed Undercover VW Scirocco

    Seems like EA Deutschland is getting their slice of this SEMA-style customizing madness by cramming a Scirocco with every bit of video game paraphernalia they could draw together (ed - no Master System though). This little hatch is packed full of 30" screens, a XBOX 360, Playstation 3 and enough heart-stopping audio gear to give Frankie Rio wood. After running the German-flavored article through a little free online translator action, we gather that this is simply a new 'Rocco that's been vinyl wrapped, black rimmed and irreparably wronged. More »
  • vw scirocco

    Report: VW Scirocco May Come Stateside After All

    Automotive News Europe is reporting that Volkswagen may reverse course on the new Scirocco and offer the vehicle in the United States. VW execs originally opted not to sell the Scirocco here due to fears it would cannibalize sales from the GTI and because the strong Euro would have made the car too expensive. Since then, the dollar has gained and the new Scirocco has been enough of a hit in European markets to cause those same executives to see dollar signs on these shores. VW spokesman Steve Keyes said "there's no real decision yet," but if the car were to come here it would be positioned "a little bit differently." More »
  • vw scirocco

    VW Scirocco Hypothetically Tuned By ABT

    The new Volkswagen Scirocco may just be hitting the roads, but somehow tuner ABT Sportsline has already released their version of the swoopy hatch. Oh wait, no they haven't, these are just renderings. Yes, as has become common practice for tuners anxious to get a jump on the competition, ABT has resorted to releasing Photoshop-enhanced pictures of a standard Scirocco to display the aftermarket upgrade package they allegedly have. The car claims to bump up the power of the 2.0-liter engine to 240 HP, to be sent to your choice of gaudy, oversized rims. Of course, we can't get the Scirocco in America anyways, so we'd rather fantasize about the Scirocco GT24 Nürburgring endurance racer. Press release after the jump. More »
  • 2009 vw scirocco

    2009 Volkswagen Scirocco, Driven

    Answering the prayers of Vee-Dub fanboys, the new 2009 Volkswagen Scirocco is the first real VW sport coupe since the Corrado. There's just one problem: the car isn't available on our American shores. However, our friend John Mahoney over in the UK has driven it, and he seems to quite like it. More »
  • 2009 volkswagen scirocco

    2009 VW Scirocco Available For Order, Hotter Version On The Way?

    V-Dub has announced they are taking orders for their Euro-only 2009 Volkswagen Scirocco. While the latest iteration of the two-door sport hatch won't be getting the 325 HP engine seen in the 24-hour Nürburgring race-prepped Scirocco GT24, it will still be getting some respectable scoot. The Scirocco will officially be running a 197 HP, 2-liter TFSI powerplant, but the presser hints at more. Initial volume is slated at 3,350 cars for the UK and "around 9,000 in 2009 when a full line-up is available." Is the peoples' car company planning more chutzpah for the 'Roc? Hard to say, but we're sure nobody would complain if they are. More »
  • volkswagen scirocco gt24

    Official Volkswagen Scirocco GT24 Photos, Looks Ready for Race Day

    You knew it was coming, and we've seen a head-on shot of the Volkswagen Scirocco GT24 race car, but now the full studio set is out for the ogling. The standard issue and Euro-only Scirocco has been modified with more turbo pressure pushing output to 325 HP, while the chassis has been widened and lowered, aero bits added, full roll cage and gutted interior with a rally style shifter falling close at hand. We think it looks rather smashing in its blue and white livery and kinda wish the normal Scirocco had more of these styling elements. Of course, every car wold look better if there was a "Race Car" box on the options list. Look for the Scirocco GT24 to run at the 24 hours of Nürburgring in June and details about the car below. More »
  • vw scirocco

    Volkswagen Builds 300 HP Scirocco For Nürburgring 24-Hour Race

    A lot of people think VW's upcoming Scirocco could use a little more oomph under the hood. The stock engines are rated from 122 HP to 200 HP, but this new version has a 300 HP version of the 2.0-liter TFSI inline-four. That's because the car has been race-prepped specifically for next month's 24-hour endurance race at the Nürburgring. More »
  • ad watch

    Volkwagen Scirocco Chase Video Awful, Confusing

    We refuse to believe someone was paid to produce this Volkswagen Scirocco video that's so bad it makes us feel itchy. Why is this man driving a Scirocco through a barren desert landscape? Well, he's being chased by the worlds laziest police force — apparently there for comedic effect, rather than an actual car chase. Is the Scirocco so titillating — so mind-bendingly amazing — that when they finally catch up to him in an airport hanger, they forget the driver is still in the car? Bad car ad, bad. No, no, no — rub your nose in it! [Youtube via Carscoop]
  • classic ad watch

    1979 Volkswagen Scirocco: Handles Better Than a Ferrari!

    Back in the Middle Malaise Era, when you were in a hurry to meet your cocaine dealer hot date at the dock, you could have taken a Ferrari or Maserati to ensure the quickest driving time. But when you also have a Scirocco in the garage... well, who's going to argue with 71 horsepower?
  • geneva motor show

    2009 Volkswagen Scirocco Fully Unveiled

    We never thought we'd see the day, but the two door sport hatch Volkswagen Scirocco is back for your driving enjoyment. We saw the teasers of the Scirocco a little while ago, but the overseas embargo has lifted and the gents at World Car Fans were more than happy to run with it. The homage to the original is sporting three different gasoline engines ranging from 122 hp to 200 HP and a single diesel good for 140 hp and 320 Nm of torque, that if you didn't notice is a whopping load of torque for such a small car. More »
  • geneva motor show

    VW Scirocco Breaks Cover Early

    Who gives a flying hoot about the fuzzy and crooked leaked manual or concept photos when we have the real deal live and in color, at least thanks to Motor Authority. If you really want to compare it to the original Iroc concept photos, the production model appears to be a bit boxier and the metal grills seems to have disappeared among other design changes. [Motor Authority] More »
  • geneva motor show

    VW Scirocco Brochure Leaks Onto Internet

    The Volkswagen Scirocco is scheduled to go on sale in Europe in September, but the production model hasn't been unveiled yet. These fuzzy images of a brochure — we can't attest as to their validity — reveal few details, but may indicated VW's new Golf-based coupe could appear as early as the Geneva Motor Show in March. [Via CarScoop] More »
  • choose your eternity

    Project Car Hell, Malaise Import Edition: Scirocco or 280Z?

    We've talked a lot about the Malaise Era recently, with the hyper-Malaise '76 Mustang DOTS car earlier in the week and everything, so it's only right that we do a couple of performance-oriented imports of the era. Specifically, from 1977, the year of Never Mind The Bollocks. You'll be able to choose between the cars of the two toughest Axis powers, front- or rear-wheel-drive, four or six cylinders, and "running but not drivable" versus "running when parked years ago" in today's Choose Your Eternity poll. Both are from not-so-rust-free Washington State, and both are dirt cheap. More »
  • gossip

    Report: Droptop Volkswagen Scirocco On the Way

    Good news for the sunblock industry, bad news for fake tanning. AutoExpress reports the upcoming Volkswagen Scirocco will be offered in droptop version. The convertible will reportedly lose its rear seats and gain a folding-roof mechanism that leverages development of the Eos cabrio, with which the Scirocco will share a platform. Volkswagen bosses haven't confirmed the the coupé-cabriolet's existence, but AW says we can expect to see it at a major auto show next year. [Autoexpress]
  • spy photos

    Volkswagen Scirocco on the 'Ring

    Some say it's coming to America, others say it's staying in Europe. All we know is Volkswagen is in the middle of a testing cycle for its new Scirocco model. And spies say it'll be the VW Eos that donates its naughty bits to give life to the new two-door. A fresh prototype caught on Germany's Nürburgring looks to hold over many of its antecedent concept car's design features, but not the dual exhausts. Ah, come on. [World Car Fans]
  • a mighty wind

    Over the Back Fence: Volkswagen Scirocco Coming to the US

    This guy we know knows this chick who dated this guy whose brother played pub trivia with this dude who once spent an hour in a hotel bar with a woman who implied she might be a Volkswagen rep. She apparently confirmed the Volkswagen Scirocco will indeed be coming to the US, despite several reports to the contrary (and confirming one report to the affirmative). The Scirocco, as you may know, started life as a concept car based on the familiar Rabbit/Passat platform. Dubbed Iroc (ScIROCco, get it?), it rolled out at the Paris show last year wearing a funky shade of metallic green and a hatch-like comportment that reminded some of an Opel, and others of a really far-out turnip. Reports have pegged production at 40,000 per year, though there's no word yet on how many might be destined to the US.
  • from the car spy's dossier

    When There's No Snow, Vail is Nothing But Kobe Bryant and Hybrids

    ("Follow us as we lift the hood on the world of industrial automotive espionage in From The Car Spy's Dossier, a series of road reports from A-list spy shooter Brenda Priddy and some of the world's greatest car spies!)I barely had a chance to unpack at my motel right across from BMW's so-called "top secret" hot weather test garage last week before Toyota called and invited me to Colorado for a few days to drive their new Highlander Hybrid. I used to think that an invitation from a auto company was nothing more than a ploy to get me out of town, and out of the action of wherever I may be at the moment, so that they could proceed to test their upcoming vehicles without worry about which cactus or maple I'd pop out from behind. But a couple of days in Vail...err...I mean a chance to drive a pre-production Highlander Hybrid was too good to pass up. More »
  • question of the day

    Do We Want the New Scirocco?

    Look, we hate to ever agree with a car dealer about anything, but... we've driven the new Volkswagen GTI. Although we would have liked more power and a rear-wheel drive bias in the GTI, the R32, set to drop this August, will take care of our dual needs quite nicely. The ice cream sandwich's chance in hell of coming to America R36 would fill 'em in even more, um, nicely. Which forces us to admit that VW dealers might have a point. Seriously, the GTI and the Scirocco share the same Golf Rabbit platform and peppy 2.0-liter turbo engine. The only difference between the two is the body and the ride height. I mean, do we really want this thing? And if we do, why?
  • news

    Come Again: Scirocco May Just Show Up in the States After All

    Last week we shared with you the sad news that Volkswagen dealers whined loudly enough about potentially lost GTI sales to keep the Scirocco off of US soil. This week we're telling you, "not so fast." According to Motor Authorityby way of Autoweek Bossman Martin Winterkorn is flexing his VAG muscles and telling whiny dealers that he — not them — is the decider. And, depending on how he decides, the Scirocco might be here after next year's Geneva show. So, like, maybe. Though we have a feeling that Martin is more concerned about asserting his authority over the plebs than he is about delivering another hot hatch to us barbarians Americans. More »
  • news

    Volkswagen AG: No Scirocco for US!

    Bah. After all the loose talk over the past year, we now must report the Volkswagen Scirocco won't make it to the states after all. The Paris launch for the Iroc Concept should have tipped us that the company was planning a Euro blitz without corresponding US assault. According to Automotive News, Adrian Hallmark, EVP of Volkswagen of America Inc., said emphatically, "We don't want it." (Who's this we, white man?) Nonetheless, skeptics' assertions that that the Scirocco would never be allowed to cannibalize sales of the GTI were on the money; both cars are built from the Golf platform. Also, VW America isn't sold on the potential for coupes and hatchbacks in the US market. That'll teach us to let nostalgia get the better of our judgment. More »
  • gossip

    After the Iroc: Volkswagen Scirocco Coming in 2008

    As Volkswagen's Iroc concept was rolled out at the Paris show, execs demured when asked about a production model. It has "a good chance" of going into production, they said. Of course, we've been hearing about the coming production Scirocco for well on a year. Now, the UK's CAR reports the Scirocco revival will show up in dealerships in 2008, at a price of 17,500 (don't bother with the currency conversion; it doesn't correlate to US sticker — figure around $20,000). It'll be riding on the Eos cabrio's platform and sharing powerplants with the Rabbit and GTI. According to the report, there's also a 230-hp R20 version on the way, possibly by way of dual turbos, or VW's twincharger. [Gallery] More »
  • concept cars

    The Wind Cries Scirocco: More on VW's Iroc Concept

    The Volkswagen Iroc concept's a far cry from its Giugiaro-designed predecessor, the 1973 prototype for VW's 1976 Scirocco coupe. But it's nonetheless that car's modern equivalent. The first Scirocco was introduced at the Paris motor show in 1973, while the Iroc will trod the Parisian boards in 2006. The Iroc also shares some similarities with the Audi Shooting Brake concept, just as the production Scirocco will share underpinnings with the 2007 Audi TT. Powered by VW's 210-hp TSI "twincharger" engine (turbocharger + supercharger = twincharger) linked to the DSG direct-shift gearbox, the Iroc will spawn the long-awaited Scirocco, which will likely appear in showrooms in late 2008. More pics after the jump. More »
  • concept cars

    Proto-Scirocco? Volkswagen Iroc Concept

    Our compadres at Eurocar Blog got hold of a few scans from an unnamed Spanish magazine that's allegedly published photos of Volkswagen's Iroc Concept (no, not IROC, Tony, ScIROCco), which will inform the company's upcoming Scirocco coupe. As EcB points out, the concept in these shots looks like an elongated VW Golf, with a connection to VW's Ecoracer concept it showed in Tokyo. The real Iroc will debut at the Paris motor show next month. No T-tops on this Iroc, though — it looks like it'll have a panoramic sunroof. More »
  • gossip

    Over the Back Fence: VW to Show IROC Concept in Paris; May Hearken New Scirocco

    No, not the kind of IROC that once roamed the boulevards of Staten Island like great iron steeds dipped in a huge vat of Armor All. According to supposition from a board member of VW Vortex, Volkswagen will show a concept car called the IROC, for ScIROCco at the Paris Motorshow in September. More »
  • gossip

    Audi to Put Diesel in TT, Scirocco?

    One of the first beneficiaries of Audi's new, diesels-are-cool brand message — led by its R10 LeMans racer — will be the TT, says AutoWeek. The powerplant in question won't be one of the company's larger furnaces, like its 2.7- or 3.0-liter, which can't be shoehorned into the TT's engine bay. Instead, it'll be a 2.0-liter, common-rail four from Volkswagen. That motor will have to get a serious turbocharging, considering it currently tops out at 140 hp, and will likely be shared with the Scirocco, which, word is, will get a tuned diesel as well, when it debuts for the 2008 model year. More »
  • news

    VW to Portugal: Scirocco Blowing Your Way in 2008

    Get those SCCA memberships up to date, kids, VW's confirmed a new sport coupe is indeed on the way for the 2008 model year, and that it'll be built at the company's plant in Setubal, Portugal, Edmunds Inside Line, via Reuters, is reporting today. It took the company more than a year since the first rumors started swirling to admit building a successor to the Scirocco — last seen in the US in 1988. The news is nothing we haven't heard from German magazines over the past month or so, but sometimes it's nice to hear it from the source. More »
  • gossip

    More on the New Volkswagen Scirocco; Built in Portugal

    Auto Motor und Sport brings a new round of speculative imagery (pictured) and some news on the upcoming Volkswagen Scirocco, including that it'll be introduced in 2008 for around 22,000 Euros (around $28,300), built at VW's Autoeuropa plant in Setubal, Portugal and use the Golf V platform for its bones. The coupe will likely fit between the Golf and the Eos in VW's line, which is expanding faster than a co-ed's wasteline during Oktoberfest. More »
  • gossip

    A New Take on VW's Upcoming Scirocco

    It looks awfully similar to a spec illustration of a reportedly new Audi A1 that ran recently in, among other outlets, the UK's Car magazine, but a spec image of how the next Volkswagen Scirocco could look appeared this week in Germany's Auto Motor und Sport. That image (above) differs from another spec proposed by AutoBild, which foresees the new model as having more in common with the Volkswagen EOS or the company's Concept R The boys at Eurocar Blog translate the reported specs, which include a base engine of VW's 1.4 TSI twin-charger mill. More »
  • retro

    Break Like the Wind: Hecklerspray on the Mk. 2 Scirocco

    Laverty admits that this one ain't exactly rubbish. Harkening back to earlier days before traction control nannied us all into a sometimes-justified sense of security (how many times did we spin our '70 Skylark?), the second-gen Scirocco is one of our favorite '80s cars as well. While some prefer the Mk. 1 design that bowed in '74, we've always liked the looks of the 2nd Gen. It's kind of a poor man's Audi Coup . More »
  • gossip

    AutoBild Specs the Upcoming Volkswagen "Scirocco" Coupe

    Those spec artists at Germany's AutoBild, usually fed information by industry spies, have posted several renderings of what Volkswagen's new "Scirocco" coupe (and new VW Cross Golf and Golf wagon) will look like (the same spec shots we reported last week had hit the paper edition). The possibly Portugal-built models are part of VW's broad line-expansion strategy to try to regain the US market they've all but relinquished of late. Those AB guys usually have the inside track, but we'll see in due time. Due = ~1 year. [Thanks to Stevo for the tip.] More »
  • news: industry news

    Volkswagen to Build Next Scirocco, Others in Portugal?

    The People s Elbow Car Company is investigating the possibility of producing its new Golf-based sportster on the Iberian Peninsula at its Autoeuropa plant in Setubal, Portugal. The plant currently builds the Ford Galaxy, VW Sharan and Seat Alhambra. Galaxy production ends next month, and Volkswagen's not sure about the future of the Sharan and Alhambra, leaving the plant open to build what the German automaker classifies as niche vehicles, including the '08 Scirocco redux and the Eos droptop, which is already slated to go into production at Autoeuropa to the tune of 45-50k vehicles a year. More »