Scirocco - Chronology

Its name refers to a hot desert wind that the Sahara sends in the direction of the Mediterranean – Scirocco. With the car by this name, the first front-wheel drive coupé under the "VW" label, Volkswagen demo­cratized the world of sports cars more than three decades ago: for the first time there was an affordable, fuel-efficient and – thanks to front-wheel drive – a truly safe coupé. And in 2008, just as it was in 1974, the Scirocco is an all-round sports car for every day of the year, thanks to its four full-fledged seats, a full-grown cargo area and practical tailgate. It is precisely this mixture of talents that won over hundreds of thousands of car drivers. For Volkswagen, the first generation of the Scirocco marked the beginning of a new era.

Background: Just a few months after the world premiere of the Passat, and shortly before the launch of the Golf that was new at that time, the successor to the Karmann Ghia marked the end of Volkswagens with boxer engines and rear-mounted engines in Europe. In parallel, the Scirocco contributed to general acceptance of a new production system – the modular principle that would soon cause a furor in the automotive industry. That is because much of what customers got a little later on the Golf was already on the Scirocco.

World premiere in 1974 in Geneva

The 3.85 meter long Scirocco debuted at the Geneva Motor Show in the year 1974. As described, it succeeded the Karmann Ghia – internally designated the Type 14 – that since 1966 had written automotive history with a fascinating design, proven Beetle technology and affordable prices. Like the Type 14, the Scirocco – developed under the code name EA398 – was created at Karmann in Osnabrück.

While the Karmann Ghia tended to appeal to women customers, the Scirocco, designed by Italdesign in Turin, appealed equally to female and male car drivers. With its clear, defined edges, emphatic wedge shape, low belt line and taut rear end, the design originated from the same form language that Giorgetto Giugiaro also favored for the first Golf. At the same time, the car was clearly differentiated from the more baroque forms of its competitors from the German states of Nordrhein-Westfalen and Hessen.

Classic sports car proportions

The impression that the coupé communicated to its audience was one of a unified whole. Its wheelbase (2.40 Meter) was as long as possible, the extended hood and short fastback with integrated Bürzel spoiler created – together with its generous tread widths – classic sports car proportions. The Scirocco of Generation I conceptualized in Wolfsburg was also one of the first cars with integrated drip moldings, which fit in ideally with its overall very "clean", unpretentious appearance.

Added to the cool design was a contemporary technology package. For a sports coupé, its well-organized layout was astonishingly good; the large tailgate and folding rear seats turned the Scirocco into a wagon-coupé with up to 533 liters cargo capacity. Moreover, Volkswagen implemented the most advanced drive technology of its time: transverse-mounted engines, which were now of course water-cooled, and whose overhead camshafts were driven by a quiet toothed belt. In addition to the front independent McPherson suspension with A-arms and negative offset, a semi-independent rear suspension arrived as a genuine innovation.

"Tartan diamonds" in style of the times

The interior of the first Scirocco spoke to the styles of the 1970s. The diamond tartan pattern of the seat covers in the top TS model was as much a part of those contemporary taste trends as the corduroy materials and a steering wheel whose three spokes had stamped out holes. In the more sporty versions, two additional instruments (clock and voltmeter) in the center console added another dose of visual dynamics. Later, as part of an initial model facelift, Volkswagen replaced the steering wheel by a version with a deeply drawn impact absorber – which was with genuine affection called the "spittoon" in popular language.

At its market introduction in June, Volkswagen offered the new coupé with three engines: 1.1 liter with 50 PS and 1.5 liter with 70 PS and 85 PS. The transmission made do with just four forward gears, and the optional automatic had three driving levels.

The strongest desert wind stormed at a speed of 175

Depending on the version (Basis, L or TS), a first generation Scirocco had either single rectangular or dual round headlamps. In the most powerful variant, the Scirocco TS, the sports car reached 175 km/h, impressive for those times, and it handled the classic Sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in eleven seconds; Volkswagen meant business when it came to sportiness.

Customers understood: over the remainder of 1974 the company sold 24,555 Sciroccos, and in its first full year of production (1975) 58,942 units were sold. A representative survey among Scirocco buyers confirmed the accuracy of the concept embedded in the specification: 42 percent of respondents purchased the Volkswagen based on its design, 25 percent due to its sportiness, and a full eleven percent cited "economy" as the main criterion for their decision to buy.

Manfred Winkelhock began his career in the Scirocco

In 1976, Volkswagen achieved a top quality marketing coup. Volkswagen Motorsport in Hannover issued a special series of 50 identical cars for the newly established Junior Cup, every one of them painted in black. On one of these 110 PS models, no less than the likes of Manfred Winkelhock – who would go on to become a Formula-1 driver – would earn his first spurs in car racing. The driver from Swabia not only won the final race in Hockenheim, but his winnings for the season, totaling 30,000 DM, were phenomenal for those times.

Non-racing drivers should not be left out of the picture – thought Volkswagen – and beginning in the summer of 1976 it offered the 110-PS engine fed by a Bosch K-Je-tronic in the Scirocco GTI for regular street use too. This model, with a 14 millimeter larger tread width, has passed many a large sedan on the German freeways at 185 km/h, excelling especially when it elasticity was required. The GLI version also had 110 PS under its flat hood, but it emphasized luxurious attributes with its bronze tinted windows, high-end fabrics and metallic paint.

For the 1978 model year, Volkswagen subjected the Scirocco to a careful model facelift. The front turn signal lights and the bumpers covered with dark PVC impact protection profiles wrapped around the fenders, and the B-pillars were tinted black. At the same time the radiator grille got a decorative frame. The engine lineup was now: 50, 70 and 110 PS.

The modest makeover came at the peak of the Scirocco pro­gram: worldwide 87,902 new Sciroccos hit the roads in 1977; in Germany Volkswagen had acquired a 15 percent share in the segment of sporty coupés. When the last of the 504,153 first generation Sciroccos left the assembly line at the Karmann factory in Osnabrück in February 1981, the consolidated Volkswagen brand was long on its way to the very top, in no small part based on the service of this small sports car.

The Scirocco II follows in 1981

The second generation Scirocco (EA 491) was based on the engineering platform of the Golf I; like its predecessor, it was being produced again at Karmann.

Thanks to the car's length, which was extended from 3.85 to 4.05 meters, the overall softer lines of the Scirocco II had a very elegant effect and also offered more space for people and luggage. In addition, aerodynamics were further optimized (cw value = 0.38) and more fuel-efficient powertrain technology was introduced. In May 1981, the new Scirocco was in the sales rooms of the Volkswagen dealers. And indeed with 60 PS (1.3 liter), 70 PS (1.5 liter), 85 PS (1.6 liter) and 110 PS (as GTI and GLI). The advertising was a continuation of slogans for the first Scirocco: "If it was just beautiful, it would not come from us" or "Please excuse us for talking about savings in the company of such exciting cars", were the slogans of two marketing campaigns at market introduction.

In July 1985, the most powerful production Scirocco of its times appeared: the GTI/GTX could move at 208 km/h with a 1.8 liter, 16-valve engine and Bosch KA-Je-tronic. Volkswagen had adapted the storming whirlwind to the higher power output with rear disk brakes, reinforced transverse links and driveshafts, and a larger rear –spoiler. It now accelerated from 0 to 100 km/h 8.1 seconds. Used in tandem with the three-way catalytic converter, which was still mandatory at that time, was the 129 PS engine that was also used in the Golf; without the exhaust-cleaning converter it could even deliver 139 PS. "Valves like those of a world champion" was the title of Volkswagen advertising for the Scirocco with the red "16V" emblem in the grille that was built until 1990.

White was already a trendy color on the Scirocco in 1985

From 1983 to 1987, Volkswagen introduced a number of special models onto the market within a short period of time. It began with the "GTS", followed by the "GTX". It was the first car to sport an antenna mounted to the rear edge of the roof.

Back in 1985, Volkswagen demonstrated – with its special edition "White Cat" which was only available in "Alpine white" – that the trendy color white was not just a phenomenon of our times. The Scirocco "Tropic" of 1986, on the other hand, made a colorful impression with the colors "Madison turquoise" and "Kiwi brown" on the outside; inside it had seat covers with "Olive/turquoise" stripes. A special attraction of the "Scala", launched in the same year, was its all-around spoiler/body kit painted in car color.

Starting in 1989, two engines were offered on the Scirocco: a 1.6 liter (72 PS and non-regulated catalytic converter) and a 1.8 liter engine (95 PS, fuel injection with regulated catalytic converter). The last version built, the "GT II 16V", was sumptuously equipped with steel sunroof, tinted glass, power steering and height-adjustable sport seats. In the last model year, three-point seatbelts were added to the rear bench seat as were side turn signal lights. But the days of the second generation of Sciroccos were numbered – the last of 291,497 units built left the assembly plant halls on September 7, 1992. Looking back, the Scirocco was clearly an exceptional success for nearly two decades. And now it's time to continue this brilliant outcome; the third generation of the Scirocco has the potential to do just that.




Note:
All data and equipment contained in this press release apply to models offered in Germany. They may differ in other countries. All information is subject to change or correction.
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