Click above for more high-res shots of the 2009 VW Scirocco
We can't follow where this particular embargo break began, but a pair of official embargoed images of the production 2009 Volkswagen Scirocco scheduled to be unveiled next week at the Geneva Motor Show has hit the interweb. As you can see, the Scirocco's design has changed dramatically from its days on the auto show circuit as the IROC Concept. Gone is the face only a Pokemon master could love, replaced with something more appropriate for public consumption. In fact, the Scirocco will be the first VW we've seen in a while without the double-decker grille treatment. Instead, a slim grille connects its headlamps that are set atop a wide swath of body colored molding before we get to the large lower air intake that also houses turn signals and fog lamps. The basic body shape and rear of this hatchback are, however, much closer to their concept counterpart. Designers were not only able to port over the strong character line that created a broad shoulder down the entire length of the concept, but they even made it more pronounced on the production version by adding a slight crease. From what we can see, the car is lower and wider than, say, an R32 or GTI, which officially makes it the VW hatch we've always wanted and, surprise, won't get.
UPDATE: Source of embargo break traced back to here and here.
[Source: AutoWeek.nl]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
JaysonAych @ Feb 28th 2008 3:32PM
What a difference a nose job makes...that is so much better than the hideous IROC concept. Now I'm upset it's not coming to the states.
geo.stewart @ Feb 28th 2008 5:16PM
still think, since production views started coming out, that this should just be a replacement for the GTI. I dont think the US, or the world, needs both. Leave the Golf as the low end and make this a GTI and AWD R32.
naggs @ Feb 28th 2008 6:52PM
funny, my first though was thank god this hideous crap is not coming to the us
overpriced, ugly GTI
John P. @ Feb 28th 2008 3:33PM
Not a bad design, but doesn't inspire me either. The IROC concept was a bit, if not much, better.
Purifoy @ Feb 28th 2008 3:34PM
Hmmmmm. I kinda like this.
Luis @ Feb 28th 2008 3:34PM
STILL not coming to NA? Call me when it does.
The Doctor @ Feb 28th 2008 3:35PM
Is it me or does it look like they've pinched the sides from a Peugeot 307?
nagmashot @ Feb 28th 2008 3:44PM
what kind of gras do you smoke to see there any 307 side lines?
307 from the side ..
http://www.autobild.de/ir_img/529698_34e79afd78.jpg
pulloa @ Feb 28th 2008 4:13PM
@nagmashot : lol, i kind of agre with him, but not related with the 307, i'm pretty sure i have seen those "side" lines, in the 308, the 307 succesor...
Kevin @ Feb 28th 2008 3:36PM
A little bit of C30 from the side...not bad.
peekytoe crab @ Feb 28th 2008 3:44PM
eh. still a chick car.
LeftTurn @ Feb 28th 2008 3:47PM
VW already makes a hot hatch. Instead of investing R&D in another one, they should have created a proper sports car. I think they made the right decision to keep it in Europe. Give us a real sports car.
meshies @ Feb 28th 2008 5:00PM
I agree 100%. You can have this, I think they messed it up anyway. The front looks like a US spec Focus.
Gavin @ Feb 28th 2008 3:48PM
I'm still confused as to why they're calling it the Scirocco...It looks nothing like a coupe that the original was based on.
carmaniac @ Feb 28th 2008 4:02PM
Why? The original Scirocco was a sporty hatchback based on a Golf chassis...there's no difference in that respect. Of course it doesn't look anything like the original, there's been 3 decades since that car!
Dazza @ Feb 28th 2008 4:24PM
You do realise don't you that the original 1975 Scirocco was nothing but a VW Golf dressed with a coupe bodyshell?
Xcountryflyer @ Feb 28th 2008 3:58PM
It is rather confusing that they have the GTI and the new Scirocco. They should have made the Scirocco RWD and a traditional two door coupe or at least a two door to differentiate it from the GTI.
zamafir @ Feb 28th 2008 4:24PM
Yes... just like all the other cars they have on a RWD platform.
Reality Check: No other automaker has more designs running of a single platform (if you trust CAR/EVO). To even suggest VW should ditch such efficient platform sharing and go it alone for a brand new small vehicle rwd platform when GM is getting ready to ditch theirs left and right is either uninformed or pure fantasy.
B @ Feb 28th 2008 4:58PM
Personally i like it. But i would have preferred to see a RWD setup also. Heck, even AWD would have done it for me. Its different from the GTI in that it has a much lower roofline and a sloping rearend. The GTI has an almost vertical hatch.
@Zamafir
Agreed, VW's platform sharing is top notch, but in reality, making the rear wheels driven in this wouldnt be too hard. Obviously it wouldnt be the worlds best RWD car seeing as its A5 chassis brethren are a transverse engine layout, but the R32 has AWD, how hard would it be to make a new transmission case for the current 6spd and DSG boxes without the front axle shafts.
Xcountryflyer @ Feb 28th 2008 4:59PM
Using GM as an example is like saying the Titanic was a great example of ship building.
Even 4WD would have been better but I think it largely is body shape is too similar.