Forbidden Fruit: 265-horsepower Volkswagen Scirocco R unveiled
by Alex Nunez on May 19th 2009 at 8:56PM 
Don't get too excited if you're Stateside -- this puppy's a Europe-only treat. iMotor is first on the web with photos of the new Volkswagen Scirocco R. The UK publication had the slick blue hot hatch for an exclusive photo shoot, the embargo for which apparently lifted as the clock struck midnight GMT this evening. So, what do our friends across the pond get? Well, the Scirocco R features the Audi S3's 265-horsepower variant of the near-ubiquitous 2.0 TFSI engine, which sends power to the front wheels via either a 6-speed manual or DSG. In a bid to keep some semblance of control over all that front-drive juice, the Scirocco R gets the new XDS differential we'll be seeing in the redesigned 2010 GTI. Naturally, there are more aggressive fascias decorated with "R" badges fore and aft. The Scirocco R also benefits from a lowered suspension and upgraded brakes over the standard car. iMotor says that the VW Scirocco R will hit showrooms sometime this September priced from £26,000. VW hasn't made its official announcement as of yet, but we expect that info and additional photos to hit the wires by tomorrow morning. If we had to guess, the Scirocco R will be Veedub's headliner at the Wörthersee, along with Audi's Q5 Custom Concept. Stay tuned.
UPDATE: Official info, photos from VW here.
[Source and Photo: iMotor]
Get a WordPress.com Blog
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
nzo 9:02PM (5/19/2009)
Hot with 2 Ts. Hott.
Reply
Taglane 11:26PM (5/19/2009)
Hot with an 'awt'. hawt.
VW is foolish for not shipping at least a few of these out here.
Aki 9:02PM (5/19/2009)
No AWD? =( Then again since we won't see it ever stateside it's sad faces all around.
Reply
zamafir 9:03PM (5/19/2009)
agreed lack of 4mo is sad, xds is not as good as what ford puts in their uber focus, i would have preferred to see 4mo but I guess that would have made the S3 sales fall flat.
Bungle 9:55PM (5/19/2009)
Considering that VWs are heavy enough with 2WD, I'd take some torque steer over even more weight with AWD. The R32, for example, had a healthy 240hp but wasn't exactly a rocket with about 3500 lbs. to carry around - pretty insane for a "hot" hatch.
Ralph 12:18AM (5/20/2009)
@ Bungle:
Which R32? The 2004 MKIV has the same exact engine as the the Audi TT 3.2, so 250 HP/247TQ. The car weighs ~3,380 lbs. The car also requires a shift into 3rd. gear to reach 60mph and still runs a respectable 5.8 - 5.9 secs (Motortrend and Car&Driver tests). Maybe this seems slow to you, but there aren't too many cars in this price bracket that can consistently use this much power in a variety of real-world conditions.
Granted, the 2008 version is about 130 lbs. heavier, but benefits from faster shifts with the DSG transmission.
Back to the Scirocco...which it looks like we'll unfortunately never see here in the USA.
esteva03 12:43AM (5/20/2009)
dont you think todays people still dont get the AWD as a good drivetrain? i saw tunners changing the AWD on the GTR35 to a RWD making it lighter and "better". Subarus and lanevos have been changed to RWD also and people claim them to be a better car. This is the new era were they offer something like AWD so we can change it into what we really want which is a RWD coupe? wouldnt it be easier to just make it RWD?
i would love this car to be RWD but after reading about the great handling of the new focus RS, and remembering the handling of the Honda Integra, i think there should be hot hatches with FWD, but they should make most of them RWD like the new genesis, but without the expensive body design and looks.
Aki 12:52AM (5/20/2009)
You can always find ways to lighten a car... it's much harder to replace FF into AWD.
It's funny, VW has to go through so much trouble to ensure that the Scirocco doesn't cannibalize the VW GTI (can't put 4-motion) or the A3 (gotta keep the interior relatively cheap-looking). If the Scirocco would cannibalize other VW/Audi hatches so much, maybe that shows how good of a design the Scirocco is, and how they should embrace it instead purposely making it suck.
zamafir 1:39AM (5/20/2009)
it doesn't suck, it's a great car, trouble is the MkVI GTI is more fun as it's newer. The issue with the Scirocco is it's position, between the A3 and MkVI GTI the Scirocco is always going to be a limited proposition, and while i'd love awd, it's abundantly clear we'll see that reserved for the R20T.
EvolutionVII 12:55PM (5/28/2009)
@esteva03: RWD converted GT-Rs are FORCED to dump AWD because of FIA regulations or simply to make it go sideways (Blitz R35). Now you show my anyone dumping his AWD in order to make his GT-R "lighter".
AWD is what makes this car run a 7:26.7 on the Nürburgring and low 10s @ 1/4 mile drags.
nagmashot 6:00AM (5/20/2009)
@ bungle
you should update your info... the Scirocco R weight 2930lbs creb weight according to Evo Magazine from the UK... lot less than FWD Focus RS which was scaled at the sportauto test with 3270lbs cerb weight...340lbs or 150kg is a huge different
wako 9:03PM (5/19/2009)
looks like the Volvo C30...
Reply
Motor_Yakuza 8:54AM (5/20/2009)
Nope, the C30 looks better.
deff boi 1:14AM (5/22/2009)
Looks more like a Golf/Polo trying to merge into the shape of a 1990 - 1994 Honda Civic Hatchback model.
dougefresh 9:10PM (5/19/2009)
Wow. Me likey.
Reply
AMcA 9:10PM (5/19/2009)
It's a lovely car. But forget everything, folks. All bets are off.
The Obama administration's new CAFE proposal means that the Honda Fit is just barely compliant. The Honda Fit.
Just walk down the street and look at the cars. Pretty much each and every one of them is doomed.
Reply
zamafir 9:15PM (5/19/2009)
i walk down the street and envision a world where we moan about obama in threads relating to him and focus on cars in the rest. that would rock. especially as we don't need to even begin to discuss it as this variant and the core model are NOT COMING TO AMERICA. but yes, any chance u cant to drag him into an unrelated thread, by all means...
... don't.
Samurai Jack 9:16PM (5/19/2009)
You know, there's no reason to expect any car on the road today to meet the standards that will be in force in 2016. So why bring up this red herring?
If the 2016 Honda Fit doesn't meet the standard then we'll have something to talk about. And in any event it has nothing to do with the current VW Scirocco--which isn't sold in the US anyway.
fizzandpop 11:26PM (5/19/2009)
Oh good Lord, when will it end? Like the bloke above me said, the technology is already there, any competent auto manufacturer can make cars that meet these standards in six years time. It might be a little bit more expensive. Tough. It might sap a bit of performance. Tough. It's for the benefit of all of us. So we will have to do our part and stop whining like kids and suck it up. It's a little thing called sacrifice. Be a f**king man and quit crying about someone taking your toys away.
J.Crew 9:21PM (5/19/2009)
Give me a GTI in that color, also lowered, and with that powertrain and I could be happy.
Reply