With the Volkswagen Scirocco now out in the public domain, Volkswagen appears to be on a campaign to keep our attention piquied with this teaser shot that has been floating around cyberspace. The image shows a darkened glimpse at the front end of a potentially beefier Scirocco, with the R in the reflection colored the bold blue that has become the trademark color of Volkswagen's performance badge.
If the R-type Scirocco got the same 247-hp 3.2-liter VR6 and 4Motion all-wheel-dive from its Golf/Rabbit R32 stable-mate, and some of the styling cues from the Scirocco GT24, we could have quite the stormer on our hands.
Click above for new high-res gallery of the 2009 VW Scirocco
We've got pricing on Volkswagen's new 2009 Scirocco. On sale in mid-November, the base price is £20,500 (about $40,220 USD, though don't trust currency conversions to give you a sense of something's value) for the bottom-rung 122-hp 1.4-liter TSI)model. Interestingly enough, that entry-level model won't be the first out of the gate. VW will initially introduce the four-seat hatch with two gasoline engines. The first is rated at 160 hp, while the second has a quoted output of 200 hp. These powerplants will be followed by the base 122-hp model, and a 140-hp turbo-diesel version. Unfortunately, there are still no indications that the legendary Scirocco will make it to our shores, unless you count the fact that some of these new Scirocco pics were shot near the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. (Don't mind the editor who doesn't know the Portugal Suspension Bridge from the Golden Gate Bridge behind the curtain.)
Click above for high-res gallery of the Volkswagen Routan
The new Volkswagen Routan minivan hasn't even gone on sale yet and there is already an incentive on its hood. This one, however, is not your typical cash back deal. Instead, Volkswagen is working under the assumption that the people likely to actually purchase a Routan are those with kids to haul. As such, VW of America is teaming up with Upromise to provide buyers with $1,500 towards a higher education savings plan. Upromise is a company that works with retailers to provide cash back bonuses when one of their registered credit card is used for purchases. Those rebates can then be transferred to a 529 education savings plan. To be eligible for the college bonus, you have to pre-order the Chrysler-built Routan by the end of August and take delivery by the end of November.
Volkswagen is pumping up the badass for the racing version of its new Scirocco sport-hatch. As we reported a couple of weeks ago, VW will be campaigning a race-prepped version of its latest release at the Nurburgring 24 hour race in the 2-liter turbo category in which a GTI took victory last year. The Scirocco racer will use the same 300-hp TFSI mated to Volkswagen's paddle-shifted DSG, a set-up which, in preliminary testing, Hans-Joachim Stuck called "one of the most uncomplicated racing cars" he's ever piloted. (We'll take that as a good thing.) Stuck, a two-time Le Mans champion, will be among the drivers campaigning the pack of three Sciroccos at the race, alongside double world rally champ Carlos Sainz, VW board member Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, three of the four driver's from last year's winning GTI team and a couple of automotive journalists (once again, nobody asked us).
Click above for a high-res gallery of the Volkswagen Scirocco.
Volkswagen will use the 24-hour endurance race at the Nurburgring in Germany to showcase the new Scirocco's sporting credentials when the event gets underway the weekend of May 24 and 25. The race-prepped version of the low-slung, Golf-based coupe will be spitting out 300 hp from its tuned 2.0-liter TFSI engine. Volkswagen didn't reveal a lot of details about the Scirocco racer in its press release (after the jump), but you can be assured that serious suspension and brake tweaks will be accompanied by all the prerequisite safety equipment to make the Scirocco competitive in the 2.0-liter turbo class. And VW isn't skimping on drivers, either. The Scirocco will be piloted by two-time WRC champ Carlos Sainz and two-time Le Mans winner and 'Ring legend, Hans-Joachim Stuck.
Click above for high-res gallery of the Golf GTI Pirelli
The Golf GTI Pirelli is back (but only in the UK right now). Celebrating its arrival after a 25-year absence, the Pirelli-themed Volkswagen hatchback features an enhanced version of the 2.0-liter T-FSI powerplant boosted to 230 PS (about 227 hp). Power is sent to the front wheels through a traditional 6-speed manual, or VW's very nice twin-clutch DSG gearbox. The added 30 horses over the stock VW GTI drops the sprint time to 60 down to just 6.8 seconds and raises the hatchback's maximum speed to 152 mph.
Differentiating itself from the standard GTI, the Pirelli version features a front splitter, side skirts, smoked rear lenses and tinted windows. Of course, it also gets 18-inch 5-spoke aluminum wheels wrapped in, you guessed it, Pirelli P-Zero tires. The Pirelli theme is carried to the interior with custom yellow-stitched sport seats and tire-tread imprints in all four seating positions. With a few added mechanical upgrades, several exterior enhancements, and a lot of interior branding, the GTI Pirelli package appears to be a slick package. That is, assuming you don't tire of it. (Oh, come on, we just had to say that.)
Click above for high-res gallery of the 2009 VW Scirocco
Volkswagen has made it categorically clear that the only reason it will not sell the recently unveiled Scirocco in the United States is because of the weak dollar. Bloomberg quotes VW's sales and marketing chief Detlef Wittig as saying, "The exchange rate is the only reason for not selling it in the U.S." Wittig goes on to say that the Scirocco would fit the U.S. market, which is arguable considering that VW already sells the Rabbit hatchback here in multiple forms, including GTI and R32 variants for the performance-minded enthusiast. But because of the weak buck, the point is moot since VW would make no money importing the Scirocco from the factory in Palmela, Portugal where it will be built alongside the Eos convertible.
Is all hope lost for those in the U.S. hoping to relive thier youths in a reborn Scirocco? Not quite, as the dollar will likely make a comeback against the euro at some point. Since no one is saying that it's likely to happen in the near future, VW also announced that it has begun scouting locations for a U.S. plant where it can build some of its cars free of the profit-sapping exchange rates. Perhaps then when we're building our own VWs in Alabama, Germany's largest automaker will decide to start selling the Scirocco in the U.S. Thanks for the tip, Mike!
Click image above for live shots of the production Scirocco
Walking around the Geneva Motor Show this morning, we spotted the production 2009 Volkswagen Scirocco . Actually there were three of them: A white one and two red examples. Although not as outrageous as the IROC Concept, it's still a wild looking ride. The Pokemon snout is gone, and surprisingly, so is the double-decker grille. What is left is a hot little coupe that basically looks like an Audi A3 three-door with styling more reminiscent of something from Alfa Romeo. A squashed R32 is another way of thinking of it, but in a tasteful way. The new coupe will be in European showrooms by late summer starting at 21,750 euros in the home market. Full press release after the jump, but enough chit-chat, check out the pics.
Click above image to view all new high-res shots of the VW Scirocco
As we say in the biz, you can't put the toothpaste back in the tube, so you might as well squeeze out what's left. After two official images of the yet-to-debut 2009 Volkswagen Scirocco hit the web the other day, a couple of sites have decided just to publish the whole lot of pre-release images. There are seven in total now (VW will likely release dozens more after the car debuts in Geneva next week), including a pair of interiorpics that show, surprise, surprise, a cockpit that appears remarkably similar to the one in the Golf and Jetta. Despite that, the deeply bolstered tan leather seats are stitched with a nifty retro pattern that makes us want to crank the cassette player to 11. There's more info about the 2009 Volkswagen Scirocco that we'd like to tell you, but it's embargoed until Monday. It's highly unlikely, however, that this tube of toothpaste won't be squeezed dry by then.
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.
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