1975 Volkswagen Scirocco
The Terryville Volkswagen Show is predominantly centered around the Beetle and its aircooled brethren, though watercooled VWs are allowed. Nevertheless, you can imagine my surprise when I saw this immaculate 1975 Scirocco to greet me!
Based on the original Golf/Rabbit hatchback, the Scirocco was the third of VW’s original watercooled models to be introduced. Named after a hot desert wind that blows over the Mediterranean Sea, the Scirocco was Volkswagen’s entry into the 2+2 sports car market. (The Golf GTI aimed at offering sports car performance with economy car practicality, so the two cars are really quite different.) The Sicrooco was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro just like the Golf/Rabbit, the Passat/Dasher, and the Polo, with the same origami-based styling. They were not built in Wolfsburg or Emden, however; Golf platforms were shipped to Karmann Coachworks in Osnabruck, Germany and fitted with Karmann-built bodies.
This ’75 Scirocco is truly a classic, one of the first produced, and it had a potent enough engine for the day – a 1.5-liter four with a Zenith carburetor generating 70 horsepower and propelling the car to sixty miles an hour in a respectable 12.7 seconds.
I remember these cars as a kid; I remember looking into the window of one and seeing these really cool tartan-upholstered seats. This Scirocco, alas, did not have such exotic appointments.
The present-day Scirocco, the model having returned to the VW lineup in 2008 after a sixteen-year hiatus, is not in the North American VW lineup. Write to Volkswagen of America and complain. Please.
1975 Volkswagen Scirocco
The Terryville Volkswagen Show is predominantly centered around the Beetle and its aircooled brethren, though watercooled VWs are allowed. Nevertheless, you can imagine my surprise when I saw this immaculate 1975 Scirocco to greet me!
Based on the original Golf/Rabbit hatchback, the Scirocco was the third of VW’s original watercooled models to be introduced. Named after a hot desert wind that blows over the Mediterranean Sea, the Scirocco was Volkswagen’s entry into the 2+2 sports car market. (The Golf GTI aimed at offering sports car performance with economy car practicality, so the two cars are really quite different.) The Sicrooco was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro just like the Golf/Rabbit, the Passat/Dasher, and the Polo, with the same origami-based styling. They were not built in Wolfsburg or Emden, however; Golf platforms were shipped to Karmann Coachworks in Osnabruck, Germany and fitted with Karmann-built bodies.
This ’75 Scirocco is truly a classic, one of the first produced, and it had a potent enough engine for the day – a 1.5-liter four with a Zenith carburetor generating 70 horsepower and propelling the car to sixty miles an hour in a respectable 12.7 seconds.
I remember these cars as a kid; I remember looking into the window of one and seeing these really cool tartan-upholstered seats. This Scirocco, alas, did not have such exotic appointments.
The present-day Scirocco, the model having returned to the VW lineup in 2008 after a sixteen-year hiatus, is not in the North American VW lineup. Write to Volkswagen of America and complain. Please.