By Speedhunters

Car Culture At Large

Now, I’m not quite sure if any watercooled Volkswagen can officially be called a “classic” yet, but if there was one model deserving of the title, it would be the first generation Scirocco. This 1979 model, owned by Tommy Vervoort of Belgium is certainly one of the cleanest examples of around. Continue reading at Speedhunters

By Speedhunters

Car Culture At Large

Hot on the heels of our Scirocco GT24 post last week, Volkswagen have announced the new 2.0i TSI 265hp ‘R’ version of the Scirocco for the European market. As with all Volkswagen ‘R’ products it is presented in their ‘Racing’ Blue seen on the Golf R32 and GT24 race car. Visually, the car is similar to the GT24 with deeper front bumper and larger air intakes, compared to the standard version. A new gloss black grille with ‘R’ Insignia sits between the aggressive headlamps. Continue reading at Speedhunters

By Andy Blackmore

By Katherine Helmetag

Atomicalex

It’s a good thing my neighbors are cooler than dry ice. My Detroit proto-LeMons team picked up this beauty for a whopping $150. Considering that the last Scirocco to run in the LeMons threw a rod, we’re thinking we have fate on our side. Nelson Ledges will be a great place to blow up! The cage is already halfway in (with the rest of the tubing in the car and waiting for the welder), and it’s been stripped of offending sound deadening material. It also has a super-funky cutout in the hood. What do you guys and gals think the two-piece wheels are worth? It came with four of them. Are we going to make money on this car? The ralley tyres alone are worth a few dollars.

Continue reading "LeMons Scirocket" »

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

VW is preparing a compressed natural gas version of the Scirocco for the 24 Hours of Nurburgring endurance race. The CNG Sciroccos’s 2.0-liter turbocharged engine produces close to 300 hp. More at Wired

By Weston Henderson

Weston Henderson

Rob pointed me to a thread on the VWVortex about the new Scirocco. This thing is pretty sick if you ask me, but VW decided it was a better idea to keep this one to themselves. Long story short, we won’t be seeing this sweet ride stateside.

There are mixed reviews about this car, but the majority of VW fans seem to love it, including me. The chassis comes with the VW/Audi ever popular 200 hp 2.0 liter turbo engine, so it has some decent power. It’s 3″ wider and 2″ lower then the GTI and apparently slightly lighter. There are plans to generate an R20 version of this platform that will produce hp in the range of 230-240 at the wheels, but once again we wont get it.

What do you guys think? Did VW make a mistake by not releasing this chassis in the States?

Continue reading "The 2010 Scirocco Is So Fresh! Too Bad We Don't Get It" »

Two of my favorite imports, BMW and Subaru, just can’t seem to get it right lately when it comes to exterior styling. BMW is still working through the whole Bangle nightmare, and I personally have not quite recovered from the travesty that is the new Impreza/WRX/STI. Seriously, is it that hard to design a good looking car?

Maybe these manufacturers should just focus on what they are good at: building kick-ass cars. Maybe they should leave the exterior design to people who know what they are doing: Italians. No one ever decided not to buy an Italian car cause it was ugly. People decide not to buy Italian cars because they are too expensive, or because they are too fire prone. But Italians know how to design great looking cars.

Isuzu figured this out back in the 70s. When they wanted a new Impulse, they went to Giorgetto Giugiaro, and he penned something pretty cool. VW has gone to Giugiaro, too–he penned the first generation Scirocco. In the early 90s, Lexus went to Giugiaro for the GS 300, and Subaru went to him for the SVX. So what’s the deal now? Are BMW and Subaru too proud? Come on guys, make it easy on yourself and hire an Italian. You’ll end up with better looking cars, and you’ll sell more of ‘em, too.

At the Geneva Motor Show, you can’t throw a rock without hitting some excruciatingly expensive exotic, so if you go, don’t throw rocks. Right now, our buddies from Road & Track are across the pond covering it, and from the looks of these photos, they’re having a blast. They sent us sick shots of all the hottest stuff on the floor—like the KTM X-Bow Dallara Edition pictured below—and they’re making editorial wish we weren’t stuck at CarDomain World Headquarters. Check out all the pics they sent after the jump, and for complete info on all these rides, check out the Best of Geneva slide show over at Road & Track. All photos by John Lamm, Road & Track.

Actually, VW doesn’t get it. If they brought the new Scirocco to the US, it would sell like mad. Seriously. They are worried about cannibalizing GTI sales? Come on… One of my favorite car-related memories was driving my buddy’s then new ’86 16V Scirocco from LA to SF through the middle of the night, averaging 90 mph the whole way. I’m not normally a big fan of FWD,  but that was a seriously fun car. Anyway, Jalopnik has some nice shots of its official unveiling at the Geneva Motor Show. And VWVortex has a nice writeup on the car. Come on VW, do the right thing and bring it over.

Yesterday, I did a post about Isuzu leaving the US passenger car market. For the headline, I wrote, "Isuzu to US: Screw You Guys, We’re Going Home." Later in the day, someone who claimed to be the Public Relations Director for Isuzu North America commented that Isuzu never actually said, "we’re going home." I’d like to take this opportunity to say they didn’t say "screw you guys" either. That was Cartman. Here’s the news:

• Looking to buy a new GTR? According to this article, you should be prepared to pay up to 60 grand over sticker. As a reminder, list price is 69 grand. Like Pizza Hut says, double means more. Exhaust Note
• "The King" will wave the green starting flag for the 50th running of the Daytona 500. Nope, not Elvis. But close. NASCAR
• Yesterday, a supposedly leaked brochure for the upcoming VW Scirocco hit the web. The interior looked almost identical to the new Rabbit, and the seats were pretty bland. Turns out it was a fake. Motor Authority
• IIHS studies have shown that speed cameras reduce speeding in a big way. The good news for you speeders is that only 35 jurisdictions in the United States use them in enforcement efforts. Yahoo News