Volkswagen Scirocco (Germany, 1974-1982)

The 3.85 meter long Scirocco debuted at the Geneva Motor Show in the year 1974. It succeeded the Karmann Ghia – internally designated the Type 14 – that since 1966 had been popular for its design, proven Beetle technology and affordable prices. Like the Type 14, the Scirocco – developed under the code name EA398 – was created at Karmann in Osnabrück.

While the Karmann Ghia tended to appeal to women customers, the Scirocco, designed by Italdesign in Turin, appealed equally to female and male car drivers. With its clear, defined edges, wedge shape, low belt line and taut rear end, the design originated from the same form language that Giorgetto Giugiaro also favored for the first Golf.

Its wheelbase (2.40 Meter) was as long as possible, the extended hood and short fastback with integrated Bürzel spoiler created classic sports car proportions. The Scirocco of Generation I conceptualized in Wolfsburg was also one of the first cars with integrated drip moldings, which fit in with its overall very “clean” appearance.

The interior of the first Scirocco spoke to the styles of the 1970s. The diamond tartan pattern of the seat covers in the top TS model was as much a part of those contemporary taste trends as the corduroy materials and a steering wheel whose three spokes had stamped out holes. In the more sporty versions, two additional instruments (clock and voltmeter) in the center console were added. Later, as part of an initial model facelift, Volkswagen replaced the steering wheel by a version with a deeply drawn impact absorber – which was called the “spittoon” in popular language.

The large tailgate and folding rear seats turned the Scirocco into a wagon-coupé with up to 533 liters cargo capacity. Volkswagen implemented transverse-mounted engines, which were now water-cooled, and whose overhead camshafts were driven by a toothed belt. In addition to the front independent McPherson suspension with A-arms and negative offset, a semi-independent rear suspension arrived as an innovation.

At its market introduction in June, Volkswagen offered the new coupé with three engines: 1.1 liter with 50 PS and 1.5 liter with 70 PS and 85 PS. The transmission made do with four forward gears, and the optional automatic had three driving levels.

Depending on the version (Basis, L or TS), a first generation Scirocco had either single rectangular or dual round headlamps. In the most powerful variant, the Scirocco TS, the sports car reached 175 km/h, impressive for those times, and it handled the classic Sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in eleven seconds.

Beginning in the summer of 1976 VW offered the 110-PS engine fed by a Bosch K-Jetronic in the Scirocco GTI for regular street use. This model, with a 14 millimeter larger tread width, reached 185 km/h. The GLI version also had 110 PS under its flat hood, but it emphasized luxurious attributes with its bronze tinted windows, high-end fabrics and metallic paint.

Over the remainder of 1974 the company sold 24,555 Sciroccos, and in its first full year of production (1975) 58,942 units were sold.

Worldwide 87,902 new Sciroccos hit the roads in 1977; in Germany Volkswagen had acquired a 15 percent share in the segment of sporty coupés. When the last of the first generation Sciroccos left the assembly line at the Karmann factory in Osnabrück in February 1981, a total of 504,153 units had been built.

In 1976, Volkswagen Motorsport in Hannover issued a special series of 50 identical cars for the newly established Junior Cup, every one of them painted in black. On one of these 110 PS models, Manfred Winkelhock – who would go on to become a Formula-1 driver – would earn his first spurs in car racing. The driver from Swabia won the final race in Hockenheim.

For the 1978 model year, Volkswagen subjected the Scirocco to a model facelift. The front turn signal lights and the bumpers covered with dark PVC impact protection profiles wrapped around the fenders, and the B-pillars were tinted black. At the same time the radiator grille got a decorative frame. The engine lineup was now: 50, 70 and 110 PS.