Scirocco blows hot again

Another born-again car is being groomed for Australia. The Volkswagen Scirocco had been dead for more than 20 years before a comeback preview at the Geneva Motor Show ahead of production later this year.

The original Scirocco coupe was never sold in Australia but there is every chance the newcomer will be introduced as a sports car here.

“I am very keen to get it. It will be a nice addition to our range,” Volkswagen Group Australia head Jutta Dierks says.

“It's not even launched in Europe yet, but we will work very hard to get into a position to bring the car. We will not be aggressive, but I am keen to get it.”

The Scirocco, a two-plus-two coupe, will be sold with a variety of diesel and petrol engines, from 92-147kW with a seven-speed DSG gearbox and a range of hi-tech equipment including electronic chassis control.

The timetable is for a German launch in the third quarter of this year, pointing to Australian sales next year.

“It will probably be late in the year, so it's still really far away,” Dierks says.

The starting price in Europe is likely to be less than $30,000, though the Scirocco will cost considerably more in Australia.

Dierks has begun negotiations for the Australian introduction.

“First of all, I'm delighted the car comes back,” she says. “When we introduced the car 34 years ago, it was true to our name. We wanted a sports car people could actually afford. At that time, a sports car was a dream car. Most people could never have the chance to drive this sort of car. I still love that idea."

“I do think the brand has the potential to offer a sports car."

“We have our R models for performance. Now we are going in the direction of a classical sports car, which I think is a very, very good idea.”

She is confident the Scirocco will not steal sales from Volkswagen's cars, or Audi, even though it is likely to be shopped against rivals from the BMW 1 Series coupe to the Audi A5.

“It's our concept. It stands for Volkswagen, and it has for many years,” Dierks says. “I don't think it would endanger Audi or any of our other brands. It is a fitting concept for us.”

The Scirocco was shown at Geneva alongside several other Volkswagen concept cars, including a diesel hybrid Golf.

“I am very keen on the Golf GTi Hybrid, but unfortunately that is still a concept car,” Dierks says.

“It has a fuel consumption of 3.4 litres/100km and lots of good ideas. I think it will work well.”