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The spotted specimen

In a residential neighborhood in Hoorn, we unexpectedly came face to face with a Volkswagen Scirocco of the very first type. The spotted example is also an early one, from 1975. The car has been in the Netherlands since 2000 and with its current owner since 2009. Many Sciroccos fell prey to customizing and/or careless owners, but this one escaped that fate. Except for the white indicators (why?) it is still completely original and in very nice condition.

The first Volkswagen Scirocco

In the 1970s, Volkswagen was working on a successor to the now aging Karmann Ghia. After all, that coupe and convertible dated back to 1955. The successor would be a slightly different kind of car, but parallels were certainly there. The Karmann Ghia was a sportier model based on the Beetle; the new model would be a sportier model based on the soon-to-be-introduced Golf.

Although the platform of the upcoming Golf was the basis, almost everything was modified for the Volkswagen Scirocco. The wheelbase of both models was the same, but the Scirocco was longer, wider and slightly lower. Both the Golf and the Scirocco were designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, who was then working for Italdesign.

Scirocco for the Golf

The Volkswagen Scirocco was presented in 1973 at the Geneva Motor Show, was available for order later that year, and actually formally entered the market in early 1974. Thus, although the Scirocco was based on the Golf and not the other way around, the Scirocco was the first. This had two advantages. First, more than the Golf, the Scirocco was a nice tastemaker that prepared the public for “the new Volkswagen. Second, any teething problems in the production of the Scirocco could be solved before the Golf, which was much more important in terms of numbers, went into production.

Drivetrain Volkswagen Scirocco

In terms of technology, the Golf and Scirocco were largely similar, as mentioned above. That meant a fairly wide range of four-cylinder gasoline engines, with displacements from 1.1 to 1.6 liters. Depending on engine and version, the transmission was a four- or five-speed manual transmission or (in practice especially for the American market) a three-speed automatic. The drive always went to the front wheels. As with the Golf, there was also an extra sporty GTi version starting in 1976, with the Scirocco again being the first.

Facelift for the Scirocco

Several changes took place during the course of production. For model year 1976, the double wipers were replaced by a single one, the steering became a bit lighter and air conditioning became optional. Regarding those wipers, the one we spotted is striking. Although the 1976 model year already started during 1975, the specimen spotted in January should still have the original double wipers.

For model year 1978, the Volkswagen Scirocco underwent a real facelift. Most noticeable are the front turn signals, which are a bit larger and run “around the corner. Furthermore, the B-pillar became black instead of body color, to make the car appear a bit lower or longer. Finally, the bumpers became entirely plastic. In 1981, it was time to follow up with the second model generation Volkswagen Scirocco.