Drives
TSI 1.4 gaegnen a .4 1 VoVloslw w s nual Sportline Ma
give the car a sportier drive. Giorgetto Giugiaro, who penned the sleek and sporty shape, was tasked with getting the car ready six months before the Golf was launched. Why? They wanted to resolve any teething troubles before production of their high volume Golf started. The first Scirocco went on sale in Europe in 1974. Back to my old Mark One. Those narrow lanes with those towering hedgerows that criss-cross the British countryside were ideal roads for my old Scirrocco. My car was not particularly quick, taking 11 seconds to amble from rest to 100km/h, but it cornered extremely well. Inspiring absolute confidence, it turned in precisely and gripped tenaciously. It was completely devoid of any embellishments that didn’t actually improve its dynamics. Simple switchgear properly thought through ergonomics and minimal gadget quotient is how you’d sum up the interior. Volkswagen has not changed their strategy one bit in their latest iteration of the car, some 35 years on. It’s all very restrained and functional and it’s none the worse for that. ‘Our’ test car was a freshly minted 1.4 TSi. No, that’s not a ‘typo’; it’s a 1390cc, 4 cylinder. Before you snort with derision over the minuscule cubic capacity of its little beating heart, let me tell you that it still can hustle along nicely. Top end eases out at 218km/h and 0-100km/h arrives in 8 seconds. For a 1.4 litre returning a
The more things change, the more they remain the same L
et me confess straight away that Volkswagen’s Scirroco has a special place in my heart. It’s right up there on my own, personal ‘Cool Wall’ in my head. Aged 26, I bought ‘black beauty’, which was a 1976 Scirroco Mark One version. The car had been thoroughly thrashed before I got hold of it. I still recall, with a wry smile, how that thing handled. It was a revelation. Unless you are up on your classic cars, in order to better understand the Scirroco, we go back a bit, to the early 1970’s. Volkswagen began work on the first Scirroco (Dubbed the Type 53 internally) because they needed to replace the aging Karmann Ghia coupe. The platform destined for the Golf/Jetta was used to underpin it but almost all of the components were re-engineered to 10 blower March 2010
Did you know? The Scirocco name is derived from the Italian word for the Sirocco wind — and the period in its history when Volkswagen named vehicles after prominent winds, including also Passat (after the German word for Trade wind), Golf (after Gulf Stream), Bora (after Bora) and Jetta (after Jet stream). The Scirroco GT24 is a race car for the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring. It has a 2.0L TSI engine rated 239 kW and 340 Nm @2100rpm, DSG transmission.
combined cycle (Euro) of 6.6 litres per 100km, that’s impressive indeed. But the little motor needs to be revved hard to squeeze the 118 Kw @ 5800 out of it, but it does twist a reasonable of 240Nm. Whilst the 1.4 turbocharged, supercharged motor does well for a small engine, it’s not powerful enough to propel the 1346kg car along quickly enough. The cars looks achingly beautiful at any speed and many would expect it to be suitably endowed with an engine that at least meets the expectations that its visual personality conveys. This new car is longer and wider than the current Golf GTi and its lower roofline gives it its coupe-like looks – but its actually a three-door hatchback. Its muscular rear flanks give it great road presence. Under the bonnet are three engine options; two petrol units (the nippy 1.4-litre TSi and the range-topping 2.0-litre TSi). Whichever engine is chosen, the Scirocco will provide a superb driving
experience. Its practicality as an everyday sports coupe doesn’t end there as the Scirocco Four decent sized seats make the car good for everyday use.. The two in the rear will accommodate Handling wise, although we did not get to try the car around Killarney, we that the car is well served by its Multi-link rear axle and Anti-roll bar. Perfect steering feel, sharp turn in, supple ride and a very accomplished chassis. I have a sense that the chassis could handle double its modest 118kw before it needed substantially modifying. Whilst the third iteration of the Sirocco has been with us for a while, it’s not yet a familiar site on our roads. It did create a noticeable ‘stir’ as it blew along suburban roads. Those R4,820.00 optional Interlagos” 8Jx18 alloy 235 / 40 R18 wheels are some of the best-looking alloys wrapped in rubber today. If VWSA ever introduce the favoured diesel version here, that’ll be the one I’d go for. Meantime, we have to wait for VWSA to let us try to the new 155kw 2.0 litre version later this year. (see tinted box for the latest). Basic retail price is R282,000.00. On the whole then, the Scirocco is certainly a tempting buy. Atiae pra quat. Imincto et plam essedit iberunduntur as ditem facculluptas dolo cum faccae aut ere volorep edigeniendis non resciat iorat. Volorep errovitatur? Sum fugit percid miliquam, quam aut dellenem qui consedit enient repedis quid mosae vitatqui voluptae. Archicia doluptae cumet eos quam quiandelibus aut ea et et quis etur, quod mi, volutempore vendit, cone nonecep ellenistium cuptas con plit vel et eaquatus, autet reruptatibus aut earupidunt everum quae lant maio. Itatumquod quo beat quamus ea ipis acculpa runtota quisit qui ressimin repe senis et de rem et que quaesti utem. Ust, a ne liatemporum eate sumquistrum fugianda conecto quam dici totam volorpos alicienimpel rae RW
VWSA up the power of our pet Scirocco The product development boffins at VWSA have popped their high revving ‘Golf GTI’ engine into that svelte Scirroco. It develops 155kW and 280 Nm of torque, (available between 1700rpm and 5200rpm). The engine will be offered with an option of a 6-speed Dual Clutch Gearbox (DSG) or 6-speed manual transmission. It accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 6.9 seconds. It has top speeds of 240 km/h for manual transmission as well as 238 km/h for DSG. Expect to pay R325 200 for the TSI Manual and R339 700 for the 2.0 TSI DSG. Scirocco comes standard with a 5 year / 90 000 km service plan, 3 year / 120 000km warranty and 12 year anti corrosion warranty. But they don’t rust anyway.
Speed read
VW’s revival of its iconic coupe simply oozes style, especially its styling. Enjoyable handling and superb refinement completes a great package.
History file
See the family resemblance?
1970 Volkswagen Karmann-Ghia
Like the Scirroco? Consider one of these… 1974 Volkswagen Scirroco GLS
“Top end eases out at 218km/h and 0-100km/h arrives in 8 seconds. For a 1.4 litre returning a combined cycle (Euro) of 6.6 litres per 100km, that’s impressive indeed.”
VW Golf GTi
1982 Volkswagen Scirroco Audi TT
March 2010 blower 11