VW Debuts New Scirocco Concept

Don’t be fooled by the name. VW is dubbing its latest concept vehicle the Iroc, but it’s really an early look at the soon-to-be-revived Scirocco sports car. The easy giveaway — besides the mentions in the press release — is the license plate that reads “SCIROCCO.”

With concept cars we don’t think too much about the engine or most of the mechanicals because they can change greatly, as can the design. This new Scirocco though will definitely keep the four-seats and hatchback layout; other elements will change but count on that. The engine talked about is a combination turbocharged and supercharged four-cylinder already seeing use in European VW models, but we expect a more powerful version by the time this makes production.

When will it be produced?

That’s anyone’s guess, but because it will share so many parts with other models it could be added to the production schedule rapidly. Our best bet would be as a 2009 model, sometime in late 2008.

We’re also going to speculate that the Scirocco will slide somewhere in the middle of the new GTI and the next Audi TT in terms of cost. VW will definitely have some interested sports car fanatics when — or if — this concept ever hits the streets. The wild styling is a terrific evolution of the company’s current design and melds well with corporate sibling Audi.