It’s been in the offing for a while, but now it’s close. Real close. Volkswagen has announced that it intends to take the wraps off the highly-anticipated Scirocco R at the Nurburgring 24-hour enduro later this week, where it will share the limelight with its proper race-going cousin, the Scirocco GT24-CNG.
The Scirocco R will also be the most powerful hatchback in VW’s stable, with a 195kW turbocharged 2 litre inline four twisting the front axles. A sizable 350Nm is generated by the blown four-pot, and should endow the shapely three-door with a great deal of urge.
A six-speed manual transmission is standard, but in our experience VW’s DSG cogswapper is the superior gearbox. The performance numbers certainly back that up, with the twin-clutch ‘box shaving a tenth of a second off the manual’s 6.5 second 0-100km/h sprint time.
VW’s latest XDS quasi-LSD will help deliver even traction and assist the Scirocco with putting power down through the corners, while braking is handled by 345mm discs up front and 310mm discs at the rear.
Body-wise, there’s been a number of racy additions. Larger air intakes in the front bumper channel more air into the radiator, intercooler and brakes, while an enlarged rear wing smooths out the airflow over the Scirocco’s rump. A blacked-out diffuser panel sits in the rear bumper and is flanked by a pair of chrome exhaust tips, while the whole shebang rides on specially-designed 18-inch alloys.
On the inside, microfibre-trimmed sport seats grip the driver while the driver grips a flat-bottomed leather-rimmed steering wheel. Piano-black accents and aluminium trim also features throughout the Scirocco R’s cabin, and DSG-equipped models also benefit from a set of wheel-mounted paddle shifters.
The Scirocco is already a beauty of a car, but the addition of an ‘R’ to the end of its name has just made it all the more desirable. It’s just a shame we’re not likely to ever see it here…
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[...] I’m interested to see how it does. At least we know it will look hella good. [Source: Motor Report] Post a [...]
I dont like many VW’s, but this is stunning! Please send them to Australia!!
We can only hope VW Australia comes to its senses and changes its decision to not bring Sciroccos to Oz. But I guess Subaru, Mitsubishi and Nissan are very happy that they are not.
Where do I sign the petition to bring the Scirocco here to Australia?
Come on VW! There are already enough boring cars here on our roads.
I think there might be a mistake - surely this will do better than 8.5s 0-100km/h? It should do at least 2.5s better.
Sorry Ben! It was indeed a mistake: The Scirocco R will hit 100km/h from rest in 6.5 seconds, not 8.5.