I spent yesterday afternoon in an old junkyard favorite of mine, a facility that often grabs interesting complete cars that are listed for sale before going into the yard. Next to the building was a 1991 VW Corrado, a supercharged G60 model, parked with a no-start issue. It ignited an old passion of mine, that of the gorgeous VW coupe kind, which include the Corrado’s forebear, the Scirocco. This 1984 model here on eBay is presented as a car you can drive as-is or take to the next level without too much effort.
While I always pined for the Scirocco’s unofficial “twin,” the rear-wheel drive Isuzu Impulse, finding one of those in decent shape is an exercise in futility. The Scirocco isn’t exactly easy to track down, but there are far more enthusiasts keeping VW’s iconic two-door on the road. The seller notes rust is minor and it comes with four new tires, and I like seeing the OEM wheels and mudflaps still attached.
The interior is a sporting affair, with thickly bolstered bucket seats, some auxiliary gauges in the center stack, and of course, a proper manual gearbox. That steering wheel has been found in nearly every VW model made throughout the 80s and early 90s, from the GTI to the Cabrio – I’d swap it out for a period-correct Momo post-haste. Mileage is reported as being just under 140,000, and at the moment, bidding is just over $1K with no reserve.
This one is the fuel-sipping 8V model, which is the second choice behind the high-revving 16V spec. If I was committed to owning one, a 16V Scirocco is absolutely the model worth holding out for, but many enthusiasts refuse to let those cars go (or they’ve been cheaply and poorly modified by this point). The seller notes some cold-start issues that go away as the car warms up, so it’s a good contender for a project-quality restoration that could be improved with some minor cosmetic and mechanical corrections.
Where is the Corrado located?
I always loved these! First foreign car I ever fell for. In junior high my friends and I played an extreme version of “punch buggy” where you could commit specified acts of violence against each other if you spotted certain oddball vehicles. The Scirocco was a “high score” as it was a punch in the sack!! Thankfully these were scarce even in the mid 90’s. The corrado however was the king of the hill as it was a kick in the nuts. It’s funny you mention the isuzu impulse as that was a “titty twister”lol. The included vehicles were mostly small 80’s/90’s sport coupes. MR2, miata,fiero, geo storm, for probe, buick reatta, etc. The only SUV was the rav 4, but that was the year they came out. You could back hand slap someone if you saw one of those as we called it a ” female dog jeep”.
I used to ride my bike around town when I was a little kid and I’d pretend it was one of these lol..
LOL My black Huffy with plastic mag wheels was really a Camaro Z28
I did the same except I pretended it was a 93 corrado VR6. Aside from the VR6 part it was true, and yes I put a Neuspeed decal on it.
Based on the GM T platform same as the chevette i dont know what the isuzu imuplse has to do with the vw scirocco
They were both designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro. T
I believe ItalDesign created the Ace of Clubs show car, hoping VW would pick it up as the replacement to the Gen. 1 Scirocco. VW didn’t, but Isuzu did. Take a look and you’ll see the bloodlines.
https://www.motor1.com/photo/1398133/italdesign-ace-of-clubs-concept/
Just the basic shape.
I had one, a turbo with Lotus Tuned Suspension. Fun car, but really under powered considering it was a turbo.
Always liked the Scirocco, and really wished they would have brought the modern one to the US.
Having owned two, and having really enjoyed both, I will say there is no such thing as “minor rust” on a Scirocco. What is “minor” today will be “major” in three months and “Major-Major” a year from now.
In the early 80’s I was still driving my air cooled VWs and began lusting for a Scirocco 16V. I test drove a new one and the dealer was a Porsche/ Audi dealership as well. I was good with the credit union so I popped for an Audi 4000 Quattro five speed in Indiana Red. Last NEW car I bought.. since then I’ve subscribed to Warren Buffet’s logic in that eating depreciation sux.
I’ve still got a warm spot for Sciroccos though and if this one were close enough to crawl under and around or maybe get more detailed photos I’d probably sell a muscle car and buy it..
It’d keep me from buying another MGB.
I think that the red timing belt cover probably makes it go faster.
I sometimes want another one but then remember we had three of them totaled out. None our fault and no injuries, thank god, but still why press our luck? They were fun little cars before they started to rust.
Had 3 of them, a 1976, 84 and 87. Traded in the red 76 on the black metallic 84 and the 84 on a silver 87 16V. I enjoyed it for 17 years and 132,000 miles. Garage kept it was still as solid and beautiful as the day I bought it when a thrilled new owner took possession. Should have kept it along with others but if I kept them where would I keep them all?