While I consider myself fairly well-versed on German makes and models, there’s always something out there you’ve never heard of. But consider me surprised to learn about this special edition Volkswagen Scirocco, made even more surprising considering I owned a 1988 Scirocco 16V for a spell. This is a so-called Slegato edition Scirocco, not sold here in the U.S. but apparently available in Canada. It’s a cosmetic kit for the most part, but made infinitely cooler considering very few were made and you couldn’t get it stateside. Find this ’88 VW Scirocco Slegato here on craigslist in British Columbia for $8,500. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Scott for the find.
The Scirocco was an intriguing concept for a company that hadn’t dabbled in the world of sporting coupes. The GTI was its entry into anything approaching a performance model, but like the Corrado that came later, it was clear VW wanted to offer a compelling two-door. The Karmann-built coupe was designed by none other than Giorgetto Giugiaro and had a twin of sorts in the form of the rear-wheel drive Isuzu Impulse, which could also be had in turbocharged form with Lotus suspension tweaks. The Scirocco got the DOHC 16-valve engine as an upgrade, but this Slegato edition addresses some of the other commonly used “hot hatch” features without adding more power, like this sweet 3-spoke steering wheel.
What’s perhaps most impressive is how deep the Slegato enhancements went. For starters, you got a full Zender body kit, featuring side skirts, fender flares, and front and rear valences. The black stripes weren’t part of the kit but the Helios Blue paint job was, and was one of only two colors offered. Helios Blue is a sought-after color in the MK2 VW world, but it’s more commonly associated with a special edition Jetta sedan of the same vintage. The other tell-tale sign is a subtle badge on the B-pillar which replaced the “Karmann” logo you typically see in that spot.
Now, my experience with the Scirocco was underwhelming; we simply weren’t a good match for each other. Regardless, plenty of other Volkswagen enthusiasts adore these quirky coupes, and an unusual model like this that was sold in very small numbers and equipped with a wide range of desirable parts is sure to find a new owner quickly. The seller has addressed several big ticket maintenance items, including “…(a) new gear box, fuel pump, radiator, heater core, rear brakes, steering rack foot and alternator belt.” The asking price seems on the money for a clean Scirocco, but you will have to figure out importation into the U.S.
A friend of mine had a Scirroco and told me that they
didn’t have a lot of headroom.He was on the tall side.
I had a Scirocco when I was stationed in Germany back in the 90’s, I’m 6’1″. Not huge but not short. Fit just fine in mine.
Many, many gay men have realized that the VW garage is a safe place for their shenanigans
The first generation (’74-81) was designed by Giugiaro; this one was an in-house design.
Giugiaro only designed the original Mk1 Scirocco, but he had nothing to do with styling these Mk2s.
Lore has it he was working up a proposal for the Mk2 when he found out VW already had their own design in the works, so he pivoted his work-in-progress on that to a contract with Isuzu to design a successor to the 117 coupe that he’d also designed for them. This ultimately became his Asso di Fiori (“Ace of Clubs”) concept prototype, which went into production almost entirely unchanged as the Isuzu Piazza (aka Impulse in the US market).
Looks like a less expensive, less complicated and less fun UR Quattro with that aero treatment. Kinda cool!
Import easy – only pay a duty of 2.5% of sale price.
Since $8500 Canadian is about $6200 US this seems like a decent deal for a rarely seen scirocco. The body kit is tasteful for the era and the seller says he just spent $15k on it.
Finally an opportunity to use my college Italian! VW made a Scirroco “S” (Sport) model, sportier but not as much as the Scirroco GTI. “Legato” is Italian (and now English) for “In a smooth, even style without any noticeable break between the notes” and is used chiefly as a direction. You musicians will back me up on that. My guess is that we’re looking at an “S Legato” (despite “Slegato” being smoother sounding with subliminal undertones of its cousin, aka “Slug Bug.” Slegato it is!
I think the Canadians mixed up their french, spanish and german. They meant to call this “The Cat” – Le Gato
My wife and I owned two MK1s. A green one with a beautiful green tartan plaid insert in the black vinyl seats and a red one with black vinyl. Both were beautiful sporty cars without the power that the looks deserved. I bought the first one (green) without my wife knowing it had a manual transmission. She didn’t know how to drive a manual. After one day’s instruction, I turned her loose with it. She loved both cars. Finally had to sell the second one when she was pregnant with our first child. She still talks about those cars.
I’ve never seen an original Slegato that I know of, but it seems to me that it was a limited edition, marketed for Canada, version of the Wolfsburg edition Scirocco (which was another version of the European GLI). Body kit is the Zender 16V kit. It seems that what made it a bit more exclusive was the limited edition body color more than anything else. If the 3 spoke steering wheel is what it came with, that was from the generation 1 Scirocco’s. With some mods, that 1.8L motor could still be a good hill climbing motor matched with the close ratio tranny.
Another huge pair of phony unopenable vent windows in the doors that have no business being there! If a car maker is going to put them there, then make them open up! That goes double for Ferrari.
The guy must not want to sell it too bad, not enough pics to garner any attention or interest.
I love Sciroccos, particularly MarkIs. I have had 3. And would love to have another. Also this car is lowered to the point of a lot of bottoming out quite often.Mark Is are very strong. I was “T” boned at 65MPH on the right side by a Nova and still drove it in and out of the garage for several .months before stripping it. Although I like the body style, I would pass on this one.