The Scirocco has always been one of the coolest model under Volkswagen’s stable, but low demand for a two-door hatchback in today’s market means the model had to be discontinued without a successor when production ended in 2017. Now nearly a decade later, it appears that the revered nameplate could soon be making a return – this time as an EV-only two-door coupe like the Corrado.
According to a report by Autocar, Volkswagen is currently studying internal design, engineering, and manufacturing proposals for the next-gen Scirocco, and could be launched as soon as 2028 if granted production approval by CEO Thomas Schäfer.
A “high-ranking insider” told the publication that the proposed model is part of a four-way electric sports car project, which will also include the fourth-generation Porsche Boxster and Cayman, a production version of the Cupra Dark Rebel coupé concept, as well as a fourth-generation Audi TT.
As opposed to Volkswagen’s SSP platform that is set to underpin its future EV models such as the next-generation Golf, the Scirocco will instead sit on Porsche’s electric-only PPE platform – the same found on the recently-unveiled fully electric Macan, though specially-adapted here for the sports car form factor.
Official details on the rumoured electric Scirocco are obviously not available just yet, but Autocar reports that the platform’s flexibility for dual-motor, all-wheel drive setups could open the door to an R-rated variant, as a successor to the turbo four-banger Scirocco R hot hatch the company sold between 2009 and 2017.
For the normal Scirocco, however, the publication expects it to start from around the 300 hp mark from a single motor, and will feature a longer wheelbase compared to both the Boxster/Cayman and the Cupra Dark Rebel, opening up the possibility to additional seats behind.
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The batteries will also be packaged in a centre tunnel – as opposed to underneath the floor – to help give it more “mid-engined” handling characteristics akin to the outgoing 718 Caymans, while also lowering the occupants’ seating position inside.
As for looks, the EV sports coupe could take inspiration from the original 1974 Volkswagen Scirocco, as the brand’s new design boss Andreas Mindt often references the model when describing his vision for the next-generation of Volkswagen models.
“The Scirocco was among the first cars to use a sharp and low line to visually enhance the car and make it appear lower,” he said recently. “It’s a stylistic trick to reduce volume and results in a more powerful and sporting stance. That’s the secret sauce that makes a car desirable, a stylish car that everyone wants to drive.”
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