Surprise! The Volkswagen Scirocco Could Be Making A Comeback (Again)

When the Volkswagen Scirocco disappeared from showrooms for the second time in 2017, we sort of assumed that was it for the much-loved coupe. Either that or it would suffer the same fate as the Ford Puma and Mitsubishi Eclipse and come back as some form of jacked-up crossover.

If a report by Autocar is to be believed, though, that might not be the case after all. It has apparently been told by a “high-ranking insider” at Volkswagen that the firm is studying internal design and engineering proposals for a fourth-generation Scirocco. The catch is, of course, that this time, it’ll be electric.

The report claims that, if approved by the VW board, the car will be based on the same platform as the upcoming electric Porsche Boxster and Cayman. Other models said to be in development on the platform are a production version of last year’s Cupra DarkRebel concept and an electric successor to the Audi TT.

If true, the Porsche platform would mark a significant repositioning of the Scirocco within the VW range, as previously it’s effectively been a pretty two-door coupe based on humble Golf underpinnings. The reports say that power outputs of a potential Scirocco revival would start with around 300bhp in a single-motor version and rise to around 400bhp for a dual-motor range-topper, possibly bearing the R badge.

If it happens, it won’t be the first time the Scirocco name has come back from the dead. It first appeared in 1974 on a Giugiaro-styled coupe sharing its underpinnings with the Mk1 Golf. A second generation was produced from 1981 to 1992 before it was replaced with the conceptually similar Corrado.

The name was revived in 2008 for a Mk5 Golf-based coupe with a rakish three-door body and up to 276bhp in R form. Hopefully, these reports turn out to be true and the Scirocco makes another comeback - electric or not, the world needs more small coupes.