Porsche mechanic & VW Scirocco

[Decolliber]

NYT April 15, 2005
DRIVING
The VW Scirocco Gets Its Second Wind
By DAVID PUNER

IDING piggyback atop a flatbed truck, cloaked only by the translucent dawn, a sunflower-yellow Scirocco recently arrived in Westmoreland County, Pa., sending a 1970's ripple through the region. The '75 Volkswagen may not have blown into town quite like the desert wind for which it was named, but at least one driver out at 5:30 a.m. took note. "Some kid in a hot red Honda pulled up beside the truck, and it looked like he was going to break his neck the way he was staring at the car," said Trevor Hill, the Sirocco's new owner. "Before the Hondas, these were big," he explained.

Mr. Hill, 34, acquired his Scirocco on eBay after placing a last-minute $5,600 winning bid, then made an overnight trip to St. Louis to haul it home. "The more I looked at it, the more I wanted it," said Mr. Hill, who runs a garage specializing in Porsches and owns and operates Subway sandwich franchises. He figures he has owned more than 100 Sciroccos and, at the time of the eBay auction, had three (if you count the sandblasted 1975 carcass leaning against a wall of his garage). But he couldn't resist the yellow coupe. With its unblemished dashboard, a swinging-70's yellow plaid interior, unworn pedal pads and a dealer-installed AM/FM/8-track player, he said it was the most nearly period-perfect Scirocco he had ever seen. For another $1,000 he plans to make it stock-perfect. "It's a first-year car," he said. "I've seen four of them in my life." He owns two of those four.

When the Scirocco arrived in American showrooms in 1975, it was a distinct departure from VW's previous sports coupe, the rear-engine, rear-drive, air-cooled Karmann Ghia. The Scirocco was a front-engine, front-drive, water-cooled design. In North America, it was marketed as a car with German engineering and Italian style - a nimble performer that didn't guzzle gas and looked good. Designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, the Scirocco had stylish quad headlights, a hatch and a wide-stance wedge shape. But the Scirocco was never a big seller in the United States, with only about 230,000 sold from 1975 to 1988. (In the same period, more than 1.5 million Toyota Celicas hit American roadways.) Still, the car has maintained a devoted following and may be on its way to becoming a collector's car.

In 1975, the Scirocco, priced at about $5,000, was not inexpensive. Its roomier econobox sibling, the Rabbit, also introduced in 1975, was cheaper at $3,300. Unsurprisingly, the Rabbit had a bigger debut, selling 98,000 cars in the United States that year. Only 16,000 Sciroccos found buyers.

The first-generation Scirocco - officially designated the Mk1 - was sold in the United States from 1975 to 1981 with few major changes. The next generation, Mk2, was a few inches longer and had rectangular headlights, a more powerful engine (including VW's first 16-valve as an option in 1986) and softer lines. The Mk2 was available in the United States from 1982 to 1988.

First-generation Sciroccos were notorious rust buckets. Of the Sciroccos sold in the United States, 150,000 were Mk1's and 80,000 were Mk2's, and it is far easier to find examples of the latter still on the road. And though Scirocco fans are devoted to the cars, they have yet to push prices into the stratosphere. Today, a decent-running Scirocco can still be found for less than $1,000. For $6,000 you can buy a pristine one, even an Mk1 if you're patient and lucky.

"I don't think people see these cars as collectible yet," said Brett Van Sprewenburg, 36, who operates Scirocco.org, a comprehensive enthusiast Web site, and is a software engineer for Eastman Kodak in Virginia. He added, "Cars are not a good investment unless you're buying Ferraris."

Scirocco enthusiasts admire both generations. "If you're a Scirocco head, you tend to like the Series 1, but the lack of Scirocco 1's brings you right into the Scirocco 2, which has close to the same feel," said Eric Ryzerski, 33, who owns a swimming pool company in Bedford Hills, N.Y.

That distinctive feel has a lot to do with its weight. "They're very small cars by today's standards," Mr. Van Sprewenburg said. Indeed, a Scirocco Mk1 is almost 20 inches shorter than one of today's smaller cars, the 2005 Honda Civic Coupe.

Mr. Van Sprewenburg has owned a dozen of the cars over the years. "They look like little go-karts," he said. Driving a Scirocco, regardless of model, he said, is an experience that connects a driver with the road. "The car really talks to you," he said.

It speaks to nostalgia as well. "Guys generally like cars that came out when they were in high school," said Mr. Ryzerski, who has owned six Sciroccos (two Mk1's and four Mk2's) and has had his current Scirocco, a 1988 16-valve - the last of the Mohegans, since 1991, when he was in college. He said that over the years he had spent easily $50,000 on the car. "The bottom line is you spend a lot of money on it, even if it's in perfect condition when you buy it," he said. "And it won't be worth more."

Also the owner of a 1988 16-valve, Mr. Van Sprewenburg got his first Scirocco, a 1978, when he was 17 years old. "I was bit," he said. "This car is unique, unusual, cheap to run, easy to maintain and fast. Remember, the Mustang in the day was a four-cylinder. The American cars were big and slow. The Sciroccos were light and could turn," he said. "Did I mention that it was fast?" A stock 16-valve Scirocco had a top speed of 124 miles an hour.

FUN-TO-DRIVE, inexpensive sports cars became increasingly plentiful in the 80's, and the Scirocco's rising price put it at a disadvantage. "The downfall of the Scirocco," Mr. Van Sprewenburg said, "is they were too expensive. No one could reconcile paying so much for a Volkswagen." The price on a loaded 1988 16-valve had grown to around $18,000 - with leather seats, a sunroof, air-conditioning and other options, the Scirocco had become weighed down with creature comforts that some purists considered un-Scirocco. Volkswagen, which had continued to sell the car in other markets, discontinued it after the 1992 model year. Over its entire run, about 800,000 Sciroccos were sold worldwide.

With time, Trevor Hill said, Scirocco values will increase significantly, "when people who grew up with these cars will have expendable money and want to buy them." Mr. Hill added, however, that there would always be a limit on how much someone would pay for a Scirocco. "Volkswagens are nice, but if you want the really cool Volkswagen," he said, "you buy a Porsche."

Sitting behind the wheel of the yellow Scirocco inside his shop, wearing a Volkswagen baseball hat, Mr. Hill looked as if he could still be in high school as he fired up his new car. "It revs up pretty good," he said matter-of-factly, filling the room with fumes. "My wife thinks I'm nuts," he said with a trace of a grin. "She hates the fact that I have so many cars. She says, 'How many cars do you need?' I say, 'As many as I can get!' "

[RallyJon]

Great article. As someone who lusted after early Sciroccos almost as much as Porsche 911s when I was in my early teens, I can totally identify. Given how few of the 75-81 Sciroccos are left unrusted, I can see some mild collectibility in the future.

Unfortunately, unlike old 911s they are very slow and don't handle well stock. And the interiors are pure '70s econobox. So the modify vs. preserve arguement is much tougher.

Also, it's cool to drive an old 911. Not so an old VW. Take a glance at VWVortex and you'll see that the majority of late '70s VW owners are in their early 20s and live from Quickie-mart paycheck to paycheck. Not exactly a firm foundation for collection and appreciation of a future classic.

[jkarolyi]

I've always loved Sciroccos...had an '81 Scirocco S that I sold for $1800 which I wish I kept. Also had its successor, a '90 Corrado G60 Supercharged, which had very similar styling. Loved both cars.

[StevoRocket]

Ah - those were the days!

I sold a TR6 to get this one in 1978.....

Still have the Haynes manual and origional brochure!

Pm me if you are interested.....

[tchanson]

I owned an almost used up blue metallic/tan '78 Mk I in college. Underpowered, and had an appetite for head gaskets, but I really enjoyed that car.

As the NYT article alludes to, they need to be put into context of what else was available at the the time.

I haven't seen one for awhile, but the crisp Giugiaro shape holds up pretty well to my eye 30 years after it was introduced.

Tim

[jkarolyi]

That one looks just like my '81 S! Wonder what a Corrado G60 engine could do in that thing? I'll have to dig up my old pics...

[ckissick]

I bought a red, '81 S-type in late 1980. It was the first S-type available in CA, and I got it because my father owned the VW dealership. Joe Montana got the second one, also from my dad. After Superbowl XVI, Joe traded it in for a red Ferrari.

Not being an NFL Hall-of-Famer, I drove my Scirroco for 16 years and 225,000 miles, with no major engine work. And being in CA, this is the first time I ever heard of the rust problem. I lowered it slightly, beefed up the suspension, and put on racing tires, and that thing could really corner. The only time I lost a race was to an early Porsche. I finally sold it when I got married; too small.

Do I wish I'd kept it? No, I like my 911E.

[widebody911]

I sold my '82 Scirocco to buy my first 911

[jkarolyi]

AHA! Found some pics of my old '81 S-Type. Mine was from Tennessee, but surprisingly had no rust and original paint! The last one is with the '90 Corrado G60 I bought to replace it. I swapped the wheels out with the S because I had a nice set of Ronals on it. Can you see the lines of the old S in the Corrado?

While I love my 911s, I miss the combo of practicality (you could fit a ton in that hatchback!), reliability, and performance those cars had.

[Mike Andrew]

I owned 3 of them, a pair of '78's & an '81 S which I sold when I bought the 911(not enough garage space). I really loved the '81 & had it lowered slightly, gas shocks & sticky Yokohamas & a big throat when I sold it. It handled well, but not like the 911 & had nowhere near the power. Still, a very fun car to drive & cheap to maintain.
Unfortunately, the buyer put big wheels on it & drives it year round so a very fine example will be heading toward the rust heap in the next few years.

[}{arlequin]

while looking for a scirocco I came across a healthy Rabbit and jumped on that instead... there's a nice MKI scirocco on ebay now (red, Colorado car)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1,1&item=4543093152&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT