Shooting for the Scirocco

The prospects for a U.S. return of one of the ultimate enthusiast unicorns--the Volkswagen Scirocco--are looking better for two critical reasons: VW's American brass want it, and it will be based on the company's widely used global underpinnings.

The latest generation of Scirocco launched in Europe in 2008, though U.S. buyers haven't been able to get a new one since 1988.

For a car that's been gone that long--Eagle Talons were sold more recently--the Scirocco still generates more than its share of lust.

The sporting hatch on sale in Europe is unlikely to come to the U.S. market. It has been sold overseas for years, it could cannibalize GTI sales and it would have to be modified to meet American regulations.

But the next-gen Scirocco will be based on Volkswagen's MQB architecture, underpinnings that will be used for a number of American vehicles.

“We want to fight very hard to get that into the U.S.,” Volkswagen of America chief executive Jonathan Browning said. “To me, that's a missing piece of the jigsaw in the U.S.”

Intriguingly, Ulrich Hackenberg, the member of the Volkswagen AG board of management in charge of development, said the next-gen Scirocco will get sportier, moving away from the hatch, almost shooting-brake silhouette of the contemporary car. “It will not be like today,” he said, declining to comment on timing.

By Greg Migliore