Scirocco Production Ends with No Succession Plan

Even though you couldn’t buy it here, and even though it was part of a class of cars that don’t really make good business sense—perhaps because of that—the Scirocco held a special place in hearts of the faithful. Now, after nten years, production of the third-gen Scirocco has stopped, with no follow-up expected for some time, if at all.

Car and Driver recently discovered that Volkswagen’s German site has stopped giving potential buyers the option to build a Scirocco of their own. Despite that, there are still a few unsold Sciroccos up for grabs, but the Palmela, Portugal production line has stopped (metaphorically).

First introduced in 2008, the third-gen revived the Scirocco name after 16 years out of production. When it came out it was named Top Gear’s Car of the Year 2008 and a 260 hp Scirocco R was eventually offered.

The third-gen Scirocco was never offered in America, apparently because it might have hurt GTI sales, though its chances weren’t helped by the Euro’s exchange rate.

Fortunately, VW’s future isn’t completely coupe-less. Frank Welsch, head of R&D, revealed a few months ago that an electric coupe is in the works. That probably wouldn’t be all that similar to a Scirocco, though, since the MEB platform is rear-or-all-wheel-drive and keeps its motor out back by default. Don’t hold your breath for that, though, because a production model is still a ways away.

For the time being, anyway, the lineup has lost something special. So take a moment of silence today for the dearly departed Scirocco. We hardly knew ye.

[source: Car and Driver]

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