What the car is and where it came from
The first-generation Volkswagen Scirocco is a three-door hatchback with a front engine and front-wheel drive, and it takes its name from the Mediterranean wind. Volkswagen began work in the early 1970s as the replacement for the ageing Karmann Ghia coupe and called it the Typ 53 internally. It debuted at the 1973 Geneva Motor Show.
How it works, in terms someone would actually use
The Golf’s platform underpinned it, but almost every part was re-engineered for new styling by Giorgetto Giugiaro that was sleeker and sportier than the Golf’s. The Type 1 range used four-cylinder engines of 1.1 to 1.6 litres, with a 1.7 offered in North America, all with a single overhead camshaft and two valves per cylinder. An automatic transmission option arrived in January 1975.
What it gets right
Volkswagen launched it six months before the Golf, so teething troubles could be resolved before the high-volume hatchback went into production. The Scirocco went on sale in Europe in 1974 and in North America in 1975.
The Scirocco GTi entered production in summer 1976, and the Golf GTI was not unveiled until that autumn. Its 1.6-litre engine made 81 kW (109 hp) with mechanical fuel injection. It also had a duckbill-style front spoiler, ventilated front discs in place of solid ones, and anti-roll bars at the front and rear.
What it does not
Rectangular headlights lacked D.O.T. approval, so US cars needed four round ones. Many European owners of smaller-engined cars fitted four round lights too, to remove the visual gap to the bigger engines. The European TS, rated at 85 PS, was easy to tell from the 50 and 70 PS L and S versions, which had two rectangular lights.
What it changed
Through the production run there were small changes: a single wiper after August 1975, a wrap-around orange side lens in August 1977, a black B-pillar, and one-piece bumpers. Special versions included the Sidewinder, Champagne Edition and S, and the Storm, with 250 cars in each of two colours. In Japan it was sold by Yanase from 1976. The second generation replaced it in March 1981 in Europe.
Who it is for, and who it is not
It suits anyone interested in the first Scirocco’s styling and its place in the Golf’s timeline. It does not suit someone who wants more than its four-cylinder, single-camshaft engines.
Is it worth your time
Yes, for how the Typ 53 reached showrooms ahead of the Golf, and for the GTi that came before the Golf GTI.
