Remember when you heard that Mitsubishi was bringing back the Eclipse? Remember feeling absolutely gutted when it was revealed as a terrifically average, uninspiring SUV instead of a fun sports car? Volkswagen doesn’t want people to feel that way about its cars. Or at least, the cars with exciting legacies, anyway.
That’s the word from VW Brand CEO Thomas Schafer, according to a recent report from Autocar. For now, it seems the company values the history and legacy of its vehicles and isn’t interested in rebooting anything. That’s not to say new product development won’t usher in more SUVs or crossovers. But Schafer pledges those models will not wear badges of storied performance vehicles from the company’s past. To make the point clear, he specifically referenced the Scirocco would never become an SUV.
“The Scirocco is a very special model,” said Schafer, according to Autocar. “I can name a few others, but if it doesn’t reflect the DNA of the original car in a really strong sense, then [we would] rather give it a new name and do something else.”
The statement comes at a time when some automakers have been criticized for rebooting old models into completely new genres. The aforementioned Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross immediately comes to mind, but other models like the Ford Capri—which used to be a sporty fastback coupe but returned last July as a crossover—have also upset purists.
“If you call something what it is not, be very careful,” said Schafer. “Say, if it’s a GTI, it better be a GTI. It’s our model. It’s got to be true to the genes.”
The last time we saw the VW Scirocco was in 2017 when the three-door hot hatch was retired. Originally launched in the 1970s, it was a staple of VW performance through the 1980s. After a 16-year hiatus, it returned in 2008, though sales were never particularly strong. Rumors of a new Scirocco have floated in the background for the last year or so, possibly returning to the scene as a performance EV. Those rumors have been thin and largely speculative, however.
Would an electric three-door hot hatch still have enough DNA to warrant the Scirocco name, or is a high-strung four-cylinder engine required to make it a proper return? Jump into the comments and let us know.
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