The advent of the Scirocco marked the start of a new era at VW. Half a million of the sport coupe came off the assembly line from 1974 to 1980. Giorgio Giugiaro created the Italian design classic. Read more: www.dw.de/drive...
I bought a brand new 1978 4-speed Scirocco in August of 1978. For the most part it was very reliable. In 175,000 miles the only original things I replaced was the water pump and drive belt besides tires and break pads and maybe rotors. Because I got it late in the model year it had dealer installed A/C. It was a Motorola compressor system that was beyond a shade tree mechanic design. A very skinny drive belt that was a vertical (tightening) design and only two pulleys, not a wide, short belt, three pulley, horizontal (tightening) design like the Bosch factory unit. It was my first new car andI had never worked on cars so I didn't know what to look for or what to ask. The Motorola compressor was bolted right on the the aluminum head of the engine. The belt would frequently come loose and I had to keep tightening it and eventually the threads on the aluminum block were stripped. Without A/C the car was very warm in the summer. When I was at the VW dealershp about to buy the car I asked the salesman if the 1979 coming out in a few months would have a 5-speed and he said no, which was an lie. I really regretted that as it would have been good to have the extra gear (mine reved at 4000 RPM @ 70 MPH) and factory air. In my experience VWs are reliable if taken care of. Because they are tweaked a little higher than a normal car they aren't as reliable as a Toyota Corolla, but cars like the GTI are a blast to drive and are cars one looks over their shoulder at as they walk away, unlike a Toyota.
I had a 1975..same color..paid $100..in 1983...only 8 years old and it was a total rust bucket but ran great..floors were gone...I put the engine in another 1975 Silver Scirocco but that car caught fire..old carb backfired..still loved this little car so much I bought a 1977 Scirocco Champagne Edition for $300....low miles, beautiful interior, recaro seats..but those floors rusted completely away..could see road when driving.....Still one of my favorite cars just never drive one in the Ohio Winter..
Thought this was my post for a sec. Got a 78' for $150. Total rust bucket also with no floors, but with lots of welding, was possibly my favorite car all things considered. Mine was fuel injected.
I had one in orange in 1979. Replaced the Zenith carburetor with a twp-barrel Weber downdraft and the points with electronic ignition. Totaled when a truck ran into it.
I had that car in that color 1976-my first purchased car.There was no GT model or STORM model in the states.I wish.Also had an 82'.I would buy another one if I knew I could find parts
I had one from Canada, built in Germany. Bosch electrical, smooth high winding motor and more power than the American version, which was made in Mexico. The German car was a joy to drive, and the motor had a Porsche like sound. It was totalled by a drunk driver, so I bought an American Scirocco S. Completely different car, coarse revving motor, less power and unlike the German built car, lots of mechanical problems. Still a fun car, lowered with a suspension kit, Recaro seats. But the German made car was the one to get, no smog controls. With Pirelli tires the handling was amazing. You could drift it for days. Now they cost a lot eg. 10 g for a decent example. The Corrado was it's spiritual successor I believe, also a great car. The Germans know what they're doing.
Drove this exact same car at VW's launch-event for the Scirocco III in Portugal. The experience was quite sobering - but you couldn't argue with how much lighter (and, TBH, more fragile) the older car felt.
I bought a ‘78 used in 1979. Keep it for a decade only to buy the first 16V Jetta. I heavily modded my ‘rocco’, mostly suspension, air dams, better headlights, stereo etc (us spec car). Ran Bilstein sport setting dampers. Only later to find out, sport were valved as stiff as race setting billies. Needless to say, the car was flat in the corners. 😢
I had a 1988 Scirocco Scala. Silver. Nice looking car but it had a huge rear spoiler which from 70mph started lifting the front wheels! It was lethal by 80mph!!
If someone were to gift me a S1 I would love it and hug it and call it George. Then promptly swap in a 1.8T or a 2.0T afterwich it would live in a climate controlled garage and be driven on sundays to church.......