2009 VW Iroc Coupe

[HarleyEarl]

VW’s 2009 Iroc Coupe

Scirocco successor to premiere at Paris

By GREG KABLE

AutoWeek | Published 08/24/06, 9:57 am et

Wolfgang Bernhard has barely warmed the seat as Volkswagen chairman and he is already attacking the market with products he hopes make the German automaker cool again. Look for proof in the reborn Scirocco coupe—dubbed Iroc—which makes its global debut in Paris in September.

If Bernhard’s plan comes to fruition, it will do for VW what the TT did for Audi—provide the German carmaker with a modern, relevant and desirable image-building model.

Iroc is planned for North American showrooms by the end of 2008, the same year VW launches its Land Rover LR2 rival, the Tiguan.

The original Scirocco was the highlight of the VW lineup when it was launched in 1974, an affordable Giugiaro-designed coupe that could seat four, and—in top-of-the-line, 16-valve 2.0-liter form—hold its own against some of the best two-door offerings of the day. It bolstered VW’s image and helped lay the foundations for some of its most successful years on record. With the Iroc (the name uses the middle four letters from the word Scirocco), VW hopes to recapture that old Scirocco magic.

Mitch Peshavria

The basic ingredients look right. The New Beetle notwithstanding, Wolfsburg has consciously steered away from throwback design cues for Iroc. The prominent brushed-aluminum single-frame grille won’t win any beauty contests, but the angular headlamps, distinctive clamshell hood and heavily flared front-wheel arches imbue Iroc with plenty of presence. Other distinctive features include a heavily raked windshield, pronounced shoulder line, shallow side glass and plunging roof-line. About the only weak point is the hatchback rear, which lacks the flair and imagination of the rest of the exterior. Iroc is similar in length to a Golf GTI, but is 1.5 inches wider and fully 3.3 inches lower.

Iroc runs on a straightforward front-wheel-drive mechanical package. Wheelbase and track widths are extended slightly over the Golf GTI, giving the coupe a confident stance. The show car sports 19-inch wheels, but we expect 18s in production form.

VW is vague on exact specifications, but the new coupe likely will be powered by three engines: a supercharged and turbocharged 1.4-liter, 210-hp four-cylinder Twincharger gasoline engine; a turbocharged 2.0-liter 240-hp four-cylinder; and a 3.6-liter 280-hp V6, the latter likely offered with 4Motion all-wheel drive. Transmission choices should include a standard six-speed manual and optional seven-speed Direct Sequential Gearbox.

[CSpec]

Is this basically a sportier version of the next Golf? and 210 HP from 1.4L is really impressive.

[the_yellow_dart]

The prominent brushed-aluminum single-frame grille won’t win any beauty contests.

184406[/snapback]

I like it....

I've always liked the basic shape of the Scirocco.

[thegriffon]

Honda should ask for the blueprints back.

[ZL-1]

A nice Golf. A terrible Scirocco.

EDIT: IMO

Edited August 24, 2006 by ZL-1

[mute]

yes ill admit that 1.4 numbers are very impressive tho im not sure how that will be in production . . . im hoping theyll make it tho because i know a lot of people like this golf but i dont at all . . . it looks like a bloated fish to me

[ZL-1]

The 1.4L Twincharger comes in 140hp DIN and 170hp DIN versions, and it's a brand new engine, so there may be room for substantial uprgrades in hp.

Edited August 24, 2006 by ZL-1

[corvette_dude729]

Whenever I read IROC, something else just comes to mind...

[RBB]

All I gotta say is:

-RBB

[Northstar]

The wheels looks sweet, and the 1.4L sounds impressive, but the rest is meh.

[ToniCipriani]

Whenever I read IROC, something else just comes to mind...

184555[/snapback]

Best of all, it's a FWD IROC. Let's try to shove those Camaro guys into one.

[Guest YellowJacket894]

You know...I like this.

Wish it was rear-drive, though. ...

[DetroitNut90]

It's not my favorite Volkswagen ever, but I wouldn't mind seeing a few on the road and I really like the green.

[SuperSport623]

i pray to someday see a mullet driving one... Edited August 25, 2006 by SuperSport623

[thegriffon]

Almost exactly the same as Volvo C30 in shape and size, but with a smaller engine.

[thegriffon]

Is this basically a sportier version of the next Golf? and 210 HP from 1.4L is really impressive.

184407[/snapback]

Volkswagen does not say it is a 1.4 L. Actual production numbers for the 1.4 are not so impressive for a twin-charged engine.

[mute]

Almost exactly the same as Volvo C30 in shape and size, but with a smaller engine.

184662[/snapback]

hah your right but i like it . . . still i druther have a C30

[HarleyEarl]

[ToniCipriani]

Insignia, anyone?

[zhawk]

I'm not caring so much for this, although it could be that color that is turning me off.

<---not a big fan of that green.

BTW, has VW asked for permission to use Iroc from the International Race Of Champions? Or will they have to if they market this car under that name?

[the_yellow_dart]

I'm not caring so much for this, although it could be that color that is turning me off.

<---not a big fan of that green.

BTW, has VW asked for permission to use Iroc from the International Race Of Champions? Or will they have to if they market this car under that name?

184802[/snapback]

I'm not sure if that's an official name here, or just a clever twist - the front plate says

SCIROCCO

[razoredge]

I like it. Some of you guys are reachin there arent you ? Isnt it more like a Ford Focus or that Citroen I was seeing in WRC events a few years back ?

I think VW has a good handle on styling recently. Im really liking them and was seriously condsidering purchase. But I stuck to my homeland..............

[Robert Hall]

The shape reminds me a bit of the Audi TT shooting brake concept from a while back..

[Robert Hall]

BTW, has VW asked for permission to use Iroc from the International Race Of Champions? Or will they have to if they market this car under that name?

184802[/snapback]

Does the IROC series still exist? I thought it ended a decade ago or so with racing Dodge Avengers...

[red]

Fantastic design...tight, original, flawless!

[PurdueGuy]

Looks good to me. I'd never buy one, though, but that's a brand thing.

[thegriffon]

Does the IROC series still exist?  I thought it ended a decade ago or so with racing Dodge Avengers...

185067[/snapback]

http://www.irocracing.com/

[Sixty8panther]

"IROC-Vee" Ugly....

I want to see at least one "VW's are driven by Mullett Heads"

comment by SAtty a week now!

[Satty]

Sorry, no can do. Only Camaro IROCs are driven by mullet-sporting lowlife white trash redneck inbred drain on society scumbags.

[razoredge]

Sorry, no can do.  Only Camaro IROCs are driven by mullet-sporting lowlife white trash redneck inbred drain on society scumbags.

185391[/snapback]

Around here we have alot of them driving Fusions, 500's, Aztecs, and saturins

[Satty]

I saw just giving 68 what he wanted to hear...or read I guess.

[RBB]

I went to the Cardinals-Cubs game last night, and was mesmerized by a fan who was sporting one of the most spectacular mullets I've ever seen - it was amazing.

The style was tightly cropped on top, the sides, and mostly in the back, but beggining about the ears, the hair began cascading southward in gentle waves - over the collar, past the shoulders, and down to the small of the back, aching to reach the waistline of the finely pressed jorts.

It was nothing short of magnificent.

-RBB

[Dragon]

as long as its not an acronym, I would think VW would be able to use Iroc

[Satty]

I dont know, someone would probably sure someone else, like when Ford got pissy over Toyota wanting to name their truck the T-150 (later renamed Tundra).

[Sixty8panther]

There's PLENTY of white trash driving VWs around here.

Mk.II & Mk.III Golfs & Jettas are abundant and cheap

just like IROC-Zs & therefore plenty of them are driven

by poor white people, usually wiht 20% of the body

panels under bondo/primer.

[ocnblu]

I don't really like it. Hopefully something will change in production and it will be less... weird, especially at the front. The mechanical aspects sound promising, however. But the prices are still stupid high.