Volkswagen Scirocco Could Be Headed For A Triumphant Return As An EV

The Volkswagen Scirocco and Corrado are easily the best cars that VW ever designed. Sports coupes are now less popular among the public than they’ve been in the past, making a revival of either VW coupe unlikely, but the Scirocco is rumored to be returning to Europe as a two-door EV in 2028, according to Autocar.

A “high-ranking” source at Volkswagen tells Autocar the Scirocco is awaiting CEO Thomas Schäfer’s approval before heading to production, which is likely given the executive’s goal of leveraging production throughout VAG’s brands, including Porsche, Cupra and Audi. A next-generation Porsche Boxster and Cayman are on the way, and the fully-electric Scirocco would borrow their PPE platform, which has been designed exclusively for next-gen EVs. That would give each of the brands a two-door sports EV, and would usher the return of the glorious Scirocco. From Autocar:

The proposed two-door forms part of discussions about a four-way electric sports car project that also includes a fourth-generation Porsche Boxster/Cayman, a production version of the Cupra Dark Rebel coupé concept and a fourth-generation Audi TT, a high-ranking insider has divulged to Autocar.

They suggested it could be launched by 2028 if ultimately granted production approval by Volkswagen brand CEO Thomas Schäfer.

[…]

While the electric Golf is set to adopt Volkswagen’s new SSP platform, the new Scirocco is proposed to be based on a specially adapted version of the PPE platform developed for the new Boxster/Cayman, which will be offered exclusively with electric power.

Details of the new electric sports car platform have yet to be made official, but Autocar understands that it has been conceived to support a number of differing wheelbase lengths and track widths, as well as both single-motor, rear-wheel drive and dual-motor, four-wheel-drive layouts.

While the Scirocco EV is still not officially confirmed, Autocar says that the specs are more or less already known. If it reaches production, the Scirocco will have its battery packaged in the center tunnel, mimicking mid-engine Boxsters.

The layout was first seen on 2021’s Porsche Mission R concept, a track-focused electric monster making 1058 horsepower. The Scirocco EV will not have anywhere near that kind of power, but hardly needs it — if it looks as good as the coupe has done in the past. Power output is rumored to be around 296 HP when equipped with a single motor. And a dual-motor Scirocco EV will reportedly make around 395 HP and serve as successor to the Scirocco R.

Photo: Volkswagen

Volkswagen has reportedly been working on the electric Scirocco since the beginning of 2023, shortly after Andreas Mindt became head of VW design. The former Bentley designer tells Autocar that Giorgetto Giugiaro’s original Scirocco design from 1974 has influenced VW’s upcoming models:

“The Scirocco was among the first cars to use a sharp and low line to visually enhance the car and make it appear lower,” he said recently. “It’s a stylistic trick to reduce volume and results in a more powerful and sporting stance. That’s the secret sauce that makes a car desirable, a stylish car that everyone wants to drive.”

The Scirocco EV is so likely to make it to production that Autocar even cites possible production at the Karman factory in Osnabrück, Germany, where the original Scirocco was made, and where the Boxster is now produced. That makes sense, given the shared platform between the proposed Scirocco and Porsche Boxster EVs. If Schäfer greenlights the Scirocco revival, it would be a fitting return home for one of the best cars that VW ever made. But even if it does go to market, it’s unlikely that VW will sell the Scirocco EV in the U.S.