1987 VW Scirocco 16V

Ride Like The Wind

A 16-valve engine made Volkswagen’s 1987 Scirocco 16V a true sports car

BY MARK J. McCOURT • PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVID LaCHANCE

Once the air-cooled era ended, the People’s Car began a metamorphosis that picked up speed, both figuratively and literally. Volkswagen had long offered a low volume, hand-finished model with sporty looks in its lineup, and from its introduction, the front-wheel-drive Scirocco was both popular and competitive. The final version of that sleek 2+2, the 16V sold here between mid-1986 and 1988, was then the most powerful and athletic VW to date.

It’s been 35 years since the Tornado Red Scirocco 16V on these pages left the Karmann factory in Osnabrück, Germany. That respected coachbuilder, active between its 1901 founding and 2009 bankruptcy, had been building specialty models — including convertible variants of the Bug and Golf/Rabbit, plus the eponymous Type 14 and Type 34 Karmann Ghias — for primary client Volkswagen since 1949. Karmann was responsible for producing two generations of Sciroccos that spanned between 1974 and

1992, with nearly 796,000 units built. The Mk 2 Scirocco represented just shy of 291,500 of that total, with this example being one of 6,971 sold in the U.S. in the 1987 calendar year.

The second iteration of the Scirocco, introduced here for 1982, was an in-house redesign of the original “A1” -platform (shared with the original Golf/Rabbit and Jetta) model, famously attributed to the Italdesign pen of Giorgetto Giugiaro. The sleeker Eighties version retained the 94.5-inch wheelbase of its predecessor but cloaked it in a 10-inch-longer body whose new lines made less fuss in the wind that inspired the model’s name: the drag coefficient dropped from 0.42 to 0.38, and a standard hatch spoiler was said to notably reduce rear lift. This four-seat car also had a heavily revised interior with a sportier dashboard and more shoulder and rear-seat head room. Ample luggage space (14 cu.ft.) was available under the hatch, a volume more than doubled with the small rear seat folded.

The 1.8-liter block was upgraded with piston oil squirters, while the compact alloy head contained two camshafts and 16 valves, the exhausts being sodium-filled. Bosch fuel injection fed VW’s most powerful engine to that date.

While this model’s Rabbit GTI spec fuel-injected SOHC 90-hp engine offered spry performance, it was soon a bit outclassed by newer players from Japan and America. Fashionable mid-1980s power-adders like turbochargers and multivalve heads meant some competition didn’t have to work as hard to build and maintain speed as did the autobahn-bred Volkswagen. Thankfully, the powertrain engineers in Wolfsburg were developing their own answer to this problem, and it would be announced by three characters appended to the Scirocco’s name.

“16V” was short for 16-valve, the engine that would debut under the low hood of this model in 1986. The base four-cylinder, whose 1,780-cc (109 cu-in) displacement came from an 81 x 86.4-mm (3.19 x 3.40-in) bore and stroke, received a new, narrow-design crossflow alloy head with two camshafts actuating hydraulic lifters and sodium-filled exhaust valves. The iron block’s piston bores received jets fed with cooled oil, and the pistons happily revved to 7,200 rpm. With Bosch KE-Jetronic multipoint fuel injection and a 10:1 compression ratio, it made a stout 33 horsepower more than the 8-valve Scirocco in U.S. trim, its 123 hp at 5,800 rpm paired with 120 lb-ft of torque at 4,250 rpm. This output— incidentally more than that of the upmarket Audi Coupe GT’s 2.2-liter inline-five — went to the front wheels exclusively through an upgraded, close-ratio five-speed manual transaxle with a shorter overdrive fifth gear and 3.67:1 final drive ratio.

Volkswagen didn’t just drop its highest-performing engine in the Scirocco and call it a day. While the independent controlarm front and trailing-arm/stabilizer-axle rear suspension designs remained, the nimble chassis received a new front brace; lower, stiffer coil springs; uprated front MacPherson struts and rear shocks; and anti-roll bars measuring 16.5-mm front and 24-mm rear. A quick-ratio rack for the power-assisted rack-and-pinion steering system was fitted. Behind upsized 14 x 6-inch “teardrop” machine-face alloy wheels mounting 185/60-HR14 tires hid power-assisted four-wheel disc brakes — 8-valve Sciroccos used rear drums — with ventilated front rotors and larger pistons in the calipers.

The envelope all those components came in spoke to the car’s newfound potential. A well-integrated body kit included color-keyed wheelhouse flares that mated smoothly with side sills, deep front and rear aprons, and painted bumpers and side-mirror housings. A larger, more effective deck spoiler wrapped around the rear glass. Comparably subtle red-and-black 16V badges were fitted to the grille and hatch. And it was on this car that

VW introduced the sporty “stinger” roof-mounted antenna that it would subsequently use on other premium models and was soon copied by other automakers.

The Scirocco’s no-nonsense sporting theme continued inside, where 16V drivers were greeted with a leather-wrapped four-spoke steering wheel, hide-bound shift boot and knob, and a pair of VW’s firmly supportive multi-adjustable front bucket seats. In standard form, it was light on luxuries, with items like air conditioning, power windows and door locks, a sunroof, leather upholstery, and cruise control relegated to the options list.

All the 16V’s specific mechanical and visual components came together to enhance the tactile feedback this high-strung sports coupe offered its driver, not to mention onlookers. While the Scirocco was a familiar sight, especially by the time Volkswagen of America stopped importing it at the end of 1988, the 16V drew admiring glances in the showroom and on the street. The latter is where it brought the fight to fresher frontwheel-drive, naturally aspirated DOHC sports coupes like the Acura Integra, Honda Prelude, and Toyota Celica GT-S, not to mention turbocharged front-drivers like Dodge’s Daytona Shelby Z. Challenging monetary exchange rates took away some of its price advantage, but the featherweight 2,287-pound hatchback still thrilled with its 8.0-second 0-60 mph run and 124-mph top speed, then the fastest ever clocked by a Wolfsburg product.

Gordon Fricke took advantage of his Volkswagen dealer-staff employee discount when he purchased our feature Scirocco in September 1987, getting a healthy slice off the $14,815 ($35,945 in today’s dollars) MSRP. The young technician had VW in his blood, having grown up visiting his parents’ small Volkswagen dealership in the 1960s and 1970s. “We’d had Volkswagens in the family since day one, and I wanted to have the company’s sports car, ” he explains. “That was part of the reason I went for this car. The other was that VW had an end-of-the-year promotion, a

It’ s nothing like an isolating modern car: you feel the speed, you know you ’ re going fast!

The Mk 2 Scirocco was 10 inches longer than the Mk 1, but the A1-platform wheelbase stayed 94.5 inches, so interior packaging was similar. This 2+2 sported a close-ratio five-speed, firm seats, and clear white-on-black dials, including oil temp in the console.

sale where I got $1,000 off, plus a $1,000 employee discount at the Massachusetts dealership where I was working at that time. Volkswagens were pretty expensive in those days, and that was a huge discount to me. ”

The 16V would be Gordon’s year-round daily driver for a few years, being practical with its front-wheel drive and hatchback flexibility, as well as comfortable with the optional air conditioning.

“It could do everything. It has very high performance yet gets great gas mileage. I wasn’t afraid to go anywhere in it. It is pretty small, but I’m not a big guy, so I fit great in it. I traveled all over in it, took it to Canada, ” he explains. Around 1991 he stopped using it in the winter months, so the Scirocco became his warm-weather toy. It was easy to keep because it was paid off, wasn’t demanding in terms of maintenance upkeep, and he had a garage in which to store it.

But there was a moment, 10 years later, that this VW nearly left the Fricke family. “I was saving for college tuition for two young kids. I had other cars and didn’t drive this one often. I told myself the Scirocco wasn’t worth much — I was going to sell it, ” Gordon remembers. weekend, and when we got back, there were five calls waiting, all wanting to see the car. I realized it was becoming really desirable, but the value was still low.

“When the first guy checked it out, he immediately wanted to put money down, and promised to come back a couple days later with a certified check, ” he continues. “My wife and kids, of all people, said, ‘Why are you selling that car? Don’t do it!’ I had seller’s remorse. When he came to pay and pick it up, I told him, ‘I’m sorry to do this to you, but my family is begging me not to sell the car and I didn’t realize how emotionally attached I am to it. I just can’t sell it to you. ’ He said, ‘I totally understand, and I don’t know how you were going to sell it to begin with!’ I offered him $100 for his wasted time, which he wouldn’t accept. That was the only time I considered selling it. ”

That experience gave Gordon a new appreciation for his Scirocco 16V, and he would treat its fading single-stage factory enamel to a basecoat/clearcoat refresh in 2004. After all these years, the Volkswagen remains pristine, having been driven around 75,000 miles. It’s still a warm-weather friend, and still brings him joy behind the wheel.

engine and the power-to-weight ratio, it’s a very formidable car. It’s fast and handles extremely well, being small and low to the ground. The five-speed is a beautiful transmission, with nice, very close gearing. It is a high-revving engine, though, with the tach showing over four grand at 80 mph. It feels like you need another gear, but it will do that all day. I always loved it— to me, that was music — although listening to it for hours on end would tire me out today. It’s nothing like an isolating modern car: you feel the speed, you know you’re going fast!” he says with a smile.

This Scirocco’s sole owner knows his unmodified 16V is virtually irreplaceable, and it’s not going anywhere. “When I drive it nowadays, people don’t know what it is, ” Gordon admits. “They ask lots of questions, and can’t believe I bought it new and kept it, since that so rarely happens. It’s still a lot of fun. ”

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