For $8,500, Drive Like The Wind

Long before VW started giving their vehicles African tribal sobriquets, the company's products broke a lot of wind. Passat, Golf, Jetta, and today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe candidate Scirocco, were all named after winds that blow. Coincidentally, it's up to you to determine if this clean coupe's price blows.

If you recall the movie Revenge of the Nerds and its inspiring story of geeks defeating vengeful jocks, winning the day, and getting some poon, then yesterday's 1988 Subaru XT GL winning a 54% Nice Price win may have seemed like déjà vu all over again. Of course, while that nerd won the day, it's quite possible the jocks will mount a counter attack, likely with a. . .

Volkswagen's Scirocco was designed to replace the Type 1-based Karmann Ghia. Actually, it semi-replaced the VW 914, which was VW's initial attempt at a KG usurper. Introduced in 1974 on a platform shared with the everyman Golf, and wearing lithe Giugiaro lines, on many fronts the Scirocco stood in stark contrast to its progenitors.

The A1 platform underpinning the Mk1 cars were not particularly stiff, and offered a meager 4-inches of suspension travel. They did benefit from being appreciably light and as the chassis is shared across a broad spectrum of popular cars, there are plenty of aftermarket parts available to address its shortcomings.

As noted, the Mk1 Scirocco was built from the A1 platform. The other primary component in its construction however was rust, making these early cars the automotive equivalent of the tapes at the start of Mission Impossible episodes. That potential impermanence makes the appearance of this 1980 S edition so outstanding.

Also outstanding is the fact that the original 1,588-cc, 76-horse, SOHC four has been given the heave-ho and is replaced with a 2-litre ABA rocking a 16V head. That's been fitted with Megasquirt FI and from the pictures a potentially too small waffle on its intake.

Behind the hot mill is the expected 020 that the seller says contains a Peloquin differential. He doesn't say if that's the full LSD unit or just the mini-slip kit, but either way it's at least not an autotragic, right?

The body is stock, right down to the cools single wiper to squeegee the windshield. Giugiaro's lines have aged impressively well and the lowered (but not too low) stance and Kamei-style airdam gives the car a purposeful countenance.

Underneath there's a refreshed suspension (Ebay coils?) and the whole thing rides hunkered down on a set of silver 13" Rota RBs wrapped in Sumitomo rubber.

The inside is equally impressive for its tidiness and lack of over the top updates. There you will find Corbeau seats and a meaty aftermarket three spoke, but other that that it's pretty much just clean stock VW.

The MK1 Scirocco is arguably the marque's best looking edition, and remains to this day a wicked cool coupe. This one has been given – in my humble opinion – the perfect selection of upgrades, sort of the mama bear of rethinking. The 16V ABA should pull like a sadistic dentist, and the suspension should be entertaining while still letting you visit the other side of the tracks, if you know what I mean.

Of course all that's a moot point if the seller is asking an astronomical price for his white knight, and it's now up to you to determine if that's the case. The ad asks $8,500 for this VW, and as typical the mods made to the car represent changes that would be hard to replicate at that cost. But, is it a good price? Is this Mk1 Scirocco worth that $8,500? Or, is this a wind that, for that much, you'd just let blow on through?

You decide!

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