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Volkswagen has revealed their latest concept car, the Iroc. Dressed in Viper Green metallic paint, a color pulled from the 1976 Scirocco range, the model is our first look at the direction Volkswagen will go in developing a new-century Scirocco, as well as new take on the evolution of the VW corporate face and the company’s intent to use grille shape to differentiate models. Volkswagen had already confirmed a Scirocco revival for the 2009MY. We don’t know if VW needs another hot hatch, with the GTI admirably filling that role, but it could make for an interesting proposition.

While Chevrolet and Dodge race to revive storied muscle cars from the late 1960s and early 1970s, VW is planning to revive the Scirocco coupe. The first Scirocco was introduced thirty-three years ago, and was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro.

The Iroc is a three-door hatchback with a coupe-like stance, a long roof, and a steeper rear window; the result is optimized interior space wrapped in a sporty appearance. A pillars are hidden behind an unusually wide windshield. The concept looks to revive the idea of the first Scirocco rather than an idealized version of its specific form. The first formula was a front-drive, performance-oriented, four-seat sports coupe. There is seating for four and room for weekend luggage.

The concept shown held VW’s new TSI gasoline four-cylinder, available in Europe but not yet offered in the States, though the U.S.-spec car could offer a V6 instead. The 1.4L DOHC 16v I4 engine gets diesel fuel economy from gasoline, and VW is developing this engine in several outputs and levels of assist, ranging from 150HP to 210HP. The TSI, or twincharger, engine employs both turbo and supercharging to maximize output from a small, fuel-efficient engine. The transmission, of course, is the VW-Audi DSG automated manual. As was true of the first Scirocco, the version due to arrive Stateside for 2009MY will be based on the most recent Golf platform.

Scirocco History
The Scirocco was introduced in the States for the 1974 model year and offered through the 1989 model year, though there were few 1989 models shipped and they weren’t any different from1988. The car continued for international markets until 1992, but was ultimately superceded by the Corrado. Scirocco was named for a North African desert wind.