IROC rocks Paris... Skoda on the way

If the attention garnered by Volkswagen's star of Paris, the IROC concept coupe/sports hatch, wasn't enough to make other carmakers green with envy then the sheer scale of the VW Group's show presence surely must have been.

Traditionally, the Paris exhibition is dominated by the local big three -- Renault, Peugeot and Citreon -- however, VW and allied brands Skoda, Seat, Audi, Bentley and Lamborghini presented a bigger than Ben Hur display in 2006. Enough to all but fill one of the Paris exhibition centre's biggest halls.

At the centre of attention was IROC, the reincarnation of VW's iconic Sirocco sports hatch 33 years after if first went on sale, and finished in 'Viper Green metallic'.

Volkswagen says the new Sirocco is no classic coupe, rather "a progressively designed sports car with an extremely long roof and a comparatively steep rear end".  It also says the concept has room for four adults and "ample luggage"... We'll stick with 'sports hatch' as a label then, shall we...

Expected to go on sale in production form next year, the car features one of VW's latest Twincharger powerplants. Supercharged and turbocharged, the company claims the mills are the most efficient four-cylinder petrol engines in the world today. In the concept it is mated to a six-speed DSG gearbox driving the front wheels only, although VW will likely offer a 4MOTION version and other powerplant options on launch.

Debuting at Paris was the marque's interesting CrossGolf quasi-softroader. Based on the Euro-only Golf Plus, the Cross joins the CrossPolo as a high-riding two-wheel drive alternative to the ubiquitous mini-SUVs. The Cross gets bespoke bumpers, bodyside cladding a 20mm lift in ride height and 17-inch wheels with SUV-style rubber. Don't be surprised if you see one or more of the Cross models make it Down Under.

Also being talked about openly was the launch of Skoda, Down Under. The VW Group's bang-for-bucks brand is almost certainly coming to Oz and soon. Stay tuned for confirmation of this and specifics regarding timing and models (including the new Roomster, pictured) at CarPoint in the coming weeks.

Alas arguably the most avant-garde of VW's partner brands, Seat is still some way off coming Down Under. That didn't stop us being impressed by the marque's model line-up, especially the latest Leon hot hatch (pictured) and Altea mini-MPV.