Volkswagen Scirocco may be reborn as electric sports car

Volkswagen is reportedly hatching plans to introduce a fourth-generation Volkswagen Scirocco, and this time it could come with all-electric power.

According to Autocar, a belated replacement for the discontinued low-slung two-door coupe is yet to be officially approved, but engineers have identified the all-new EV platform that will underpin the all-new Porsche 718 Boxster and Cayman as a potential building block on which to base the born-again Volkswagen Scirocco on.

If it receives the green light for production, the new Volkswagen Scirocco would return in 2028 at the earliest.

According to an industry insider, senior VW execs are currently “studying internal design, engineering and manufacturing proposals” to establish a viable business case for what could become the German brand’s new performance flagship.

To ensure it connects with enthusiasts (old and new), it’s thought the all-electric Volkswagen coupe would boast 1970s-inspired styling that pays tribute to the very first Scirocco (1974-1981),which was designed by famed Italian stylist Giorgetto Giugiaro.

Potentially offsetting the high costs of development, the VW Scirocco would be engineered alongside not only the Porsche 718 twins but also the next-gen Audi TT and the wild Cupra Dark Rebel.

To allow designers to create a dramatic design and an ultra-low driving position (for an EV), the next Scirocco would shun the SSP architecture that is set to underpin almost every future production VW, including the ninth-generation Golf.

Instead, it would sit on a specially adapted version of the Volkswagen Group’s PPE architecture that was developed by Audi and Porsche.

Full details of the platform have yet to be released but it’s thought the modified PPE architecture will still be capable of supporting differing wheelbase lengths, track widths and both single- and dual-motor applications, the latter providing for all-wheel drive.

Allowing for a low door sill (and driving position), the batteries will be packaged within what would be a transmission tunnel in a combustion-powered car. Further cells could be positioned behind the rear seats in a T-shape formation, matching what Maserati does with its GranTurismo Folgore.

Porsche has already previewed the arrangement with the 2021 Mission R concept car, in which engineers achieved similar weight distribution to a conventional mid-engine sports car for maximum agility on road and track.

The new adapted PPE architecture has also been engineered for convertibles – allowing Porsche to roll out an all-electric replacement for its Boxster and Audi to create a battery-powered TT roadster successor.

Volkswagen, meanwhile, will favour a longer wheelbase version of the PPE platform to package a second row of seats for extra practicality, and Audi will also use this stretched platform for its TT.

To ensure it has the performance to deliver on its sports car looks, entry-level versions of the Scirocco would come with rear-wheel drive and an electric motor producing around 240kW.

More powerful Sciroccos would easily exceed 300kW, ensuring a Scirocco R flagship that’s capable of a sub-4.0sec 0-100km/h dash.

Reportedly backing plans to resurrect the Scirocco nameplate is Volkswagen Group and Porsche chairman Oliver Blume, on the basis that co-operation and component-sharing between the company’s brands will bring economies of scale that make each model more profitable.

Controversially, it’s been mooted that the new VW Scirocco, Audi TT and Cupra Dark Rebel could all be produced alongside the next-gen Boxster and Cayman at the same former Karmann factory in Osnabruck, Germany.

Critics of such a plan suggest the prospect of VWs, Audis and Cupras rolling down the same line as Porsches could undermine perceptions of the new Boxster and Cayman.

For everything you auto know about EVs, listen to carsales' Watts Under the Bonnet: the electric car podcast

Join the conversation at our Facebook page
Or email us at editor@carsales.com.au