Motor Trend Drives the Scirocco R. We Think It's US-Bound

After we head the next generation Scirocco is coming in 2017 and will stay true to the current formula, I speculated that the facelift for the current model is coming to the US, since it has been spotted testing there, and this was the only way I could justify VW doing a facelift of this slow-selling model.

Remember, Chevrolet did a facelift of the Spark when it launched it into the US, while BMW's X1 also got an update right as they were launching it Stateside.

But Volkswagen's way of doing things has always been to show their potential future US models to journalists first. They did it with the Beetle TDI diesel recently, and with the Golf GTD which has yet to be confirmed.

Low and behold, Motor Trend, one of the biggest publication in the online world, has just released an in-depth, 8-minute long review of the 2012 Volkswagen Scirocco R. Their review is overwhelmingly positive. Because the Scirocco R is FWD, it's a true hot hatch.

As much as we'd love to see the 'Rocco in the US, we have to point out that Carlos Lago does make a few incorrect points. For example, the fact that it's more powerful than the Golf R and can have its ESP turned off is because it's a European model. Were it to be brought to the US, it would get more nannies and less power.

My best guess would be that the Scirocco R will be available stateside after next year's New York Motor Show. But maybe you other VW buffs know a little more than I do.