Watch a Review of the "Excitingly Sensible" Old VW Scirocco

The last Scirocco sold in the U.S. was the 1986 to 1987 16V (short for 16-valve) which was built at the Harmann factory in Osnabrück, Germany. At the time, it was the largest independent motor vehicle manufacturer around.

The BMW 3.0 CS came from there, as did the Porsche 968, Corrado and even the Chrysler Crossfire. The multi-valve 1.8-liter engine was unusual for its time, and its 139 horsepower made the Scirocco one of the fastest sports coupes you could buy, not just for the money. So, you see, this wasn't Volkswagen trying to make a quick profit by filling a particular niche. It was a much smaller automaker than we know today trying to get noticed.

But the Scirocco initially came out with much smaller, less powerful engines. Volkswagen had to boost performance because sales lagged behind the predecessor model. In total, I think they sold about 10,000 units in America for around $12,000, which was quite a lot of money in the 1980s.

Over 11 years of production, the Scirocco was made about 300,000 times. But Volkswagen never managed to capture the essence of the original, not with this Mk2 and not with the Mk3 that we're about to bid farewell. We think the lack of cutting-edge VW engine technology hurt both generations.

What does this coupe have in common with the Maserati Ghibli? The name, as both refer to the same dry African wind.

Even though this old model looks like it's as big as the Passat, we are actually dealing with a small car, a 4-seater only by name. It's 8 inches shorter and about 6.5 inches narrower than the current Scirocco. So if you're thinking of buying the classic, don't be concerned with negotiating tighter streets.