It’s for people who take their car to the nordschleife after work

Volkswagen has pulled the wraps off its Scirocco R, the first of a new breed of people’s performance car.

While its name and status as the most powerful Scirocco in the range suggest a car in the same vein as the outgoing Golf R32, it in fact has a rather different genetic make-up. For starters, it ushers in that most topical of concepts: downsizing. You won’t find the aforementioned Golf’s 3.2-litre V6 under the Scirocco R’s bonnet – instead there’s a high-power turbocharged four-pot 2-litre. Hence why (in line with all future VW ‘R’ cars) it has been called simply Scirocco R, with no numeric suffix. Well, R20 wouldn’t sound like progress, would it?

The engine in question is shared with the Audi S3 and is essentially the unit from the mk5 Golf GTI with a larger turbo. The result? 261bhp and 258lb ft, both representing increases over the R32. Predictably, there are boasts of lower emissions and lower consumption too: 194g/km and 8.3L/100km are particularly sharp figures for a car being launched with one eye on the trackday set: ‘It’s for people who take their car to the Nordschleife when they finish work on an evening,’ said Jakob Kähler, PR head for Volkswagen Individual, the team behind the brand’s more specialist cars.

Another difference from the R32 is that the Scirocco has remained front-wheel drive in its transition to R spec, separating it from perhaps its two most natural rivals, the all-wheel-drive S3 and BMW’s rear-driven 130i Coupe. VW is keen to stress the competency of the R’s chassis, though, with ACC (Adaptive Chassis Control) and XDS (the new electronic limited-slip diff from the mk6 Golf GTI) ensuring all that power is usable. ‘We don’t want people to be afraid of all that power going through the front wheels,’ said Kähler.

Not that the 300bhp Ford Focus RS struggles with just front-wheel drive. It’s a car whose name is never far away when discussing the Scirocco R, the two feeling like ready-made sparring partners. On performance and price, perhaps: the Scirocco isn’t far off the pace of the RS, hitting 100kph in 6.4sec (versus 5.9sec) with a limited 250kph maximum (against 262kph), while it’ll cost around $ 42k. But VW has shied away from aping the Ford’s eye-grabbing styling: casual observers will likely struggle to spot the difference between this and lesser Sciroccos. Kähler explained the thinking behind the car’s subtle looks: ‘The Focus RS is a bit like a toy. We want you to be able to park your car and not have people think you’re having a midlife crisis. If people want a really big wing, they’ll add it themselves anyway.’

That said, the overall look of the R is designed to go hand-in-hand with the Scirocco GT24 racer. Among the subtle tweaks are marginally bigger air intakes, slightly more dramatic side- skirts and a minutely enlarged spoiler. Darkened light lenses, the obligatory daytime-running LEDs and all-new ‘Talledega’ alloys (18in standard, the 19s pictured are optional) complete the muscular workout, while there’s also gloss black trim for the front grille, side mirrors and rear diffuser. The latter houses a new exhaust system, with a pipe at each side and a rortier note than standard, apparently. Inside, the car is largely stock Scirocco, save for a smart new steering wheel, a smattering of R logos and blue-lit needles on the dials.

The Scirocco R will go on sale in Europe in the autumn, while around the corner in 2010 is the similarly- engined Golf R. Keen to split the two cars apart, the more traditional hatchback will be all-wheel drive, and word is that it will get more power too. Wolfsburg’s two-pronged attack on the hot hatch class begins…