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Volkswagen Gives Us the Scirocco Studie R Concept

The Volkswagen R32 is a cult car. It takes a real hard-core VW enthusiast to drop $33,000 on a Golf. But what you get for your money is something with substance. Its gorgeous-sounding 3.2-liter VR6 engine was flexible and fun to drive, and its AWD system made sure all those 250 ponies got to the pavement on time. Still, like I said, it takes a real VW enthusiast to pay more than $30k for one of these things.

It sold fairly well in its first form and not so well in the current Mk5 model designation. VW might have over-designed this car and pushed it out of the core demographic who would actually want to own this car. Also, frankly speaking, 250-hp isn’t much for $30k in a world of 260-hp MazdaSpeed 3’s and 300-hp WRX STi’s.

At this year’s Bologna Auto Show, Volkswagen decided to show a new concept study to the public. Based on the company’s new Scirocco two-door coupe/hatch, the new Scirocco Studie R is billed as a possible replacement for the R32. Likely to be called the R20T, this new uber v-dub will take top spot among Volkswagen’s sporty offerings. What we get, technically speaking, is the latest Audi S3 (which is not available stateside) with a Scirocco body plopped on top of it.

That means it comes with a 273-hp, 2.0-liter turbo, DSG gearbox, sophisticated AWD system and the requisite bigger brakes, wheels and sports suspension. All the performance parts are literally taken right from the S3, and that’s not a bad thing since the current S3 is a rocket.

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The bodywork of the Scirocco Studie R is inspired by the racing Sciroccos that grabbed a few victories at Nürburgring earlier this year. The car also boasts gloss-black detailing and red and green accent stripes under the side mirrors, in honor of the Bologna Auto Show, which takes place in Italy. Whether or not this new R offering will be any cheaper seems doubtful. Who knows though, maybe buyers will be willing to drop some cash on a high-performance VW if it offered the right blend of power and style. But seriously, whether or not this new R model Scirocco will even come to the states is still unknown. Keeps your fingers crossed v-dubbers, I have a good feeling about this one.

Source: Auto Week

Photo: Volkswagen AG