World Auto News & Reviews

The new Volkswagen Scirocco GT24 celebrated its race premiere with a one-two in its class at a well attended 24-hour race at the Nurburgring.
In front of a crowd of about 200,000 spectators the brace of 325 hp Sport-Coupes driven by Jimmy Johansson (S), Florian Gruber (D), Thomas Mutsch (D) and Hans-Joachim Stuck (A) and Carlos Sainz (E), Giniel de Villiers (RSA), Dieter Depping (D) and again Hans-Joachim Stuck (A) claimed first and second positions in the well-represented class for cars with two-litre turbo engines.
In a field of 219 cars and in front of innumerable more powerful sports and touring cars the teams occupied positions 11 and 15 overall. The third factory entered Coupe of Dr Ulrich Hackenberg (D), Bernd Ostmann (D), Matthias Malmedie (D) and Altfrid Heger (D) completed the first sporting success of the new Scirocco, which is available from dealers in August, with fifth position in class and 32nd overall.
“A great result for the new Scirocco: The one-two in class and eleventh overall in the 24-hour race underlines the sporting dynamic and reliability of the new Volkswagen Coupes,” explained Dr Ulrich Hackenberg, Volkswagen Board of Management of the Volkswagen Brand with responsibility for Development. “I want to thank everyone who supported this ambitious and courageous project to race the Scirocco before its market launch in one of the hardest events in motorsport.” Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen was also extremely satisfied: “The Race-Scirocco was developed, built and tested in only 75 days. To get three cars to complete the entire distance on one of the world’s most demanding tracks first time out, and without serious problems, speaks volumes for the excellent performance of the entire team.”
The eleven Volkswagen drivers praised the front-wheel drive Race-Scirocco with 2.0 litre TFSI engine and DSG Direct Shift Gearbox: “Sensational just how fast and indestructible a brand new car like the Scirocco can be. I would have preferred to have done another few hours,” says Hans-Joachim Stuck, Motorsport Representative of the Volkswagen Group, excitedly. Two-time Rally World Champion Carlos Sainz drove first ever 24-hour race: “The race at the Nurburgring is a genuine challenge. The Scirocco made it very easy for us drivers to run quickly and safely in both wet and dry conditions,” explained Sainz.
The three brand new Sciroccos, which completed in their very first race, impressed with enormous reliability and fast lap times – they set the pace in qualifying with positions one, two and four. During the race, in addition to the normal pit stops, only three unscheduled stops were made.


Volkswagen Scirocco Racing Version
The racing version of the new Volkswagen Scirocco has successfully taken its first hurdle. Hans-Joachim Stuck, Dieter Depping, Francois Verbist and Thomas Mutsch completed a comprehensive endurance test with the 300-hp Scirocco at the Motorsport Arena at Oschersleben.
The tests with the coupe that will be delivered to dealerships as a production model in autumn of 2008 served to prepare for the 24-Hour Race at the Nurburgring (23 -25 May), which Volkswagen will contest with three Scirocco cars. The Racing Scirocco’s roll-out had taken place at the Spreewaldring near Cottbus on 14 April.
“The Scirocco has passed its first real ‘baptism of fire’ well,” says Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. “The racing version was developed and prepared by our technical staff in record time. With the endurance test, we’re perfectly within our truly tight schedule. The Scirocco is a real highlight: when watching the car on the race track for the first time, it simply looks cool.”
“Strietzel” Stuck was pleasantly surprised after the first kilometres: “I got into the vehicle and felt comfortable. The Scirocco is one of the most uncomplicated racing cars I’ve ever driven. It’s really fun. Now I’m looking forward to the 24 hours on the Nordschleife with even greater anticipation.”
Alongside Stuck, who has been the Volkswagen Group’s motorsport representative since the beginning of the year, the two-time world rally champion Carlos Sainz (E), whose most recent exploit was victory at the Central Europe Rally with the Volkswagen Race Touareg, his cross-country rally team-mates Giniel de Villiers (RSA) and Dieter Depping, Volkswagen Junior Jimmy Johansson (S) and the touring car youngsters Florian Gruber (D), Thomas Mutsch and Francois Verbist, Volkswagen board member for technical development Dr Ulrich Hackenberg as well as journalists Bernd Ostmann (auto motor und sport) and Matthias Malmedie (Grip – das Motormagazin) will compete for Volkswagen at the endurance classic staged in the “Green Hell”.
For the race around the demanding, legendary Nordschleife, the Racing Scirocco with front-wheel drive will use a two-litre TFSI engine delivering over 300 hp and a direct-shift transmission with DSG technology including shifting paddles in the steering wheel.
At the 24-Hour Race one year ago Volkswagen – among 220 teams – had clinched class victory and eighth place overall with the Golf GTI. As in previous years, over 200,000 spectators are expected to line the “ring” on the last weekend in May – the fitting setting for the Racing Scirocco’s debut. “Deutsche Sport-Fernsehen” (DSF) will provide more than 12 hours of live coverage from the Nurburgring.