Volkswagen has unveiled a concept car which gives a clue to the looks of a successor to the successful Scirocco sports coup.

Even in colour, with its Viper Green metallic paint, the Iroc harks back to the Scirocco, where this exact shade was available in the 1976 model range.

The Iroc has a long roof and steeply sloping rear, which not only gives it an aggressive and sporting appearance, it also liberates space in the back for two adults plus luggage.

In size, the Iroc, which sits on 19-inch alloy wheels, is slightly longer than the Golf, measuring 4,240 mm and 41mm wider at 1,800mm. Its wheelbase is more than ten cm longer than that of the Golf at 2,680mm; however with its squat coup-like stance, it is 79mm shorter overall at 1,400mm.

The Iroc uses a Volkswagen face' which is not yet common to other vehicles in the range, though the honeycomb-shaped structure of the radiator grille is undoubtedly a link to the Golf GTI. Another notable feature is the lack of obvious A pillars, due to the wide windscreen which overlaps them at the front. Inside, the Iroc has four seats, as well as a spacious boot of 300 litres, which can be increased if the rear seats are folded down.

Most distinctive, however, are the gauges and controls in the Iroc's cabin. Two large and newly-designed round instruments form the visual centre of the cockpit. The driver looks into two cylinders with twelve illuminated bars which create a three dimensional segmentation within the instruments.

Under the bonnet, the Iroc features Volkswagen's TSI petrol technology, which uses a turbocharger and a supercharger to produce diesel-like consumption with impressive performance.

Designed to maximise driving fun, the concept has a 210 horsepower TSI engine, but Volkswagen says a range of TSIs, starting from under 150 horsepower, are also feasible.

  • The Scirocco was a huge success for Volkswagen, with more than 500,000 examples of the Giugiaro-designed first generation produced. It was launched in the UK in 1974, with the second generation following in 1981. When sales stopped in 1993, 77,460 Sciroccos had been sold in the UK.