Should Volkswagen Bring Back the Corrado Sports Coupe?

BOLD RIDE

Copyright © 2015 Bold Ride LLC.

 

Posted by Zach Doell

 

 

Fast, fun, and desperately good looking – the Volkswagen Corrado hasn’t been a member of the automaker’s new car lineup for two decades. While it probably hasn’t hurt VW’s bottom line, it’s dearly missed by its legion of cult followers. 

 

We’d love to say this striking design is a new version but sadly it isn’t. It’s the recent digital manipulation of render artist Theophilus Chin, and it wonderfully pieces together what a next-generation Corrado could look like if one were waiting in the wing.

The Corrado’s future remains to be seen, but it begs the question – should Volkswagen bring the model back? If it looked this good, you’d find no objection here.

Truth be told, the Corrado sports coupe isn’t exactly gone. Volkswagen continues to market the Scirocco – both predecessor and successor to the Corrado – in various European markets to positive reviews. Inherently, the biggest opposition for a US-market Corrado/Scirocco is VW’s own Golf GTI.

There’s surely a fanbase and appetite for a Corrado on these shores, but it would cannibalize other model sales. Given that it hasn’t happened yet – its economies of small scale likely work against Volkswagen’s favor.

Which is too bad. The Corrado rip-snorted its way onto US shores in 1990 toting 1.8-liters of supercharged fury. Zero to 60 mph took a brisk 7.5 seconds and the legendary VR6 engine cut that down to a punchy 6.4 seconds. It remains a stunning design to this day.

Happily, world markets will receive Volkswagens with this type of design DNA. Chin noted the Audi Sport Quattro Concept and Volkswagen Sport GTE Concept as inspiration for his Corrado render. The former of which has been rumored to be in production incubation and lends some of its looks to the 2016 Audi TT, while the later showcases a new VW brand design language.