Will you have the 1.8-liter four? Can we interest you in the supercharged G60, or perhaps a 190-horsepower VR6?
Count the fingers on one hand, and you still won’t reach the total number of engine variants that Volkswagen, through about seven years into the Nineties, plopped under the hood of the now-it’s-here, now-it’s-gone Corrado coupe. We didn’t get all those engines or even all of those model years in the States, but it’s an impressive collection all the same.
Despite its seductive, fastback shape, exceptional (for a VW) handling dynamics, and (mostly) overachieving power, some aficionados of the brand found the Corrado’s bite a bit too harsh, even though its platform was based on that of the more sedate Mark 2 Golf. But never was it cursed with the “hairdresser’s car” label, and the few who bought one in this country agreed with one critic’s assessment, that it is “the textbook definition of a cult car classic.”
As the sporty segue to the angular Scirocco, the front-wheel, 2-plus-2 Corrado, launched at the end of 1988 near the Scirocco’s final bow, was an obvious attempt by the Germans to go upmarket. Although still compact at just under 160 inches long, this car rode on a longer, wider wheelbase than the Golf, and was 300-plus pounds heavier.
With its extended hood/abbreviated deck, it had the credentials that allowed it to take a swipe at Audi: cushy velour or leather seats, a spoiler that automatically rose at speeds over 45 MPH, and a body assembled by the now-defunct Karmann coachworks, so that its hardware integrity was above average.
Worldwide, less than 100,000 cars were built overall, and only a fifth of that number were sold in the U.S., where the Corrado met with some headwinds regarding price and reliability. And while the SUV was just a shadow in the Corrado’s rear view mirror in the Nineties, it was gaining.
Still, some educated drivers saw its possibilities, especially with the VR6 engine and the stick shifter that appeared in 1992. The VR6, which stood for the German “Vee Reihenmotor” or “V-inline,” was a stout 2.8-liter, 6-cylinder, high-compression beauty that made 178 horsepower in the States and accelerated aggressively with 177-lbs ft of torque at 4,200 rpm.
It followed the supercharged…
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