The ONLY 565HP VW Scirocco in the U.S.? - The Smoking Tire

HOW did this VW Scirocco get here? Why wasn't it sold in the U.S.? We explore all that and more behind the wheel of this 2008 565HP Volkswagen Scirocco.
crsnbds.com/tst_scirocco
HPA 500HP EOS: • 500 WHP AWD Volkswagen...
HPA 600HP R32: • 600 HP HPA Turbo VW R3...
HPA 740HP GOLF R: • The Insane *740 hp* HP...
#vw #R32 #GolfR #Scirocco
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[@HPAMotorsports]

This build brings back memories! Thanks to Alex for bringing this up to Zack for review. Sad to hear you're selling the car but I'm sure it will continue to bring smiles to the new owner. We are in our 32nd year of business and we still love the VR6 engine and all it has to offer. Stay posted as we are imminently close to announcing a new VR6T program that's sure to make waves. ;)

[@rangerousdave]

As a Vancouverite who spent his youth doing stupid shit to his Rabbit, your guys' builds were the dream.

[@omg_stoppit]

Man, y'all did some great work.

[@Xaiux]

Was this the only one done?

[@HPAMotorsports]

@@Xaiux This is 1 of 2. The other is at our shop getting a full carbon fiber widebody kit.

[@RetroMMA]

Shame he advertises "The North Face" - Leave the kids alone...

[@mittortz]

Only 3800 miles over 10+ years? This is absolutely amazing, and I respect the owner for spending his money to help bring this to life... but did he drive it at all??

[@wiouxev]

Probably an engine rebuild/swap... Kind of misleading

[@KeyyBond]

@@wiouxev Yup that scirocco has a 3.2l r32 engine, which was never in sciroccos.

[@secondflame7875]

@@KeyyBond yea but he drove that engine for 10+ years

[@bryanleverett2830]

This is vw owners lol $150k drive it to car shows for 10 years, lower it too much

[@infidel900rr]

Although I love weird builds like this, it always amazes me how much money people are willing to throw at their 'toy' car. Thanks for sharing it.

[@reaper-sz5tm]

Yeah, I keep my budget at $50,000 max.

[@natebass1482]

I always make a budget then just double it... mr2 spyder k24a2 turbo starting budget at 10k ended up at 20k with purchase of car still not done yet.

[@Hugo_Rocker]

I am just seeing this today, Ap 15, 2024. Whenever I am in Germany these cars are everywhere. They even offered it with a diesel engine! I even rented a Scirocco race car to drive on the Nürburgring. They are beautiful

[@SicSemperBeats]

Always wished they brought these over here. Looked super ahead of their time especially for the first year technically being 2007. Looks like a 2015 car or something.

[@aguyfromgermany5202]

Well this model was built until 2017.

[@Royahmar]

Did you guys organise this with Doug? You both released at the same time and both called it a Forbidden fruit.

[@BingBangBrine]

Yea kinda strange

[@EspenX]

I can't see why Zack would do a video on this car if he knew Doug was making one too.

[@catinthehat5140]

It's on carsandbids so maybe the owner wanted some publicity

[@TVCHLORD]

Sponsored by cars and bids

[@Jason__D]

Get at least 5:05 in lol

[@RubikscubeNinja]

It's been great watching you two evolve the format of your videos over the last ~10 years! I've noticed this new format has gotten much more cohesive and (hopefully) streamlined for you guys to make. One thing I noticed, and this may just be me, but I miss the front-facing shots when you're driving. I know it can't be that old One-Take style the whole length of the video, but there were sections where I felt I like I missed it. It gives a great sense of speed, plus I always enjoyed watching you guys drive. Either way, keep it up Zach and Matt!

[@markthibault8579]

Cool build. Though, I prefer the stock front and rear of the Euro Scirocco over the body kit that this car wears. And, there's something odd about fitment in the front wheel wells which is likely due to the front body element.

[@ShonnDaylee]

The body kit on this car absolutely ruins it. I can't fathom what they were thinking with that hideous front bumper. *shudders*

[@madincraft5809]

I was lucky enough to see this very car being built at HPA headquarters in Langley! Me, just a dude covered in paint, walked in there on my lunchbreak to ask about a downpipe for my wagon. Marcel, the owner, was super gracious and welcoming and brought me on a tour. Stop in if you're anywhere near! Amazing cars, great people.

[@BOOSTEDDUDE]

I've always been a huge Scirocco fan! I sure wish they brought this to the states. I used to own an MKII 88 16v Turbo Scirocco with H&R and Bilsteins. That was a lot of fun going up into the mountains!

[@vbwine2003]

Awesome look at a very cool build. Nicely executed vision, Alex, and great job Zach in showing us all about this beautiful beast.

[@phif42]

I have wanted a Scirocco since the very first time I saw the Mk3 back in '09, but since I live in the US & we don't get the cool cars here, no go. I've had 3 GTI's & absolutely love them but as soon as I can import one legally, it will be in my garage. Baller move building this car & passing on the Lambo. This guy is my hero

[@XxmuncsterxX]

Nicely done! Loved the car and the review. Thanks for bringing this to us.

[@jareknowak8712]

Good to see the return of tuned cars tests!

[@juniormeyer27]

I’ve got a white face lifted Tiguan (16) and this looks very similar. Love the sounds!

[@walterday8933]

Beautiful build... I've always loved the Scirocco!

[@96st206]

The irony is he's Canadian and the 2008 Scirocco is legal to import to Canada now

[@TornadoOfSouls777]

What a freaking beast! I love it!

[@kishan813]

Have seen this car around Houston car events. The Scirocco really is a lovely thing! What a great passion project for the owner. I wish the video included more info on how he got the car into the US and registered legally.

[@Troggie42]

I'm about 90% sure it's not federally legal, you're not allowed to import the shell of a car, shove the drivetrain of another car in it, and magically make it legal in the eyes of the feds, no matter how many reassigned VINs Texas gives you

[@tedium37]

Had a 2nd gen 81or2 that had the best seats and overall ergonomics for that era. The style was pure 80s gold.

[@2fast2nick]

That thing is sick! I agree, the design looks so much better. Plenty of power. Very solid build. I’m curious what it ends up going for

[@joseolivero6457]

63,000

[@marcoadamberger4456]

As a german its funny to see the exitement from americans over this one. This is so common here I never would turn my head if I seen one on the streets.

[@petayV8]

I find it hilarious too. Although a fun little car for your first car it's nothing special..this guy is crazy...

[@bugeye555]

4:30 Zacks internal monologue ".....yea, you should have done that instead..."

[@DahakaCL]

Wonderful video, the audio, the music and the final comment is P E R F E C T I O N.

[@georgestreisel7920]

Drove a scirocco R around the nurburgring in 2016, lovely car always wished they brought them over

[@OlderthanIlookyoungerthanIfeel]

My favorite is the 2.5 liter Rabbit , as far as the ones what we got in North America at least . They got way more in Europe , to choose from . And they get even less American cars to choose from .

[@bradcoram509]

Had a gen 1 Scirocco growing up in Canada the late 80's and loved that car. Now live in The Netherlands and my neighbour has 2011 2.0 Scirocco. . . Might need to make him an offer after watching the video. . . 🤣

[@seanfig03]

Seen one of these while deployed in the Middle East. Great looking car for sure.

[@TakuroSpirit77]

I love how Zach asks the owner how it was imported and dude just starts listing mods... he has no idea, car is illegal as hell built as it is. A drivetrain and VIN plate does not make it an R32 in the eyes of the feds.

[@RollingShutter]

maybe he knows and is tired of beating the odds and dumps it.

[@dougt5357]

Doug Demuro goes into this in his video.

[@TakuroSpirit77]

@@RollingShutter The 3800 miles is very telling. He's been hiding it all these years.

[@dan.r9220]

Guys he’s Canadian.

[@TheSmokingTire]

Owner knows how it was imported but I trimmed things out to keep the convo moving. That's my bad. The Scirocco was imported as parts.

[@climbingcue]

I was at the Texas mile the day this car was delivered to the customer from HPA. Very cool car…

[@paulberman1979]

I had a 1976 Scirocco bought new, headers and ansa exhaust and mild tune...loved that car, weird handling characteristics--the neighborhood named it the flying mosquito! loved that car

[@crherniman]

I came to see how many comments bring up older gen Sciroccos. I still have a MK2 Scirocco Silver California Edition one owner car

[@glennw7118]

I bought a brand new A4 with the 2.8 VR6. I added a borla exhaust. I always loved the exhaust note. When i saw the original R32 I was in love but was never able to get 1. Well i purchased brand new a 2011 Mazdaspeed 3 and a 2017 Mustang GT. I love the exhaust note on both, but ive always loved the R32/VR6 exhaust note. Music to my ears.

[@carsaregood911]

All the Americans going crazy for this don't realize by the time the MK7 Golfs came out, this thing was still on sale and it was very outdated with it's MK5/MK6 underpinnings. Where I live, you rarely see Sciroccos but GTI/R are quite common.

[@TonyWang]

Literally my dream hatchback 😢

[@cpftank09]

Those are great looking cars! I’ve seen a handful of them in Germany. I’m not a VW guy, but always wished we got those in the US.

[@corysekine-pettite1783]

I love little VWs -- from the Golf, New Beetle, Scirocco and Corrado.

[@giff74]

Awesome car! How are we not having a discussion about how in the world it's licensed in the US?? It's not nearly old enough for the import rule.

[@fredocuomo5386]

take it apart, ship to texas, assemble, get licensed

[@giff74]

@@fredocuomo5386 The shipping isn't the hard part, it's the licensing for non crash tested cars less than 25 years old.

[@fredocuomo5386]

@giff74 reassembly means it can be licensed as a kit car. texas is pretty lax. tho the feds have been cracking down recently. im sure hpa has some connections.

[@slateford]

It's VIN'd in TX as an R32

[@TakuroSpirit77]

@@slateford Doug said it has BOTH VINs in the door, so probably still the Scirocco VIN on the dash... federally this car cannot be legal. TX just dgaf.

[@darrellstaples7011]

Yes Doug brought me here👍🇨🇦 subscribed

[@PANTYEATR1]

Some people adopt children and some people make their own children... This man wanted to birth his own. This is how men give birth. Sweet car, perfectly modified and done with OEM+ quality. 💪🏆

[@malakisands8180]

These model Scirrico Gen 3. A guy at Audi told me because VW thought it would affect GTI sales to much. I had a 1988 Scirocco and a 1994 Corrado with a factory turbo

[@Daniel-xb3ot]

I saw a few R Scirocco’s at the Nurburgring! Why didn’t they sell these in America. Looks so much better than a Golf!

[@michaelsavage5827]

Zach hitting us with a lot of that “Blue Steel” look 😂

[@du3lcitiz3n]

Wish we could still have these...

[@isaaccan3155]

As a former owner of dozens of mk1 and mk2, and a corrado, I am so jealous

[@justinmaccreery2490]

Awesome car. Good luck to the owner on Cars&Bids!

[@runescapebanker]

nice work boys

[@Pearl3Drummer]

Sad that this was not brought here. I had an 82 and an 88 Scirocco and a 90 Corrado.

[@leonardocordova8435]

I remember this car in a vw carshow in clear lake tx

[@MR.TOYBOX]

I owned a 90 Corrado G60 and it was always cool running into scirocco owners which was rare

[@Em_Ligman]

The facelift Mk3.5 VW Sciroccos are even nicer 😎 it’s a shame it was never sold in the states

[@josephandreuccetti7270]

We really need these here

[@hughmann1908]

Reverse mullet! You won the internet today Zack 👍

[@matthewmohri9990]

If I had stupid amounts of money, I'd buy this Scirocco from this guy just to give it back to him for free. I guess I see and hear the love this guy has for his car. I'm not sure why he'd sell such a beautiful beast, but it sounds like I can hear some heart break in his subtle voice. You're right, as a former highly N/A Modified 12v VR6 owner, there's no other kind of sound that a VR6 gives that can be matched by any other 6 cylinder and a few 8, 10, and 12 cylinders. A famous quote from VW Vortex "Your car sounds like Chewbacca Fighting A Lion"

[@magi115]

Hong Kong and Mainland China have modified Scirocco R's everywhere. really beautiful car in person. the video doesn't do it justice.

[@michaelday6987]

That thing is gorgeous.

[@juddfyah]

👍🏾👍🏾 For the Dub luv! And yes I agree VR6 is the best sounding 6 cylinder.

[@chriseaton2730]

Quite a few Maserati models are named after winds too.

[@BorisBidjanSaberi11]

Wookie sound 😭😭😭 holy shit Zack has the funniest one liners

[@pjoffrion]

Looks great!

[@BroVCam]

Man I love this little car! A baby 911! Wish they worked it out to offer it here in the US! ✌🏽❤️✊🏽

[@gmonk313]

I went on a mission trip in Ireland after I graduated high school. That’s where I realized the American market for some car companies can be quite boring. Everything looked better over there

[@MainstreamHurenMedie]

I`m German and a Scirocco R Owner. Its the Scirocco with most Power Engine. I love to ride Autobahn with 270Kmh (170mph)🖤❤💛

[@TKA69]

In South Africa we have them with the golf r motors but they only front wheel drive.

[@mdtaylor2274]

This was MUCH Better than Doug’s video! 👍

[@sadubone]

These are such beautiful cars and it's a shame they didn't come to North America. This particular one, well if I had the money I'd buy it.

[@kdm_entertainment]

Slammed though.. Would be cool OEM looking but with the quad pipes imo

[@josephwright8752]

Shame the auction only went to 63k would have loved to see him recoup more from this beast.

[@neohideo]

Awesome Volkswagen!👌

[@ClaytonYatescarenthusiast]

Look like the cars and coffee type lol. Hood popped standing there. Apparently built race cars are for looking at or driving around parking lots.. slowly

[@earlygamer9106]

Sick! 💯 but hpa built normal here in Germany mk7 mk7 with r36 engines 800hp 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@Vanbul1]

The thing that this video doesn't get across well is how much lower the roof line is than a standard Golf. Theres a massive difference in height when i park mine next to a Golf R or GTI.

[@Sumdumdad]

Why not use the diff switch? Is there something wrong with it?

[@uptone12111]

Love Scirroco's had the first and 2nd gen

[@sheryldelacruz5619]

the breaks dont go down more because they are old. its because the master break cylinder need to be of larger diameter and volume for that to take place.

[@smileyrainb0ws]

One was on sale FB Market in SF..

[@loan-shark]

This car was so popular when new in Norway but people didnt like them so the used market got overflooded the first year it was available

[@joshuacstorlie]

Possibly the best looking hatch of all time.

[@CPMUNSEY]

I’d take this over a Gallardo anyday of the week. Such a sick build!!👌🏽🔥🔥

[@zeenmuch90]

This is a cool car. What is going on with the right side hood and fender gap?

[@dropac]

Is HPA like a sister company to the German HGP? Our club member drives their Golf 4 R32 build,great car. I remember when the Golf 6 R36 HGP hit the market 😮

[@whackbag3606]

Looks badass...i want it.

[@E36Variance]

Came here interested to find out how the car was legally registered in the US, left disappointed. Car is 100% an illegal VIN swap, and is just waiting for somebody at the DMV to actually care enough to report it to the feds.

[@user-ze8jl3dv1j]

I was wondering how someone would get away with importing a car like that and claiming it was 'parts', even without the engine

[@blueman5924]

@@user-ze8jl3dv1j …it went to HPA in BC🇨🇦 directly no doubt.

[@SNiiPEDoGG]

What an amazing build and if you love VW's you know this is basically the apex of a car from them. Hope he can get a good auction on it, its truly one of a kind.

[@oldkid6]

Whoever wins this needs to make a follow up video of their experience at the DMV.

[@nemoaspieman369]

10:15 sounds like a TIE fighter.

[@magellanicspaceclouds]

I wish you guys explained how it's registered in the US. Is it an R32 in the paperwork?

[@fwevw1]

I live in nj and have my self a Scirocco R imported from Germany

[@bradchervel5202]

I love this car!!!!!

[@stanfordkoch1271]

Its a cool car, see them all the time in the netherlands. Its still a flattend Golf lol

[@themightmorphindorphin665]

There was a guy in Missouri doing a similar thing with a Volvo c30 and was swapping the Ford focus RS body that shared the Sam platform since we didn’t get that generation of focus in America. The only reason I know it existed, is because he was selling the project because he couldn’t afford to keep building the project. 😢

[@naiart82]

The most interesting thing in this video was the scenery.

[@marcsmithsonian9773]

And how many miles would you do wiyh those mods in place ?

[@B0rn2succeed]

In had this same kit with this same exhaust on my scirocco, just modified it, scirocco is a timeless car, stills turns head wherever I go with it.

[@drjimb0311]

Still love my Corrado's.

[@mennomulder9987]

They sold so less in Europe because off the price. The standard Scirocco with no options was the same price as a Golf GTI.

[@KrabKrusty1]

Why does the off the record discount say valid until May of 2023 when we are in June and this video was uploaded 3 days ago?

[@landoslab]

great intro

[@Vurlo]

I love these things

[@gildurao8674]

You should have come to Portugal😊 you would see a lot of them. Scirocco R I mean, not R32😉

[@duffyt26]

Scirocco follows the wind naming theme actually. I believe it's an african desert wind.