It probably lasted longer than it should’ve, but in the end, its time had finally come. The Volkswagen Scirocco is no more, ladies and gentlemen. It’s current form had a good nine-year run, but that run has come to an end after Car and Driver discovered that the German automaker had stopped taking orders for the sport compact coupe. There is, however, an unspecified number of models that are still in stock so if anybody’s keen on getting one before they’re all sold out, now’s the time to do it.

The status of the Scirocco shouldn’t have been in question to begin with. Despite its lack of fanfare, the sports compact coupe was as enticing an offering in its segment as any other model of its kind. But, the Scirocco never seemed to get out of the huge shadow cast by the vastly more popular Golf hatchback, which has become Volkswagen’s go-to front-wheel-drive vehicle. Compound the loss of appeal with Volkswagen's idiotic Dieselgate scandal and the Scirocco suddenly became expendable in the eyes of the VW Group brain trust. So, is this the end of the Scirocco nameplate? It may as well be, although there’s a chance that the name could be brought back at some point in the future, albeit in a different package.

There have been rumors that VW was considering axing the current Scirocco and then bring back the name at a later date as part of its electric car lineup. It wouldn’t be too hard to imagine such a scenario happening and there have even been whispers that a Scirocco EV is already in the works with plans to fit it with a number of different output options, including a range-topping unit that produces 300 horsepower. Think what you will of the gossip, but rest assured, the current iteration of the Volkswagen Scirocco is all but retired. It had a good run, though, so raise those glasses and toast to the dearly departed FWD sports compact coupe. It’s been fun.

Continue after the jump to read the full story.

The Volkswagen Scirocco was a victim of circumstances that were out of its control

Every decision that Volkswagen has made recently somehow finds its way back to the Dieselgate scandal. That’s how devastating it’s been for the German automaker, though, nobody’s going to throw it any pity parties. The punishments were well deserved and, while we’ve had to deal with the consequences ourselves, there’s nothing we - or Volkswagen - can do about it but look forward to the future.

So, Dieselgate is partly to blame for the Scirocco’s demise, but it’s not the only reason either. Sagging interest for a car that was once named Car of the Year by Top Gear Magazine compounded the issues plaguing the sports compact coupe, as did new priorities within VW that looked into the future of the automaker as a whole. One could also argue about the car’s age as a reason behind its axing. The current generation has been around for nine years and has only had one facelift - back in 2014 - to show for it. In short, the Scirocco was long overdue for a makeover if it was to continue its role as the automaker’s entry-level sports coupe.

It just so happened that the rationale for developing one wasn’t all that attractive anymore. It certainly would’ve cost the German auto giant money to develop it with absolutely no guarantees that it could hold up for as long as the current-gen model has. So, instead of forcing it, Volkswagen smartly cut its ties on a car that wasn’t long for the world anyway.

The good news to all of this though is that the Scirocco name may not be dead very long, especially if rumors about Volkswagen bringing the name back end up being true. We know that the VW is planning and developing a new small coupe with its upcoming MEB platform. Could it be that this small coupe will take the name of the Scirocco once it's launched? I wouldn’t put it past anything that it does. For now, we’re going to need to start getting used to a world without the Volkswagen Scirocco in it. The car may be relatively new in its current format, but in the space of nine years, it sure as heck made quite an impression on the thousands of people who proudly got the chance to own one.

References

Volkswagen Scirocco

Read our full review on the Volkswagen Scirocco.

Read our full review on the Volkswagen Scirocco R.

Read more about the first generation Volkswagen Scirocco.