Volkswagen Scirocco Twin Engine
Not all twin-engine cars were built with serious racing in mind. Case in point: Volkswagen in the 1980s. At the time, VW found itself in a curious position. Audi (a VW subsidiary) was dominating the rally world, while Volkswagen itself had minimal involvement in motorsport. Sure, journalists praised the Golf GTI, and grassroots rally drivers used cheap Polos or even rear-engined Beetles (which were still built in Germany until 1974), but that was hardly enough.
So VW decided to create a proper “wolf in sheep’s clothing” — a supercar that didn’t look like one or cost like one. They chose the second-generation Scirocco coupe as the base. After testing the concept on a Jetta prototype, they installed a second 1.8-liter engine in the Scirocco’s trunk, raising total output to 360 horsepower — with a curb weight of just 1,160 kg!
Volkswagen was serious: they even printed marketing brochures claiming the car could accelerate to 100 km/h in under 4.5 seconds. But the project was ultimately canceled — for good reason.
The major flaw? Catastrophic understeer. With no center differential and synchronized engines, the car simply refused to turn properly. And there was an even more powerful version — supposedly over 400 hp — but it became clear this was a machine for adrenaline junkies, not the average driver. Still, the experience wasn’t wasted.
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