1979 Volkswagen Scirocco

Volkswagen began work on the car during the early 1970s as the replacement for the aging Karmann Ghia coupe, and designated it the Type 53 internally. By hand-building the the Golf/ Rabbit and Jetta (which was not introduced until 1979, well after Scirocco was planned) to underpin the new Scirocco, although most every part of the car was re-engineered in favour of a sportier drive, and the model's all-new styling, penned by Giorgetto Giugiaro, was sleeker and sportier than that of either the Golf or Jetta. The model went on sale in Europe in 1974 and in North America in 1975. Mark I models featured a range of four-cylinder engines with displacements from 1.1 to 1.6L (1.7L in North America), all featuring a single-overhead camshaft and two valves per cylinder.

The Scirocco Mark I was featured in the 1978 Zombie film Dawn of the dead by George Romero, where it is seen driving amongst the zombies within the shopping mall.

During the production of the Mark I, there were subtle changes to the body and trim. In 1977 (1976 was first year) the conventional two wiper system changes to a single wiper which parks on the passenger side of the windscreen. In 1978 the separate front side marker and turn signal, changed to a combination wrap-around orange lens. Other mid-life changes include chrome bumpers with rubberised end caps to a plastic one-piece wrap around bumper. In 1979 the one-pieces "flag" style outside mirrors transitioned to a two-piece shrouded mirror. There were also special variants throughout the Mark I production. Most distinguishable by paint schemes and trim, there were special versions called "Sidewinder", "Sidewinder II", "Champagne Edition", "Champagne Edition II" and the "S". The Champagne Edition II only came in white with black accents. On the NA models the 1980 "S" versions came in only three colours, Alpine White, Black and Mars Red with unique colour accents. This was followed by the 1981 "S" versions which only came in Cosmos Silver Metallic, Cirrus Gray Metallic and Mars Red without the colour accents.