Volkswagen

Volkswagen began work on the Scirocco during the early 1970s as the replacement for the aging Karmann Ghia coupé. Although the platform of the Golf was used to underpin the new Scirocco, almost every part of the car was re-engineered in favour of a new styling penned by Giorgetto Giugiaro, which was sleeker and sportier than that of the Golf. The Scirocco debuted at the 1973 Geneva Motor Show and went on sale  in 1974. In the summer of 1976, the Scirocco GTi entered production, while the later cult Golf GTI wasn't unveiled until the autumn of the same year. In March 1981, the second generation Scirocco was unveiled after more than half a million units had been built.