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• | THE 40 YEARS WAR

• | VOLKSWAGEN CORRADO SLC

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VOLKSWAGEN CORRADO SLC

VW's short-lived masterpiece

By: Michael Lamm
Photos by: Jason Vaughn

Owners call it their Pocket Porsche, their 'Bahn Burner. But you might remember it as the 140-mph VW Corrado SLC. With its sixcylinder engine, the Corrado SLC performed much like today's Subaru Impreza WRX and Volkswagen Golf R32, but it arrived 10 years before the boom.

For Corrado SLC devotees, the car succeeded gloriously and currently enjoys cult status. For Volkswagen, this pudgy but handsome Scirocco replacement sold too few copies and had to be discontinued in the U.S. after 1994 and in Canada and Europe after 1995.

>>background The Corrado initially arrived here in August 1989. The first U.S. iteration sported a supercharged four-cylinder engine. The intercooled supercharger was interesting in that it compressed air in a series of spiral chambers shaped like the inside of a nautilus shell. The opening looked like the letter "G," thus the Germans called it a "G-Lader," or G-Charger. The depth of the scrolls on the displacer measured 60 millimeters, so the original Corrado was designated "G60," in honor of its supercharger.

The G60's supercharged, 1.8-liter, single overhead-cam four cylinder delivered 158 hp at 5600 rpm and 166 lb-ft of torque at 4000 rpm- respectable numbers for the time. The belt-driven supercharger spun at roughly twice engine speed and produced 8.7 pounds of boost but used up 17.4 hp in the process. Even so, the Corrado G60 could turn 0-to-60 mph in 7.8 seconds, according to VW data, or 8.9 seconds by Road & Track's measure. (VW offered a European-market Corrado with a normally aspirated, 16-valve, 1.8-liter four cylinder as well as with the supercharged G60 engine.)

>>enter the slc Volkswagen imported the G60 to the U.S. until mid-1992, when a new 2.8-liter VR6 usurped the four-cylinder engine. At that point, the vehicle's designation changed to Corrado SLC (for Sports Luxury Coupe) and the VR6 defined the car for the rest of its production life.

The Volkswagen VR6 is basically a V-6 engine with an extremely narrow V angle, in this case 15 degrees. Conventional V-6s have 60- and 90- degree V angles. VW claims certain advantages for the VR6, notably compactness, light weight, ease of manufacture, and the ability to use a single head for both cylinder banks. The head supports two chain-driven overhead camshafts, technically giving the engine a single, not dual-overhead, cam designation.

The R in VR6, by the way, stands for Reihenmotor, which in German means "in-line engine." So it's an "in-line V"-an intentional contradiction and perhaps even a joke of sorts. Those wacky Germans! VW enthusiasts say simply that VR stands for VaRoom. Those wacky enthusiasts!

>>vr history When VW introduced this engine in the 1992 Corrado SLC, the VR6 concept was novel but not new. Chevrolet had dabbled in narrow-angle V-6s in the early 1950s, hoping to develop one to replace its venerable Stovebolt Six inline motor. Chevy's narrow-angle V-6 program ran concurrently with the development of the 1955 small-block V-8; that is, from early 1951 through mid-1954.

Chevrolet built several VR6-like variants but failed to solve one big problem: Prototype engines kept blowing head gaskets. Eventually, around the time the 1955 Chevrolet V-8 came out, work on the V-6 stopped. But GM put a narrow-V, twin-cam, fuel-injected V-6 into its 1955 LaSalle II Motorama showcar, although that engine apparently never ran.

Another early narrow-V engine could be found in the Lancia Fulvia rally coupe's 12-degree V-4 of the late 1960s. Some historians have given Lancia credit for "inventing" the common-head V engine, but that overlooks Chevrolet's earlier work. Volkswagen claims to have developed the VR6 independently. The company still makes the same engine today, of course. The 2004 version displaces 3.2 liters instead of 2.8 as in the 1992- 94 Corrado. The new motor also makes a stunning 240 hp in the R32 Golf.

>>equipment All Corrados came with lots of standard stuff. Even the earliest G60s included air conditioning, cruise control, power windows and door locks, tilt wheel, power steering, trip computer, alloy wheels, plus the usual amenities like leather-wrapped steering wheel, rear wiper/washer/defroster, power mirrors, reclining sport seats, console, and cargo cover. The rear spoiler raised automatically when the car reached 45 mph and retracted when it slowed to 12 mph. The only options offered for 1990 were a sunroof, ABS, heated seats, metallic paints, and leather seat trim.

A four-speed automatic became available for 1991, and a digital odometer, one-touch-down switches for the power windows, and an AM/FM/cassette stereo filled out the standard equipment list. The tires grew to 205/50VR-15.

The arrival of the SLC for 1992 brought standard ABS and an alarm system. Also, its fuel tank held 18.5 gallons, four more than the G60.

VW also revised the SLC's suspension system. A new steering knuckle and lower control-arm geometry resulted in increased caster, which improved drivability and cornering. Wheels were likewise upgraded from four- to five-lug bolts, so they're not interchangeable between the G60 and SLC.

Annual improvements kept coming. For 1993, VW integrated traction control into the ABS software. The dashboard and door panels took on a more rounded look, with dials instead of sliders for the climate control. Included were an oil-pressure gauge and volt meter in the center stack plus a new Panasonic CD player.

>>driving the slc The Corrado SLC's VR6 runs smoothly at idle, and its strong low-end torque lets the driver launch the car with minimal clutch slippage. In that regard, the engine feels like a big-displacement American V-8. The VR6's torque continues to build all the way up to its 6500-rpm redline. Its ultra-silky, torquey nature represented something of a revelation in sports coupes of the day.

It also allowed the Corrado SLC to outaccelerate such cars as the Porsche 944, BMW 325i, Ford Taurus SHO, and the normally aspirated Nissan 300ZX. The SLC's refined steering, MacPherson strut front suspension, semi-independent torsion-beam rear axle, and its large brakes likewise gave handling and stopping power superior to many contemporary sports cars.

In mid-1992, when the 1992 SLC replaced the G60, the Corrado's zero-to-60 mph time improved by one full second, dropping from 7.8 seconds to 6.8, according to VW figures. Top speed remained 140 mph.

>>the market speaks Despite all this, Corrado sales kept sliding, from a high of 5675 in 1990 to 2111 in 1993. In a last-ditch effort to boost sales, VW made leather upholstery standard for 1994. Also for '94, the optional four-speed automatic could tailor its shift points electronically to adapt to an individual's driving style.

But nothing helped. Sales stayed soft even despite discounts of up to $4000. In 1994, dealers were selling Corrados for less than $20,000, and even then 172 ended up as 1995 leftovers.

One of the Corrado's stronger rivals-in addition to the Mitsubishi Eclipse GS or GSX Turbo and Nissan 240SX and 300ZX-had always been the Mazda Miata. The Miata and Corrado arrived that same model year, 1990, and the Miata's base price started at $14,300 versus $19,700 for the Corrado G60. By 1994, the Miata's MSRP had risen to $17,000, but the SLC's sticker had jumped to $25,150. And while the Corrado could accommodate four people (just barely) versus two in the Miata, the Miata had the advantage of a folding top, retro styling, and an unfiltered sports car feel. The divergent fortunes of these two cars speak to the perennial saleability of affordable, fun roadsters and the limited appeal of pricey sport coupes.

After Volkswagen discontinued the Corrado, nearly everything available in and on the 1994 SLC became standard in the 1995 Volkswagen GTI VR6. And the '95 GTI VR6 sold for $19,375-just under $6000 less than the last Corrado and about $1500 more than the least expensive Miata.

So the Corrado passed into history, although today you can still find some very nice ones on the used-car market. Many have been pampered, nearly all have been modified, and the trick is to find those that have gotten the best of care and upgrades.

Did You Know?|Corrado Facts

The Corrado body was largely hand-built by Karmann of Osnabruck, Germany; the same coachbuilder that made bodies for the VW Karmann-Ghia and builds them today for the Chrysler Crossfire, among others.

The Corrado stood on a three-inch-longer wheelbase than the Volkswagen Scirocco but was 6.3 inches shorter overall.

Today's Volkswagen VR6 forms the basis for such diverse engines as the forthcoming Bugatti Veyron's 8.0-liter W-16, the W-12 in the VW Phaeton, and the 24-valve VR6 in the Porsche Cayenne and VW Touareg.

The British enthusiast magazine Car listed the Corrado as "one of the 25 cars you must drive before you die."

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