In autumn 1988, Audi launched its first post-war V8 engine in a car they originally planned to call the Audi 300.
They named it simply the V8.
The D11 platform carried a 3.6L naturally aspirated V8 with 32 valves, dual overhead cams, and 250 HP at launch.
Quattro all-wheel drive as standard, combined with an automatic gearbox for the first time in an Audi quattro car with a manual version being optional which was a lot quicker.
At the time, Audi had no established presence in the luxury segment.
Mercedes and BMW had defined it for decades with the S class and 7 series.
The V8 was the car Audi used to force the argument. What nobody anticipated was what came next.
In 1990 Audi entered the same car in the DTM, the German Touring Car Championship, against BMW M3 Sport Evolutions and Mercedes 190E 2.5-16 Evo 2s. The race car used the same 3.6L V8, developed to 462 HP at 10000 RPM, with quattro all-wheel drive.
It was heavier than every competitor it raced against. Hans-Joachim Stuck won the championship in 1990. Frank Biela won it again in 1991.
A full-size luxury saloon won back-to-back DTM titles against purpose-built sports saloons.
The road car made Audi credible in the luxury segment.
This was the precursor to the Audi A8 you know today.
The MK1 Scirocco was styled by Giugiaro and launched six months before the Golf it shared its platform with.
For the MK2 in 1981, VW brought design in-house under Herbert Schäfer - Giugiaro submitted a proposal and it was rejected.
The result was a longer, lower, more aerodynamic coupe that was 10% more slippery through the air than its predecessor, assembled by Karmann in Osnabrück throughout its eleven-year production run. The range ran from a 1.3L base model all the way to the GTX 16V - which used the same 1.8L 139 HP 16-valve engine as the MK2 Golf GTI.
A coupe that shared its running gear with one of the most famous hot hatches in history, in a body that the Golf GTI never had.
Produced until 1992.
Never directly replaced really.
This Scirocco in the video is a GT.