The new Corrado G60 is the key to VW's strategy. In March it will replace the Scirocco in Volkswagen's American lineup. Though it will likely compete against such supercoupes as the Honda Prelude ...

The weird but awesome VW Corrado G60 was a successor to the Scirocco, featuring a complex and troublesome supercharger known as a G-Lader.

During the car's first production run, the most powerful engine we got was the G60, a 1.8-liter, supercharged four-cylinder that had already seen life in the Golf Rallye and Passat Syncro in Europe.

The latter, called the Corrado G60, used a scroll-type supercharger to produce 158 hp and 156 lb-ft of torque, a respectable amount for the day that allowed for an estimated top speed of 140 mph.

It followed the supercharged G60 which, at 1.8 liters, made 158 horsepower at 5,600 rpm, 166-lbs ft of torque at 4,000 rpm and a sexy supercharger whine.

The only model to utilize the G60 in the United States was the Volkswagen Corrado, which relied on the supercharged 1.8-liter inline-four-cylinder engine until the celebrated VR6 engine replaced it.

Using the smaller 1.3-liter G40 engine, Volkswagen set several world records in 1985 by driving Polos at 130 mph for 24 hours straight. With the G60 1.8, the Corrado became a 140 mph car.

The VW Corrado initially came with two 1.8-liter four-cylinder engines, a naturally-aspirated and supercharged variant, the latter found in the Corrado G60 sold from 1990 to 1992.

The refinement, the performance, and—yes—the price of the quirky, low-volume Corrado are up for 1993, but the $22,210 SLC is a far better bargain than the $20,230 G60 model it replaces.

It could be had with a couple of interesting engines, including the venerable VR6 six-cylinder (RIP, it is missed) and the interesting G60 supercharged four. This one has the VR6.