Volkswagen began work on the car during the early 1970s as the replacement for the aging Karmann Ghia coupe, and designated it the Typ 53 internally. 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.   Launched six months before the Golf, in order to resolve any teething troubles before production of the high volume hatchback started, the Scirocco went on sale in Europe in 1974 and in North America in 1975. Type 1 models featured a range of four-cylinder engines with displacements from 1.1 to 1.6 litres, with a 1.7 also offered in North America, all featuring a single-overhead camshaft and two valves per cylinder. Rare lower model (L and S trims) European market Scirocco with rectangular headlights The design of the vehicle combined with the lack of D.O.T.-approved rectangular headlights, made it necessary to have four round headlights, two for low beam use, and all four for high beam use for all the cars imported to the US. Many European owners of Scirocco with smaller engines replaced the two rectangular headlights with four round headlights to eliminate the differentiation between smaller and less powerful engines and larger and more powerful ones. However, the European "TS" version, for which maximum power was listed as 85 PS (63 kW; 84 hp), was easily distinguishable from the less powerful "L" and "S" (50 and 70 PS) versions which came with just two rectangular headlights.An automatic transmission option was added in January 1975.Automatic transmission-equipped Sciroccos were generally rare outside North America.