Pulling the plug on the Scirocco last year has left a small gap in Volkswagen’s lineup that has yet to be filled by a successor.

That was to be expected, though, as poor sales and the fact that as appealing as it may have looked, the Scirocco was based on the same platform as the Golf Mk5 – and that’s a 14-year old car.

With their new modular platform, though, VW could have launched a new generation. The simple fact that the sports car segment is shrinking probably rules that out. However, in case they did, its design, which would have to conform to the rest of the range, could have borrowed more than a few cues from the Arteon four-door coupe.

The rendering posted by Luis Carlos Moreno G goes a little further by adding a panoramic roof, sports seats and some chrome trim, while keeping the wide hips and low stance of the, now discontinued, Scirocco.

As interesting as it looks, VW won’t be launching a new Scirocco for three simple reasons: a. sports cars are not popular, b. customers want more SUVs, and c. its strategy is heavily focused on electrification.

So, those looking to get their kicks behind the wheel of a hot VW will have to make do with the Golf GTI or the R – or, alternatively, wait for the hot versions of the next-gen Golf that will debut next year.