The Volkswagen Scirocco was an odd little car when it first came out.

But then, it’s always a tad unusual to see a carmaker come up with a bite-size FWD car as the sole plug to an otherwise vacant sportscar gap. The RWD Porsche 924 – then-called “Project 425” – was going to be that plug for Volkswagen in the 1970s, after the VW-Porsche 914 had ended production. Alas, the Project 425 was canceled, its plans eventually bought back by Porsche, and Volkswagen went on to plug its vacant sportscar spot with this: the Volkswagen Scirocco.

The Volkswagen Scirocco first launched in 1975 in North America, built on the same A1 platform as the Golf hatchback, Cabrio convertible, and Jetta sedan. Despite being somewhat underpowered and undersized, not to mention sharing its platform with several more useful offerings, the Scirocco was a hit, and maintains a cult following to this day.

Which brings us to today’s video, produced by the folks over at Petrolicious. In it, they pay a visit to Road & Track Senior Editor Jason Cammisa, whose personal Volkswagen Scirocco is his pride and joy – much to the amazement of many. Cammisa talks us through the birth of his passion for cars, his reasons for loving the Volkswagen Scirocco, and most importantly, what might happen to his favorite car in the future.

Cammisa’s concerns strike a chord with us, mostly because we’re motoring enthusiasts ourselves, and we’ve all felt the sting of reduced aftermarket support and parts availability at some time or another. He says: “What’s going to happen when I’m a 60-year-old, and I need a water pump for it? I hope one day this car is worth 100 grand, only so that it’s in someone’s best interest to please make me a fender — because the fenders ran out in 1999.”

One possible solution (we hope): more advanced, accessible 3D printing. Failing that, perhaps we’d all do well to get better at hammering out steel.