SAN FRANCISCO — As corporate entities go, the Volkswagen Group is known for carrying out its affairs with a certain deliberation — of setting goals, conducting extensive research and delivering on its objectives.

Take two examples from the group’s recent history: the Bugatti Veyron and the VW XL1. When details of the projects were released, they sounded slightly preposterous, but when the cars went into production they comfortably met their original targets, establishing records for, respectively, performance and fuel efficiency.

One might surmise, then, that when Volkswagen ships a European-market 2013 Scirocco R to the West Coast and hands it over to representatives of the press, it is not merely on a lark. Rather, it seems reasonable to conclude that VW is attempting to gauge, and perhaps to stir up, Americans’ interest in a high-performance front-wheel-drive hatchback aimed squarely at driving enthusiasts.

It is not the first time a Scirocco has visited American shores: VW offered the first-generation model in the United States starting in 1975. A small front-engine, front-drive coupe, its wedge-shape body was conceived by Giorgetto Giugiaro, the Italian designer behind the Lotus Esprit and the DeLorean DMC-12, among others. A second-generation car with a slightly softer-edged body followed for 1982. The Scirocco’s American run ended in 1988.