Next-gen Volkswagen Amarok teased again

Monday, 21 February 2022

Lots of ground clearance and some aggressive arches are the names of the game with these new teasers.

Volkswagen has teased the next-generation Amarok ahead of a launch later this year, promising new driver assistance systems and the return of the V6 engine.

The sketches show off some a double-cab design with aggressive wheel arches, a cool sports bar stretching across the front part of the tray, and some low-profile all-terrain tyres. We’d expect the styling to be dialled back for the production version though, and those tyres to be replaced with something that would actually do well off-road.

Volkswagen says its new ute will be longer and wider than before.

The interior will also be refined, with more comfort assured on higher-end models.

“We emphasise the different, expressive front designs of our pick-up with a charismatic Amarok signature that is also found with very large letters on the cargo box at the rear and is sported very proudly by the Amarok,” says Albert-Johann Kirzinger, head of design at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles.

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The interior should be a step up as well.

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“The styling bar as a visual extension of the double cab in the cargo box once again gives the Amarok’s body dynamic, aerodynamic and very strong proportions.”

Volkswagen is using the bones of the new Ford Ranger for the new Amarok, but giving it some special spice in the form of its own turbo diesel V6 engine, carrying over from the existing model, presumably with some changes.

The German manufacturer also promises numerous driver assistance systems that are new in this segment and “will make daily driving much more comfortable for future Amarok customers.”

Being Ranger-based, the Amarok will get the same T6 platform, with VW confirming its new truck will also get a 100mm increase in overall length with a wider body compared to the current Amarok, helping increase rear legroom.

Ford will also offer a turbo diesel V6, different to Volkswagen’s offering, along with single- and twin-turbo versions of the 2.0-litre diesel four. It’s unclear as yet if VW will take Ford’s base engine offerings or use its own.

While it has been widely speculated that the electrified Ranger will be a plug-in hybrid powered by a turbocharged 2.3-litre petrol four-cylinder with a single electric motor to generate 270kW and 680Nm of torque, Ford has also teased a fully electric Ranger before, and it’s reluctance to even confirm a PHEV has us wondering if it hasn’t shifted focus to a fully electric version instead.

As for Volkswagen, its push on electrification leads us to believe there will be some degree of electrical assistance in the new Amarok. It may forgo all of Ford’s powertrain options in favour of its own units to ensure it ticks that box.