- VW created a seven-seat, body-on-frame SUV prototype based on the first generation Amarok.
- It revisited the idea with sketches of a rugged SUV derived from a second-generation pickup truck.
- VW has confirmed that a third-generation Amarok is coming and an SUV sibling is being considered.
It’s still baffling that the original Amarok never got the SUV treatment, as the pickup’s body-on-frame platform seemed begging for a Ford Everest rival. As it turns out, Volkswagen did build one behind closed doors but ultimately decided to keep it to itself. Known internally as the “Amarok Wagon”, the SUV version of the truck was left on the proverbial cutting room floor after failing to gain approval from the company’s higher-ups.
Interesting revelation made by VW Commercial Vehicles boss Stefan Mecha in an interview with Australian magazine go auto. While bases for the “closed pickup” were readily available, it never got the greenlight because the company was worried it would not sell well enough. Although internal projections showed it could make sense in Australia, a single market was not large enough to make the project viable from a scalability perspective.
Despite those obstacles, some within VW have never given up on the idea of turning the Amarok into an SUV. A few years earlier, Albert Kirzinger, head of design for Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, had taken over Linkedin To share a sketch of the second generation Amarok with a fully enclosed rear section. However, the new pickup is based on the Ranger, and the alliance between VW and Ford has never included an SUV derivative to climb the Everest of the Blue Oval.
Second generation Volkswagen Amarok-based SUV official presentation
Looking ahead, VW has already confirmed plans for a third-generation Amarok. Although Mecha acknowledged that discussions are underway about another collaboration with Ford, he said the company is keeping its options open. The current truck still has two to three years left in it, meaning its replacement isn’t likely to arrive until the end of the decade. Once again, an SUV spinoff is not completely out of the question, but no final decision has been made.
As a refresher, the German automotive group’s commercial vehicle division has already announced plans to team up with China’s SAIC to replace the original Amarok. Now 17 years old, the first-generation Workhorse is on sale in South America and will be replaced in 2027 by a new truck with Chinese underpinnings. This means that VW will continue to offer two Amarok variants to suit different regions of the world.
Even without an Amarok-based SUV, VW Group will be catering to the off-road SUV crowd with the Scout Traveller. It will enter production in 2027 with a starting price of less than $60,000 and will be offered as a pure EV with a range of about 350 miles. A range-extender version, featuring a naturally aspirated gas engine that acts as a generator, will provide a range of more than 500 miles. Both versions will be assembled at an entirely new plant in Blythewood, South Carolina.
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Source: Scout Motors
Motor1’s Opinion: VW’s reluctance to turn the Amarok into an SUV has always felt like a missed opportunity. Better late than never, perhaps the third-generation truck will get a closed-body version to take advantage of the off-road SUV boom. This should have happened years ago, but it never happened, leaving money sitting on the table.
That said, times are tough for VW Group as it is considering halving its model lineup in a bid to dramatically reduce costs. Given the company’s current financial challenges, we wouldn’t get our hopes too high for the Amarok SUV, especially since the Scout Traveler is supposed to fill that niche.
