Volkswagen shows tough Amarok-based SUV

Oh what might have been! What you’re looking at here is an official render of a Volkswagen Amarok-based SUV, shared by the company’s commercial design director on LinkedIn.

The image gives life to something lots of people have been asking: would Volkswagen build its own version of the Ford Everest given the two brands joined forces to co-develop Ranger and Amarok?

Spinning its own ute-based SUV out of the deal would seem to make sense for Volkswagen — and would likely sell in big numbers in Australia — but the company has long maintained an SUV version of the Amarok isn’t going to happen.

4

““[A rugged wagon-body vehicle] was not a scope of the previous [commercial vehicle partnership] negotiations [with Ford], so it was really what we were telling them we are not interested in [that style of vehicle]," said Petr Sulc, a senior member of VW’s global product management team, at the Amarok’s international launch.

Other Volkswagen execs have told Wheels that between Amarok and the more road-biased Touareg SUV, they had both based covered already.

This new render, however, shows Volkswagen was at least exploring the concept of adding a rugged, off-road family 4X4 to its range.

4

Shared to LinkedIn by the head of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles design Albert Kirzinger, the Amarok-based SUV sports a high-riding wagon bodystyle with chunky all-terrain tyres and a roof rack. We reckon it looks great.

“Exploring design ideas for the Amarok pickup truck!,” said Kirzinger in his post. “Our research phase back in the day took us on an off-road journey, and here’s a sneak peek with a rendering featuring a fully closed pickup bed. Ready for rugged adventures!”.

Kirzinger credited VW designer Simon T. Gorski with creating the concept, which looks more like a ute-based SUV than modified Amarok to our eyes.

The roofline continues unbroken, for example, and the rear doors are integrated into the body and extend into the wheel arches. An Amarok’s rear doors end before the rear wheels to allow the fitment of different trays/tubs.

4

It’s unlikely the concept will ever make production, of course, but it’s cool to gain an insight into the different ideas that are generated by VW’s design team.

We wouldn’t write it off as pure fantasy, either. As Jez discovered at the Amarok’s launch in South Africa, there is a chance an Amarok-SUV could make production… if it’s powered by electricity rather than diesel.