VW primes all-new Amarok

Pick-up truck, now twinned with new Ford Ranger, becomes even more capable

- GREG KABLE

The second-generation Volkswagen Amarok has been redesigned from the ground up in an engineering programme aimed at giving the popular pick-up truck greater accommodation and load-carrying ability than its 12-year-old predecessor.

Set for UK sale before the end of the year, it has been developed in partnership with Ford and as such shares its chassis, suspension and drivetrains - as well as key elements of its body, interior and electrical architecture with the new Ford Ranger.

Both trucks are based on the T6 ladder-frame chassis, a box-section steel structure conceived by Ford but modified with input from Volkswagen, according to Lars Krause, marketing boss of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles (VWCV).

He said: "The new Amarok is a much better pick-up than if Volkswagen had done it alone. The same goes for Ford: without our input, the new Ranger wouldn't be so good. The partnership has allowed us to pool our individual strengths. Beyond the business side of things, the product has benefited greatly."

With more than 830,000 Amaroks sold to date, Krause revealed that VWCV is expecting big things from the truck, which was developed in Australia, Germany, the US and South Africa.

The new Amarok will be offered in single and double-cab body styles, together with five trim levels including upmarket Pan-Americana and Aventura, which are described as being off-road and on-road in character respectively.

"We've significantly modified the design. It's now much more expressive," said Albert Kirzinger, head of design at VWCV, revealing that it will offer two different front ends, including the X-Design bumper treatment shown in earlier renderings for more highly specified models.

The Amarok gets its own uniquely styled bonnet, LED headlights (optionally with matrix properties), front wings and outer door skins.