Volkswagen teases all-new Amarok with Chinese genes, and it’s not for South Africa
The new Volkswagen Tukan half-tonner was not the only bakkie to hit the limelight in South America this weekend.
Hot on the heels of the Tukan reveal, the German carmaker used a popular rodeo event to reveal a lightly disguised version of its all-new Amarok one-tonner.
There is a big caveat here, as this new Amarok appears to have been created for the South American market and is unlikely to be sold in too many markets outside the region.
That means it’s unlikely to replace the Ford Ranger-based Amarok bakkie that is built exclusively in South Africa for markets such as Europe and Australia.
Interestingly, while SA’s second-generation Amarok has Ford hardware, it appears that the new South American Amarok will have Chinese genes. According to Motor1 Brazil, the new bakkie will share its DNA with China’s Maxus Interstellar X bakkie through Volkswagen’s ties with its parent company, SAIC.
This will also result in it being the most powerful Amarok ever created, with a plug-in hybrid four-wheel-drive system inherited from Maxus and delivering outputs in excess of 340kW and 800Nm – hence its model designation, ‘800 TSI’.
The bodyshell of the prototype revealed by Volkswagen seems to corroborate the reports of it sharing a bodyshell with the Maxus Interstellar X, but Volkswagen has put its own stamp on the front end, and likely the interior too, if modifications made to the Ford-based Amarok are anything to go by.