- Volkswagen secretly built an Amarok SUV prototype years ago, executives recalled.
- Project stalled repeatedly because expected sales volumes didn’t justify development.
- Third-generation Amarok plans could revive SUV idea through future partnerships.
Volkswagen has spent years watching rivals cash in on rugged, ladder-frame pickup-based SUVs without offering one of its own. But behind the scenes, some Wolfsburg bosses have been pushing hard to green light just such a project, and it sounds like they haven’t given up on the idea of getting it to the showroom.
We previously reported how Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles developed a one-off seven-seat SUV based on the Amarok pickup, the body-on-frame midsize truck that’s sold in Europe, Asia, Australia and South America, but not the US. The vehicle never made it beyond the prototype stage, but it apparently still survives somewhere within Volkswagen’s internal collection, quietly reminding executives of what might have been.
Related: VW’s Performance Amarok W600 Got Everything But The Performance
The concept itself isn’t hard to understand. Take a rugged body-on-frame pickup, replace the cargo bed with an enclosed passenger cabin, add a third row, and suddenly you’ve got a rival for vehicles like the Ford Everest, Toyota’s 4Runner and Land Cruiser Prado, and Isuzu MU-X.
Why It Kept Stalling
The problem wasn’t engineering it. VW reportedly advanced the project far enough to establish its overall shape and proportions, VWCV head of design Albert Kirzinger even sharing an image of the creation on LinkedIn in 2024 years after it was nixed. The real hurdle was money. Building a dedicated SUV derivative only makes sense if enough buyers show up, and Volkswagen’s Wolfsburg chiefs couldn’t make the numbers work.
That’s especially true when a vehicle is aimed at a limited number of markets. While ladder-frame, pickup-based SUVs are hugely popular in places like Australia, Thailand, South Africa, and parts of South America, they aren’t necessarily volume sellers everywhere else. Without broader global demand, the business case kept falling apart. Now, though, the idea could be back under consideration.
“To extend the model range is a long-desired wish,” Mecha told Australia’s Go Auto. “In particular, this rugged or closed pickup, for instance, as we would call it, where you have the same platform as the pickup.”
New Amarok Under Development
Volkswagen has already confirmed that a third-generation Amarok is coming to replace the gen-two launched in 2022, and discussions are underway regarding who will help develop and build it.
One obvious route would be continuing the company’s relationship with Ford. The current Amarok shares much of its DNA with the Ranger, which already has the Everest SUV (shown below) as a close relative. Creating a VW-branded counterpart would seem like a straightforward solution, though VW must also be considering leveraging its Chinese operations – it’s already working on an all-new hybrid Amarok for South America based on Chinese tech.
For American buyers, this is mostly an interesting what-if since the current Amarok isn’t sold in the US, in large part because the chicken tax makes it too expensive to import. But given the success of body-on-frame trucks like the Ford Ranger and Toyota Tacoma in America, maybe VW would consider US production.
Regardless of whether that happens, the thought of a Volkswagen alternative to the Everest, Prado, and other rugged SUVs is intriguing. The prototype may have spent years gathering dust, but it sounds like the dream isn’t dead just yet.
