Images of the all-new Volkswagen Amarok pickup truck leaked online Tuesday morning, nearly two weeks ahead of the vehicle’s official debut. Looking much like Volkswagen’s Concept Pickup shown over a year ago, the production model ditches the Ridgeline-like integrated body in favour of conventional body-on-frame construction with separate cab and box sections.
Power comes from a 2.0-litre common rail injection diesel motor, delivering 120 kW and 400 N.m of torque. A more economical version rated at 90 kW and 339 N.m will be added to the lineup a few months after launch. Customers will be able to choose between all-wheel-drive or rear-wheel-drive layouts. In the case of AWD, power is split 40-to-60 in favour of the rear wheels.
Production is expected to start later this year in Pacheco, Argentina, and the truck will be sold in South America, South Africa, Australia, as well as in some European countries. There are no known plans at this time for North American sales. That said, we can’t help but think a reasonably priced, fuel-efficient ‘pickup’ could do well in the United States at the moment.
Volkswagen is planning to build about 90 000 units annually.
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