Volkswagen and Walkinshaw are taking their partnership off-road.
Having teased a tougher, Australian-developed take on its ageing dual-cab ute earlier in 2021, Volkswagen has detailed the Amarok W580X ahead of its launch in April or May 2022.
It’ll be priced at $77,390 before on-road costs, undercutting the existing Amarok W580S by $4100. The existing W580 will be cut from the range.
A snorkel will be a $1390 option, and Volkswagen will offer a Luxury Package (Vienna leather trim, 14-way heated and powered front seats, factory navigation) for $4690.
Where the 580S is meant to be the “grand touring” ute, the 580X is aimed at going further off the beaten path.
It rides on 18-inch forged alloy wheels (smaller than the units on the 580S, to allow for chunkier tyres) wrapped in Pirelli Scorpion AT Plus rubber.
There’s a breather kit fitted to the differentials, and the underbody is protected by German-made Seikel bash plates measuring 8mm thick on the rear differential, and 5mm thick on the transfer case and transmission. Rock sliders run along the side of the car.
Like the W580S, there’s a suspension lift and a set of twin-tube dampers with with a 35mm internal bore, up 3mm on the stock items, and a thicker damper shaft.
The dampers (which are finished in blue here) have a different tune to the units in the road-oriented W580 to offer more compliance over rough terrain.
The W580X will be powered by the top-spec version of the Amarok’s 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel developing 200kW (up 10kW) and 580Nm, mated as standard to an eight-speed automatic transmission and full-time all-wheel drive system.
Having built just over 1000 cars with Walkinshaw in 2020, Volkswagen Australia is expecting that number to rise to around 1500 in 2022.
It’s also looking into ways the partnership can continue when the new Amarok arrives early in 2023.
