Volkswagen Amarok Walkinshaw to return, but not as an off-road warrior

Volkswagen has confirmed a fettled Walkinshaw version of its second-generation Amarok ute is in the works. Volkswagen Group Australia’s director of commercial vehicles, Ryan Davies, said details of the new Amarok Walkinshaw will be announced in early 2025. He has confirmed however it’ll be a GT-focused offering and not an off-road-focused variant. “We’ve been working with the Walkinshaw team for about a year now. We’re in the final stages of evaluating the project,” said Mr Davies. “I would say that we aim to have news on the new Amarok Walkinshaw early next year. 100s of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now. “The project that we’ve been working with them has been a GT-focused [model], like the W580S, that was a hugely successful car for the Volkswagen brand and the Amarok product. “There are lots of different off-road variants from other competitors, and we feel that the skill set at Walkinshaw, coupled with the performance of the Amarok, is really the sweet spot for the second iteration of the Walkinshaw Amarok variant.” Volkswagen just launched the off-road focused Amarok 10 Deserts Edition, which was created to celebrate the company achieving a new Guinness World Record in the ute. It also offers a range of off-road-oriented accessories, including a suspension lift kit, on certain variants. At this stage Volkswagen hasn’t confirmed what it’ll call this new Walkinshaw-tuned Amarok. The variants based on the previous-generation ute were called the W-Series, but it’s unclear if this will continue. All the previous-generation Amarok W-Series vehicles were powered by a 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel engine which produced 200kW and 580Nm. Walkinshaw also offered a performance package that upped torque to 680Nm. The second-generation Amarok is already available with a 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel engine that produces 184kW and 600Nm of torque in standard guise. In addition to Volkswagen confirming a new Amarok Walkinshaw is coming, it has indicated a higher-performance version of its four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine is “in the pipeline”. “It’s just something that could make that engine a little bit more interesting.” said Mr Davies. “So it’s not confirmed yet, but it’s something we’re working on in the background.” In its standard form, the turbocharged 2.3-litre four-cylinder petrol engine in the Amarok produces 222kW and 452Nm. It’s currently only available in the range-topping Aventura trim level. When asked whether this higher-performance four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine could power the new Amarok Walkinshaw, Mr Davies said it “might do, but we’ll see how we go”. While the previous-generation Amarok was on a unique platform, the current model is based on the same platform as the top-selling Ford Ranger. Though the four-cylinder and V6 diesels also power the Ford, Volkswagen currently has exclusivity in offering the turbo-petrol engine in Australia, as the Amarok is sourced from South Africa not Thailand. Walkinshaw has already fettled with the Ranger ute, creating a limited-edition off-road-oriented model. Only 25 examples of the WAU Ford Ranger are being built. This forthcoming new Amarok Walkinshaw is the latest in a long line of utes to undergo tuning by the local firm. Examples include the Isuzu D-Max Blade, and Mitsubishi Triton Xtreme. It also completes right-hand conversions of the Chevrolet Silverado, Ram 1500, and Toyota Tundra. MORE: Everything Volkswagen Amarok