V
OLKSWAGEN has
let slip that a Toyota
Fortuner-rivalling,
seven-seat SUV based
on the Amarok is
definitely on the carmaker’s
development table.
Under intense scrutiny
over why Volkswagen
Commercial chose not to
add head-protecting rear
side curtain airbags as part
of a major makeover for the
Amarok ute due in Australia
late this year, a spokesman
told4X4 Australiathat they
would need to be engineered
in for the next generation
“for the seven-seat”.
“It [rear-curtain airbags] is
under consideration for this
generation,” the spokesman
said. Asked if the head-protecting rear airbags would
definitely be part of the
second-generation Amarok
due around 2019, he said:
“We will have to have it for
this [Amarok] and for the
seven-seat.”
It’s the closest we have
come to confirmation that
Volkswagen is considering
the niche seven-seat off-
roader as part of its future
product development. It
won’t need to be a big-volume
seller for the commercial
division of VW, either, with
Amarok designer Albert-
Johann Kirzinger indicating
that an Amarok-based SUV
would only need to attract
a small number of sales –
about 1000 a year – to make
it viable.“When we look at a niche
in the commercial vehicles,
we’re looking at numbers
that are lower than one per
cent [of total sales],” he said.
Adding weight to the
seven-seat Amarok’s
development is a shift to
a 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel
engine for the ute, which
will help to move the
heavier kerb mass of a
wagon-based Amarok via a
more versatile spread
of torque than the current
twin-turbo 2.0-litre engine.
Australia is the second-
largest market for the
Amarok outside South
America, with VW keen to
maintain a foothold here
even as mining companies
step up their safety standardsto mandate side curtain
airbags on all vehicles used
on worksites. The Amarok
currently wears a top five-
star crash rating in Australia- it was the first vehicle
sold here to gain the top
score without side curtain
airbags. Instead, it relies on
a specially engineered safety
cell to protect rear-seat
passengers in the event of a
side-on collision.
However, the seven-seat
Amarok’s niche future may
be over even before it starts,
with the carmaker –
struggling in the wake of the
emissions scandal –
reportedly looking to cull up
to 40 models from its product
line-up as part of cost-saving
measures.
VOLKSWAGEN HINTS AT
SEVEN-SEAT WAGON
AMAROK-BASED WAGON A POSSIBILITY IN VW’S FUTURE.
WORDS BARRY PARK CGI BRENDON WISE
4cast
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