Six-wheel Volkswagen V6 Amarok coming

Australians in search of a tow vehicle sufficiently robust and legal to haul one of the new crop of super-sized 4500kg ATM class caravans may currently be looking at a GVM upgrade for their Toyota Landcruisers or eyeing off the current crop of 4.5-7 tonne capable US pick-up trucks, but there could soon be a third way: your VW commercial dealer.

Queensland’s Austral Volkswagen displayed a mock-up at this year’s Queensland Caravan Supershow of a new 6-wheel conversion for the current model 3.0-litre Amarok V6 Turbo diesel that will bump the vehicle’s current 3500kg braked tow rating to 4500kg when it becomes available in a month or so.

Priced from $79,000 drive away and available with trays from 2.4-2.6 metres in length, the six-paw Amarok will enter the market at not much more than half of the current heavy hauling alternatives.

The prototype with four-wheel drive and a lazy axle is currently being built by multi-axle specialists Six Wheel Conversions in Toowoomba, Queensland, a company with many years’ experiences in modifying commercial vehicles to this spec.

However, where the Amarok 6-wheeler will differ from similar Ford Rangers and Isuzus that the company has modified, is that the conversion is expected to be offered off the showroom as a turn-key new vehicle through some VW dealers.

When it comes to market in about two months’ time, it will also be the most powerful six-wheeler of its type and the only one to boast disc brakes on all six wheels.

While the V6 Amarok’s current peak power output of 180kW/550Nm delivered by its over-boost function via its eight-speed auto doesn’t stack up as well against its big six cylinder and V8 diesel rivals from the US,  the new 190kW-plus/580NM Amarok V6 powered by the latest VW Group Audi Q7 3.0 litre V6 turbodiesel that is due to come to market here in September, should deliver enough grunt to get the job done.

Austal VW Commercial Vehicle Manager Talha Hussein said that a number of details of the new 6X4 Amarok were still to be finalised, but he said the demand is there to support the business case of the project.

“We have already had a number of firm enquiries, but I’m loathe to take anyone’s money until the prototype is completed and tested,” he said.

“However, it’s an exciting development that will give many people much more affordable access to a tow vehicle capable of hauling the latest heavyweight caravans while retaining much greater day-to-day usability when unhitched than the larger US pick-ups can offer.”