2025 Volkswagen Amarok 10 Deserts Edition announced

Volkswagen Australia has proudly announced that it has achieved a Guinness world record for driving Australia’s 10 recognised deserts in a time of six days and 17 hours in a modified Amarok

Employing a team of three drivers the Amarok covered 6,421km to take in the Great Victoria, Great Sandy, Tanami, Simpson, Gibson, Little Sandy, Strzelecki, Sturt Stony, Tirari and Pedirka deserts passing through Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

They actually smashed the previous record which was closer to 14 hours and held by a motorcyclist.

The drivers, German endurance driver and multiple record holder Rainer Zietlow, his compatriot Marius Biela and Australia’s Brad Howe, drove in shifts with two up front while one of them attempted to sleep on the back seat of the VW Amarok Style V6.

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Brad Howe told us that sleeping in the car was a challenge and they wore rugby players headgear to allow them to ‘rest’ against the side of the door while driving over the rough terrain. Even then, the sleep was sketchy at best.

The drive was non-stop except for refuelling and one extended halt that occurred less than 24 hours in to the drive. This was in the early hours of the morning when the Amarok was bogged when crossing a damp Lake Poeppel in the Simpson Desert in pitch darkness.

“I woke up and looked around and when I realised where we were I told the driver to try and get to the side of the lake but it was too late,” Brad told us as we took the record-winning Amarok for a spin in Victoria’s forests.

There was no support crew with them and getting the car out was done by jacking it up, digging out under the tyres and placing boards under them, and that took three hours.

A similar incident was narrowly avoided driving through the flooded areas at the northern end of the Canning Stock Route but luckily, they were able to reverse out of the bog and pick a firmer line to traverse it.

The Amarok used for the drive was modified for the task using accessories that many adventurous owners would be fitting to their own 4x4 vehicles. ARB suspension with BP51 shocks, underbody protection, rated recovery points front and rear, ROH wheels with Kumho m/t tyres, a Rhino roof rack, ARB lighting, and a 160-litre fuel tank from Brown Davis.

Not so common was the specifically made tyre rack on the cargo tub that was fabricated to carry spare wheels and tyres. The car only had one puncture over the length of the trip and no other mechanical faults. 1199-litres of fuel were consumed and 500ml of engine oil over the arduous journey.

ROAD GOING

The good news for Amarok buyers is that VW Australia has produced a limited run of 300 specifically equipped 10 Deserts Edition Amaroks set to go on sale early in 2025.

Built on the Amarok ‘Life’ model using the TDI500 4-cylinder bi-turbo engine and part-time, dual range 4x4 system, the 10 Desert Edition Amaroks ae fitted with bespoke 17-inch alloy wheels, raised ARB suspension, underbody protection and a soft tonneau cover. More aggressive all terrain tyres will be available as a no-cost option

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The added height of the suspension brings the ground clearance up to 275mm which VW says is more than any other car in its class, only topped by the bespoke built Ford Ranger Raptor.

The bi-turbo diesel engine of the limited-edition car gives little away to the V6 as used in the record setting Amarok. It’s 500Nm of torque is more than up to the needs of on and offroad driving, towing and hauling. VW was also quick to point out that the 4-pot is 80kg lighter than the V6 over the front axle making it more nimble and better suited for off road work.

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VW Australia hasn’t confirmed the pricing yet but says it will fall between the standard Amarok Life and the style model so we expect it to fall in at around the $65K mark when it lobs in showrooms early in 2025.

We’ve had a sneaky drive of the 10 Deserts Edition Amarok already but we can’t tell you about it just yet and we also got some wheel time in the record-setting Amarok. Check back here at beer’ O’clock next Thursday to find out how they stack up.