Volkswagen open to selling more powerful Amaroks with Walkinshaw

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Volkswagen open to selling more powerful Amaroks with Walkinshaw

Volkswagen has stated it is keeping the door open for more powerful versions of the next-gen Amarok thanks to its partnership with Australian engineering firm, Walkinshaw.

Walkinshaw has worked with Volkswagen Australia to offer local customers tweaked versions of the outgoing Amarok, badged W580.

While incredibly popular, the W580 Amarok’s powertrain remains unchanged from the standard V6 turbo-diesel models, with Walkinshaw’s expertise going mostly toward suspension tweaks.

However, Volkswagen Australia Commercial Vehicles director Ryan Davies says that there is the potential for that to change when the next-gen Amarok arrives in Australia.

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While avoiding any specifics when questioned on whether a future partnership could include allowing Walkinshaw to work its magic on the next-gen Amarok’s powertrain, Davies mentioned that a wider scope could be on the books.

“We’ve openly respected each other’s part in the relationship to say ‘what can we, and what can’t we achieve in this program together?’,” Davies said.

“What we will see in the future is we are probably going to challenge each other a bit harder on that topic and attempt to come up with bigger and better ways on how we can make the new program a success story.”

Walkinshaw has an extensive history in Australia producing more powerful versions of Holden products, both under its own name, and as Holden Special Vehicles.

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The next-gen Amarok is due in Australia in the first half of 2023, and shares its platform with the class-leading Ford Ranger.

While the final line-up is not yet confirmed, it is expected the next-gen Amarok will be available with four different engines. Three are shared with Ford – two 2.0-litre, four-cylinder units producing 125kW/405Nm and 154kW/500Nm respectively as well as a 3.0-litre V6 making 184kW/600Nm – while the fourth is a Volkswagen-specific 2.3-litre, four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine making 222kW/452Nm.

It is the V6 and petrol four-cylinder that would make the most logical choices for performance boosts from Walkinshaw.

“While I think there are many elements in the new Amarok that are a benchmark in the class, i.e. V6 diesel, 600Nm of torque, I am sure the Walkinshaw guys are going to challenge us on some of our previously uncharted territories with the new car,” Davies added.

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A partnership between Walkinshaw and Volkswagen for the next-gen Amarok is not yet officially confirmed. However, when speaking to Wheels this week, both parties made positive comments about a potential future continuation of the program, which debuted with the W580.

“Ultimately, in these kinds of programs we can’t go and tell an OEM like Volkswagen what to do with its product, because it knows it best,” Walkinshaw Automotive Group director Ryan Walkinshaw said.

“But at the same time, when it comes to these kinds of programs, there is a requirement from us to have the parameters that allow us to add value. That allows us to do them in the short timeframe and for low cost that we are able to do them.”

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