The first ‘near production’ sketches of the new premium ute also reveal an exterior which is both longer and wider and will translate to more passenger space inside the cabin. Designed as a collaboration between Volkswagen teams in Europe and Australia, the new Amarok will be built in Silverton, South Africa.

Volkswagen has unveiled the first ‘near production’ sketches of the forthcoming Volkswagen Amarok ute, detailing the first whole exterior views of the new premium pick-up from Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles,

The new Amarok will be launched onto the global market later in 2022 with a whole host of new features. These include numerous driver assistance systems designed to make daily driving more comfortable for Amarok customers.

Nicknamed ‘the wolf’ internally, the significantly upgraded Amarok features a host of new development innovations – and greater ground clearance – paired with numerous convenience functions giving it even better off-road characteristics than previous iterations.

As powerful as ever, the new ute once again boasts a V6 TDI engine. Further performance figures are set to be revealed closer to the model’s official launch.

Beyond the engine bay, Volkswagen says the whole exterior of the sporty Amarok is even more defined and muscular than before and promises plenty of towing power and torque. The premium character of the comfortable interior has also been further enhanced.

The ute’s designers (consisting of a combination of talent from Germany and Australia) say that the new Amarok’s cabin comfort, connectivity and ambience will ensure that it raises the benchmark in the popular vehicle segment to a whole new level.

At the business end – the cargo bed – a Euro pallet fits between the wheel housings with loads able to be safely secured. Up above the tray, the styling bar acts as a visual extension of the double cab and helps underline the Amarok’s strong proportions from nose to taillights.

Designers say the exterior of the new Amarok has grown in length by ten centimetres to 5.35 metres and its body will also be wider than the current version. This has led to more available legroom in the second row.

The Volkswagen Amarok has been in series production since 2010, with the second generation V6 diesel version arriving in 2016. More than 815,000 examples have been sold in the past 12 years.

New Zealand market pricing and specification details for the 2022 Volkswagen Amarok will be made available in the months ahead.