Coincidence? Spy shot debut for new Volkswagen Amarok

Seen only in sketch form until now, the all-new second generation Volkswagen Amarok has made its first real-life appearance via a series of online spy images.

Captured towards the end of Wednesday afternoon undergoing testing in the US by MotorAuthority, the uncovering of the Amarok comes months after the spotting of the all-new Ford Ranger, and hours before the Blue Oval’s official teaser video of the newcomer earlier this today.

As is well known by now, the Amarok will be based on the same T6.2 platform as the Ranger and next-generation Everest, with production moving from General Pacheco in Argentina to Ford’s Silverton plant outside Pretoria following the Blue Oval’s record R15.8-billion investment into the facility in February.

Aside from the sharing the Ranger and Everest’s platform, the Amarok will reportedly drop not only the current 190kW/580Nm 3.0 TDI V6 engine for Ford’s 186kW/597Nm 3.0 Powerstroke V6 recently axed in the F-150, but potentially also the single and bi-turbo 2.0-litre oil-burners for the Ranger’s Panther mills of similar displacement and forced assistance.

Despite the heavy layers of black-and-white masking, the Amarok, which the publication reports was spotted outside Ford’s Dearborn Plant in Michigan in spite of not being sold in the US, appears noticeably different from the Ranger in the look of the headlights and no creases on the bonnet.

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This falls in-line with comments made last year by Wolfsburg’s Commercial Vehicles Head of Design, Albert-Johann Kirzinger, who told now defunct Australian online platform, caradvice.com.au, “we know what our Amarok means to our customers and fans in Australia. And that’s the reason why we are really working hard to have a 100% Volkswagen, a true Volkswagen and not only a rebadged Ford. I want you to rest assured that this Amarok will be a real beast”.

In addition to the standard Amarok, an off-road focused R model, along the lines of the Ranger Raptor, has also been mulled – reportedly with 221 kW – though it remains unknown as to whether it will use the mentioned Powerstroke unit or one of the twin-turbocharged EcoBoost V6 petrol engines rumoured for the US market Ranger Raptor.

Likely to garner further spy shot attention over the coming weeks and months, the Amarok is only anticipated to debut next year with production commencing soon after.