Manufacturers come up with all sorts of ways in which to test vehicles during the prototype and mule phases, but what better way to test the durability and robustness of a pick-up than in the world's toughest rally raid...which is exactly what Volkswagen is doing with the new Amarok, which is due to be released in South Africa in the third quarter of 2010 .
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has recently been confirmed as "Official Vehicle Supplier" to the 2010 Dakar Rally and will supply 35 Amaroks to Dakar organizer, the Amaury Sport Organisation (A.S.O). According to Volkswagen, A.S.O plans to use 20 vehicles as support vehicles will a further 15 will be used as shuttles and to transport members of the press. Some of the vehicles used will even have to undergo additional off-road conversions to cope with the adverse conditions experienced during the two-week event.
"The Volkswagen Amarok is Volkswagen's answer to the pickup and on the Dakar Rally - one of the last great adventures for mankind - it will have the chance to show what it's made of and to demonstrate its flexibility and durability", adds Stephan Schaller, CEO of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles.
The Dakar, which starts on 1 January 2010 and ends on 17 January in Buenos Aires, covers in excess of 9 000 km of desert stages between Argentina and Chile. Four of the race's 14 legs will run through the Atacama desert, also known as the driest region in the world, and the competitor and teams will cross the Andes twice at altitudes of 4 700 metres above sea level.
"We are pleased to be able to use the Volkswagen Amarok as our support vehicle, because the Dakar Rally demands the highest levels of technical perfection, reliability and endurance from our Race Touareg as much as from the support vehicles. The Amarok is exactly the right vehicle for our team", says Kris Nissen, director of Volkswagen Motorsport.
Volkswagen Motorsport surely hopes for another win to go back to back with the historic win by Giniel de Villiers and co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz during this year's début South American Dakar. Next year, five teams will represent Volkswagen Motorsport in diesel-powered Race Touaregs.
Built in Argentina, the Amarok will be seen for the very first time at next year's Dakar, initially to be launched in South American markets, followed by Europe at a later stage. As mentioned earlier, double-cab variants of the Amarok will have been introduced in South Africa by the third quarter of 2010, with single cab models likely to follow in 2011.
I saw a heavily disguised model with a lot of left hand drive T5's on its tail, on the road from Pta to Hartbeespoort. The parts that weren't disguised looked good. I would love to have one of these.
