Walkinshaw to Become Crucial Part of Volkswagen Amarok Strategy

The second-generation Walkinshaw-tuned Volkswagen Amarok is set to become a crucial part of the ute model’s strategy, set to be a “mainstay” of the lineup, according to VW’s Australian Director of Commercial Vehicles.  

First announced in April this year, the incoming Volkswagen Amarok W-Series will launch in Australia during the second half of 2026.  

It has been three years since the final first-generation Amarok W580 rolled off the production line. Between March 2021 and November 2022, 2600 examples of the limited-run ute were produced in Australia. 

However, while the original version had a production run of less than two years, the incoming W-Series will have a much longer lifespan, according to Volkswagen Australia’s Director of Commercial Vehicles, Nathan Johnson. 

“I think at this stage we've got three years of production lined up for this particular car, so it will become a mainstay of the product range,” Mr Johnson told CarSauce at the local launch of the 2026 Transporter. 

“Although it will be in limited numbers, we're not going to overproduce this vehicle; it's obviously something special to our range, and then the customers want to have some sort of exclusivity with that, so there will be limited numbers, but it will be around for a number of years.”

The original Walkinshaw arrived close to the end of the original Amarok’s run, but the exact opposite is true for the second-generation, presenting further opportunities according to Mr Johnson. 

“With the previous Walkinshaw, we only had a smaller amount of time to work with,” said Mr Johnson.

“This time we were able to work the opposite way. We were working to an end-of-production time frame last time, this time we're working from the start of production. So it gives us much more opportunity to play with what we can do, source the right products, build products that we need to and find the right partners for an overall package that we want to release to market."

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However, while being produced in limited numbers, Mr Johnson would not confirm how many W-Series Amaroks will be produced. With no announced cap and a longer production run, this could open the door for the W-Series to form a significant part of the Amarok strategy. 

The original Walkinshaw variant accounted for around 20 per cent of Amarok sales in Australia during its life. Original sales figures were expected at around 2,000 units, but the W580 exceeded those expectations.

Last year 8,400 examples of the Amarok were sold in Australia, a fraction of the closely-related Ford Ranger (62,593) and the Toyota HiLux's (53,499) sales. The addition of the new W-Series to the lineup could help improve Amarok sales significantly.  

Full pricing and specifications for the second-generation Volkswagen Amarok W-Series are yet to be confirmed, but it is expected to receive similar upgrades to the original, which included all-terrain tyres, a unique wheel design, and aesthetic tweaks. 

No changes were made to the 3.0-litre turbocharged diesel V6 engine – mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission and four-wheel drive – which produced 200kW and 580Nm. 

Should it be paired with an unchanged diesel engine like the first generation, the new Volkswagen Amarok W-Series will have output figures of 184kW and 600Nm. 

It will also most likely attract a premium over the current-range-topping Amarok – the Aventura TDI600 – which is priced at $82,990 before on-road costs. 

Further details on the new Volkswagen Amarok W-Series are expected in “in the next three to four months,” according to Mr Johnson.