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Volkswagen Amarok 2021: Walkinshaw’s grand touring W-Series rolls off the production line

 

While large-scale, top-to-bottom car manufacturing may be dead in Australia the latest Volkswagen Amarok project out of Walkinshaw’s factory in Melbourne has shown the spirit of locally produced vehicles is still very much alive.


Volkswagen confirmed today that the first batch of W-Series Amarok utes have rolled off Walkinshaw’s production line in Clayton, Melbourne.

A team of 25 employees have been tasked with remanufacturing a total of 48 of the special edition utes that puts a grand touring spin on the offroader with a whole suite of performance and styling upgrades.

Volkswagen Amarok W580 2021
The first Volkswagen Amarok W-Series utes have just rolled off the production line in Melbourne

Along with being remanufactured here in Australia, Walkinshaw is sourcing the parts for the W-Series Amarok from both local and international suppliers as the outlet has done previously with the Ram 1500 ute.

Walkinshaw has put the Amarok W-Series though 20,000 hours of extensive testing with Joel Stoddart, the group’s managing director, expressing his admiration for its performance during the process.

“The W-Series Amarok has been designed to offer driving dynamics and cornering ability rarely experienced in a  dual-cab ute,” he said.

“Throughout  our  track  and  open-road  testing,  the  Amarok V6 proved itself time and again as a tough and potent base car; while the modifications we’ve made to our version of the car have only enhanced it.”

Volkswagen Amarok W580 2021 assembly line
The Amarok W580 and W580S will use locally sourced parts in its construction

Volkswagen is developing two versions of the W-Series Amarok, but all available models have currently been spoken for.

Opening the range at $71,990 (before on-road costs) is the Amarok W580 has been modified with exclusive ‘Clayton’ 20-inch alloys, re-tuned suspension with twin-tube shocks, LED fog lights and flared wheel arches.

The top-spec Amarok W580S gains extra goodies such as Vienna leather seats with 14-way adjustability and a heated function for the front row, a twin-tube exhaust and a five-piece tub liner for the cost of $79,990 (before on-roads).

2021 Amarok W580 Track
Just 48 units of the W-Series Amarok will be made at Walkinshaw’s factory in Melbourne

Some might be disappointed to hear there has been no added grunt to the W-Series but with 190kW of power – and 200kW on overboost – plus 580Nm of torque from its turbodiesel V6, the Amarok is already the most powerful ute in its class.

If you aren’t lucky enough to score a W-Series ute, the top-spec Amarok Aventura TDI580 packs many of the same features as the Walkinshaw versions for the slightly lower price of $72,490 before on roads.

Volkswagen Amarok 2021: prices in Australia

All prices listed are before on-road costs.

  • Amarok TDI400 Core dual-cab manual: $44,590
  • Amarok TDI420 Core dual-cab automatic: $47,590
  • Amarok TDI500 V6 Core dual-cab manual: $49,590
  • Amarok TDI550 V6 Core dual-cab automatic: $52,590
  • Amarok TDI550 V6 Sportline dual-cab automatic: $56,590
  • Amarok TDI580 V6 Highline dual-cab automatic: $61,990
  • Amarok TDI580 V6 Aventura dual-cab automatic: $72,490
  • Amarok TDI580 V6 W580 dual-cab automatic: $71,990
  • Amarok TDI580 V6 W580S dual-cab automatic: $79,990