Volkswagen Amarok Canyon: extreme sports pick-up concept revealed

The Volkswagen Amarok Canyon concept has stormed into Geneva, showcasing the customisation potential of the German brand’s classy ute.

The Amarok Canyon concept is designed specifically for freestyle kayakers, intended to help the extreme sportsmen and women reach the most inaccessible regions of the globe.

The Amarok Canyon is 85mm taller than the production model courtesy of a 40mm body lift kit and chunky all-terrain tyres.

Adding to the Canyon’s go-anywhere ability are roof-mounted auxiliary headlights, colour-contrasting underbody protection, 35mm-wider wheel housings, and electrically deployed tread plates to help passengers step in and out.

Two carbon fibre kayaks are mounted to the cargo floor, which is specially designed with two formed cut-outs with soft padding, and mounted on a high-gloss black styling bar with securing straps. The paddles attach to the inside of the tailgate, while helmets, floatation devices and all other gear can be stowed securely in the cargo area.

The bright Baladi Orange colour scheme from the exterior continues inside to the seatbelts and decorative stitching. Additional auxiliary instruments showing the car’s climbing and tilt angles give Amarok Canyon drivers key information for extreme off-road journeys.

The Volkswagen Amarok Canyon concept is powered by a 2.0-litre diesel engine with 132kW and 400Nm of torque, available from 1500-2500rpm. A switchable 4Motion all-wheel-drive system pairs with a reduction gearbox and rear axle differential lock to ensure effective power transfer in tough conditions.

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles head of development Dr Wolfgang Schreiber says the Amarok Canyon concept uncovers the pick-up’s untapped personalisation potential.

“We are using this extreme concept to illustrate one of the many diverse uses of the Amarok,” Schreiber said.

“By tuning its design to an extreme sport, we are bringing the original DNA of the Amarok into focus.”

Volkswagen is considering a production vehicle based on the Canyon concept, which could hit showrooms as early as the end of this year.