Next-gen VW Amarok W-Series coming in early 2026

VW Commercial Vehicles Australia and Walkinshaw Automotive have confirmed a second-generation Amarok W-Series will launch next summer, with plenty of scope to up ante over its predecessor in terms of performance, capability and variants. 

Set to debut in either January or February next year, the 2026 Volkswagen Amarok W-Series will predictably don a much more aggressive design than the existing PanAmericana, sitting on enlarged wheels and tyres housed within extended wheelarches, yielding widened tracks and more than likely suspended by all-new springs and dampers.

Concrete details are thin on the ground for the time being beyond the shadowy teaser above, but Walkinshaw Automotive CEO Ryan Walkinshaw said the new model would offer more of everything halo ute-buyers yearn for – performance, capability and dynamism. 

“Walkinshaw Group once again has partnered with Volkswagen on second-generation Amarok, and the plan this time is go even further than we went before,” he said.

“The design … is now locked in … and we’ll move into testing throughout the rest of this year.

“What should you expect? Everything you’d expect from a Walkinshaw product – next-level design, performance and handling.

“The new Walkinshaw W-Series will be a car to remember.”

Neither Walkinshaw nor VW Commercial Vehicles Australia managing director Karsten Seifert was willing to shed any light on the powertrain, but a VW Group Australia spokesperson confirmed the upcoming tough truck would not feature the Ford Ranger Raptor’s 292kW/583Nm force-fed 3.0-litre V6 petrol.

Instead, it will more than likely retain the 3.0-litre turbo-diesel V6 utilised elsewhere in the Amarok range that currently outputs 184kW/600Nm and drives all four wheels via a 10-speed automatic transmission, though it’s unclear if there’ll be any sort of power upgrade.

With the next-gen W-Series announced so much earlier into the Amarok’s lifecycle than the original, Walkinshaw said there were “some opportunities” to go further with the modifications and add “a few different variants” that didn’t make it to fruition last time round.

“This time with a longer lifespan of the program, you can invest more money if you’ve got a longer period to get a return on investment.

“If it makes sense for the market, makes sense for Walkinshaw and makes sense for Volkswagen, we’re always open to delivering other variants and other great products to the customers.”

The new W-Series will be one of the first products to come out of Walkinshaw’s all-new manufacturing facility in Dandenong South, but that doesn’t rule it out from following the Premcar-developed Nissan Navara Warrior into other, global markets.

Thus far the most capable second-gen Amarok is the four-cylinder 10 Deserts Edition that’s headlined by a 40mm suspension lift (275mm ground clearance), heavy-duty underbody armour and black 17-inch alloy wheels shod with Continental all-terrain rubber.

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