Volkswagen Amarok W580S up for grabs

Aussie ute fans who may have missed out on a 2021 Volkswagen Amarok W580 will be given another chance to secure an example of the Walkinshaw-fettled 4x4 dual-cab at a special virtual auction later this month, all in the name of charity.

Raising funds for the Black Dog Institute, Volkswagen Group Australia (VGA) will auction off the original ‘#0001’-plated Amarok V6 W580S via its website from November 23-28, with all proceeds to go directly to the mental health organisation.

Despite proclaiming that all 42 units of the initial batch had sold out online within five minutes, VGA actually retained the inaugural “hot rod ute” for exactly this purpose.

“We always knew we wanted to do something special with the Amarok V6 W-Series number one, and this is definitely it,” said Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Australia director Ryan Davies.

“In what has been an extremely challenging year for all of us, we’re proud to be partnering with the Black Dog Institute and in some small way contribute to their excellent, and much-needed, work.”

No predictions have been made yet as to how much the rare ute will fetch, but it’s expected to go for much more than its retail price of $79,990 plus on-road costs.

The ute to be auctioned is dark grey and kitted out with the same visual and chassis upgrades as all other W580S models, including 20-inch ‘Clayton’ forged alloy wheels, wheel-arch flairs, front suspension lift, twin-tube shock absorbers, a series of unique decals and a tweaked front fascia.

Rolling on Pirelli Scorpion ATR rubber, the Amarok W580 and W580S were designed primarily with on-road manners in mind as opposed to the more off-road-focused W580X.

Punters hoping for a slice of the action will need to pre-register and pay a fully refundable $100 deposit before having their eBay account added to the pre-authorised bidding list.

From there they’ll be able to bid once the auction opens and receive updates as the bids roll in.

Black Dog Institute funding and partnerships director Karen Elliff said she was excited to see how the unique Amarok fared on the auction block and that the organisation was “very grateful” for VGA’s support.

“The funds will go towards continuing our research to help more people seek mental health support where needed and in providing immediate support tools for those who have identified they need help,” she said.