Supposed to have arrived in the final quarter of the year, the Walkinshaw-tuned W600 has not been shelved for South Africa entirely.
Flagship Adventura trim grade will have a petrol variant in August. Picture: Volkswagen
Volkswagen will complete the restructuring of the Amarok range in August with the addition of a second derivative powered by the 2.3-litre Ford-sourced EcoBoost petrol engine.
Petrol-fuelled flagship
Having indirectly replaced the 2.0-litre bi-turbodiesel Panther engine with the mill once used locally in the Mustang and Focus RS, Wolfsburg’s local division said it will make the flagship Aventura model available with the same engine in said month.
Since introduction, the unit, which produces 222kW/452Nm, has only been offered in the step-down PanAmericana.
As such, it will have the same specification level as the comparative turbodiesel PanAmericana, whose 3.0-litre Lion V6 oil-burner outputs 184kW/600Nm.
Walkinshaw?
Making the announcement at the start of its four-day Amarok Aventura event in Durban this week, the brand also issued clarity on the reported final quarter arrival of the Walkinshaw variant.
Officially showcased in Australia last week, the Down Under-devised Amarok W600 received confirmation for South Africa in March as one of two incoming new derivatives.
Debuting before it is the returning Dark Label based on the Style trim level, and powered either by the mentioned turbodiesel V6 for the first time, or the single-turbo 2.0-litre Panther that punches out 125kW/405Nm.
Responding to a question about the W600’s likely arrival, Volkswagen executives said a formal date of arrival has not yet been set, and that it continues to investigate the feasibility of availing it to the South African market.
As such, the second Walkinshaw-tuned Amarok after the original W580X remains a forbidden entity for South Africa, albeit until official confirmation is made.
Petrol Aventura price?
Elsewhere, the petrol-powered Aventura is set to come with a significant price credit over the V6 turbodiesel.
At present, the 2.3 TSI PanAmericana carries a sticker of R1 099 000 versus the 3.0 TDI’s R1 190 900.
If the same equation is applied, expect the petrol Aventura to have an asking price of R1 160 300 compared to the diesel’s R1 252 200.
Worth, however, noting that the estimation is purely speculative and could be different once the petrol Aventura goes on-sale in August.
