Volkswagen Amarok will be Official Support Vehicle for Dakar Rally

16.11.2008 / Hannover-Cairo / Volkswagen Nutzfahrzeuge (Commercial Vehicles) is building some of the best, if not THE best, mini-vans worldwide. And although the Multivan and Caddy Life are not very popular and immensely under-estimated in the Middle East and North Africa region, both the Multivan and the Caddy Life in all their different versions proved to be the bench-mark in their categories within large parts of Europe, especially in Germany.

Now, a new pick-up model will join the successful Multivan and Caddy Life among the VW Nutzfahrzeuge product range: The VW Amarok.

It is durable, robust and can tackle any road, no matter how tricky: the Volkswagen Amarok will have to prove those claims from January 2010 during the world’s toughest rally. Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is the “Official Supplier” to the Dakar Rally and a partner to the organiser, the Amaury Sport Organisation (A.S.O.). The new pickup from Volkswagen will be the Support Vehicle for the rally. The organiser is to use 20 Amarok, with a further 15 to be used as press and shuttle vehicles.

From 1st to 17th January 2010, the Dakar Rally will also see four teams from Volkswagen Motorsport as well as many other teams travelling 9,000 km through Argentina and Chile. The rally starts and finishes in Buenos Aires.

The Amarok will undergo an endurance test during the Dakar Rally, because it will have to handle all the challenges of the demanding stages: as the organiser’s vehicle to reconnoitre the rally stages, as a press vehicle and as a shuttle for the Volkswagen Motorsport team.

Four of the Volkswagen Amarok from the A.S.O. fleet will get additional off-road conversions for the trip, and four Panamericana multivans will also be used.

“We are pleased to be able to use the Volkswagen Amarok as our Support Vehicle, because the Dakar Rally demands the highest levels of technical perfection, reliability and endurance – from our Race Touareg as much as from the support vehicles. The Amarok is exactly the right vehicle for our team”, explains Kris Nissen, Volkswagen Motorsport Director.

“The Volkswagen Amarok is Volkswagen’s answer to the pickup and on the Dakar Rally – one of the last great adventures for mankind – it will have the chance to show what it’s made of and to demonstrate its flexibility and durability”, adds Stephan Schaller, CEO of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles.

“Moreover, the Volkswagen Amarok is built in Argentina and South America is one of the most important markets for this product, so taking part in the 2010 Dakar Rally was an absolute must for us”, stresses Schaller.

The Volkswagen Amarok will be seen at the Dakar Rally in Argentina for the first time and will then be launched initially in South American markets, followed by Europe.

And since pick-ups and SUVs are very popular in some Middle Eastern markets, such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, it is quite possible that the Amarok could become very popular in this region if promoted in a proper way.

MS