Volkswagen Pickup Concept Revealed

Volkswagen Pickup Concept

Previews new Robust

By Clinton Deacon
September 23, 2008 12:49 AM
Filed Under: Concept Car, German, Volkswagen

At the 62nd IAA Commercial Vehicles Show which commences later this week, Volkswagen will unveil their Pickup Concept and building up to the event we can now bring you the first details and images of the model. It previews the full production model currently in development which we believe will carry the label Robust or possibly Taro. We have seen prototypes on a number of occasions but temporary body panels have withheld the final styling, this production looking concept gives us reason to believe the final model's styling will not veer far from what we see before us.

The Pickup Concept follows a beach patrol theme with its blue LED lights fitted on the roof of the vehicle and you can barely fail to see the SAR (search and rescue) stickers plastered on the side of its body. It boasts a five-foot cargo area along with a two piece tailgate that cleverly stores essential tools for the day to day operations of a beach patrol vehicle. It features a double-cab layout with a center console that has a multifunction touchscreen that controls the radio-navigation system

Volkswagen will begin production of the 1 ton truck in the fall of 2009 at its plant in Pachero Argentina with sales to begin soon after in the models key markets: South America, South Africa, Australia and Europe. There are no confirmations on when or if the pickup will make it to US shores, but surely that can't be too far round the corner.

Source: VW Commercial Vehicles via pickuptrucks

Comments

mmr66
September 23, 2008 1:09 AM
why is it a concept it will surely sell.

Paulds
September 23, 2008 1:14 AM
Looks good to me... perhaps the new look for the new Touareg generation?? No more chrome grill, please!

catchmyshadow
September 23, 2008 1:37 AM
looks cool, baywatch - the next generation

here we come :D

BabyMilo
September 23, 2008 2:39 AM
am i the only one who doesnt like it?? i think it is one of the ugliest pick ups i have seen...

pzigly
September 23, 2008 4:28 AM
im with u (its ugly), It looks just like a honda ridgeline.

LMS
September 23, 2008 8:15 AM
Can you grin and say 'ugly' at the same time without moving your lips?

That's exactly what this car is doing.

kimbo
September 23, 2008 12:30 PM
buy yourself a pair of glasses

v6s_stink
September 23, 2008 4:14 AM
I'd rather have a Tiguan and a small utility trailer. You'll likely be able to tow more behind a Tiguan than you can carry as payload in this truck. When you don't need to haul gear (probably over 95% of the time) you'll have more interior space.

designerr
September 23, 2008 6:13 AM
coolllllllllll,i love it,not very impressive design but really nice pickup.

Wickedated
September 23, 2008 6:52 AM
Thumbs down. Leave the pickup trucks to the good old USA. Hardly think this will outsell an F150. Or a Japanese competitor for that matter. Looks like a lunar rover, too much plastic. Trucks get the chrome treatment and squary looks because it's a proven design.

Bada_Bing
September 23, 2008 10:59 AM
Thats why all the American companies are in trouble then lol

davethepetrolhead
September 23, 2008 7:04 AM
Where is the handle to open the tailgate? its not on the inside so do you push/pull the VW badge in some way to open it?.

daviepops
September 23, 2008 8:01 AM
I imagine the VW badge is the opening mechanism exactly like their sedan/hatch models ... a neat innovation that I've always liked

Joe_Limon
September 23, 2008 7:32 AM
has there ever been a german pickup before?

Joe_Limon
September 23, 2008 7:36 AM
hmm... let me rephrase that, since ww2 have there ever been any german trucks?

davethepetrolhead
September 23, 2008 8:03 AM
VW used to (not sure if they still do)make a Golf based ute/pickup called Caddy now it only comes in panelvan form. There is also a Opel Corsa based ute in Sth America sold as a Chev.

AG4
September 23, 2008 8:49 AM
I guess not, The old VW Taro was a rebadged Toyota Hilux, but they did have car-based and van-based pickup like vehicles. Here's an example of a Type-2 based pickup: http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/4805/vwtype2pickupda4.jpg

Bada_Bing
September 23, 2008 10:57 AM
What are you on about there has always been pickups from germany, there is the VW transporter van/pick up 1950 onwards aircooled , The mercedes benz unimog pickup "although alittle big" but still a pick up.

afterace2
September 23, 2008 11:34 AM
pickups are not very popular in Europe (at least they weren't until some recent time, so probably that's why VW never bothered to do a proper one. But right now they are getting more and more popular here due to lower taxes on them compared to SUVs (at least in my country).

The_woo_factor
September 23, 2008 11:27 AM
A pick up truck that looks decent!

morpik
September 23, 2008 12:32 PM
it's not ugly, it's not great - it's simply totaly blank and boring. It doesn't have any DESIGN at all! it could be any brand in the world: same TATA as VW

afterace2
September 23, 2008 2:32 PM
i agree, it does not have any design at all!! It's nearly as generic as possible.

catchmyshadow
September 23, 2008 12:54 PM
the front (lights, grill, air intakes) looks a bit like the new Golf, that´s enough to identify it with VW. Form follows function here, simple as that. For a first real pick-up, VW have done a very good job.

Straiyan
September 23, 2008 2:11 PM
Lol, it's got walkie talkies too, overkill.

M.V.P.
September 23, 2008 3:08 PM
What the bloody hell it's that, have VW gone mad, why a pick up truck? i mean the sales tor this kind of cars are falling even in the US,the american manufacturers, want to reduse the truck production, and VW is making one, how stupid it's that, and it's so ugly, it looks like king kong and godzilla played football with it for a week.

MadMaTTer
September 23, 2008 11:34 PM
gotta say, i really like the front end but from the side view, it's asking for a bigger bed. and the rear is simply just-ok.

hofmeyer
September 24, 2008 5:55 AM
there's too much vw family resemblance to lure many truck buyers to this truck. the inside looks good though, nissan should study the interior design.

strike-force
September 24, 2008 1:52 PM
although here they did not say, but it will only be produced with TDI engines, unlike those gas guzzlin V8s in the states. knowing this i'd rather buy this pickup over any american coumterpart. source: http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2008/09/volkswagen-pickup-concept-revealed.html

pscs
September 24, 2008 5:21 PM
The "SAR search and rescue" decals just don't do it. Probably the worst production-made-concept-preview-car ever... this theme is so dumb!

Otherwise, the car looks great. Should sell well in many markets. Also, I hope they keep the roll hoops/bars for the actual production models. Interior doesn't look rugged enough, too many round-elements.

pscs
September 24, 2008 5:35 PM
I don't like that thick-like-a-tie speedo/rev counter. The 30 and 50 on the speedometer is so pointless. obviously half way between 20&40 is 30 and 40&60 is 50...

and what's U/MIN, shouldn't it be X100/MIN? and, smaller scales along half the rev counter is so pointless. either make it go all the way or remove it completely. VW designers I hope you're reading this.

The interior is dull! Why grey everything?

Joe_Limon
September 25, 2008 6:33 AM
I 2nd your comment. I just looked at the interior, and it is rivaling Chrysler in terms of dull/cheap looking.

smokeonit
September 25, 2008 2:38 PM
no 3rd brake light???

and a rescue vehicle with manual tranny??? good luck driving and using the radio or a cell phone or anthing else besides driving without an automatic transmission!!!

sometimes the guys at VW are not very bright... or is it that the south american market does not get an auto transmission for the robust??? a pickup without auto tranny is not worth much... any good off-road pro will tell you that...

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