Ultimate pick-up

Volkswagen Australia’s most expensive and most powerful Amarok dual-cab pick-up yet, the $71,990 TDI580 Ultimate, undercuts two of its key rivals in price while also beating them in the power and torque stakes.

Available on restricted supply, the TDI580 Ultimate is $3500 dearer than its TDI550 predecessor but cheaper than the $74,990 Ford Ranger Raptor and $79,415 Mercedes-benz X350d Power that punch out 157kw-500nm and 190kw-550nm respectively.

The Ultimate ups its performance ante with a revised 3.0-litre turbocharged V6 diesel engine, dubbed TDI580, that pumps out 190kw of power from 3250 to 4500rpm and 580Nm of torque from 1400 to 3000rpm – an improvement of 25kw30nm over the TDI550.

The TDI580 can increase its maximum power to 200kw, +10kw, from 3500 to 4000rpm via an overboost function that is fully activated in third and fourth gear when the accelerator is depressed by 70 percent or more.

It is available for up to 10 seconds between 50 and 120kmh, while peak torque stretches to 3250rpm.

To achieve these higher outputs, new pistons and injectors have been fitted to the turbo-diesel unit, while its Engine Control Unit has been retuned.

As a result, the Ultimate can now sprint from standstill to 100kmh in 7.3 seconds – 0.6s quicker than before – while the Ranger Raptor and X350d Power take 10.5s and 7.5s respectively to reach triple digits. The Ultimate’s claimed fuel consumption on the combined cycle test drops from 9.0 litres per 100 kilometres with the Euro5-compliant TDI550 to 8.9L-100km with the Euro6-standard TDI580, while its tested carbon dioxide emissions are now two grams per kilometre lower, at 234g/km.

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Australia director Carlos Santos said supply of the new model would be limited this year.

“Lots of dealers have already sold most of their allocation for the first couple of months,” he said.

“We were going to get 400 units, but we’re going to get less now because of shipping delays out of Germany. That’s slowed our number down. So, I’m a bit nervous about not getting enough... I think it’ll be around threesomething. It’s hard to tell. It’s all about timing.

“Hopefully we can get them here, because I think that we’ll sell most of them. When you first launch it, that’s when all the people flock to the top end.”

As reported, TDI550 variants account for 70 percent of Amarok sales in Australia, with four-cylinder versions commanding the remaining 30 percent.

With the addition of the TDI580 Ultimate, Mr Santos said the V6’s slice was expected to increase to more than 80 percent when supply freed up next year.

“Ultimate traditionally has been about 10 percent of V6 volume,” he said.

“If we sell 10,000 Amaroks a year, 7000 of them will be V6, so about 700.

“I’d be more than happy with that next year. I think that’s a good number. I don’t think you want to flood the market with something like that.

“I think you need to keep it, not exclusive, but certainly you don’t want to go too hard.

“It’s better to protect it, have it at the right price without an oversupply, because I think it’s pretty special.

“There’s not much like it in market.”

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