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Walkin’ the walk with new Amarok W600

Volkswagen and Walkinshaw channel HSV Maloo with corner-carving Amarok W600

27 Jan 2026

VOLKSWAGEN has revisited its collaboration with Walkinshaw with an incoming top-of-the-range Amarok W600 to follow up the previous-generation W580 as a dynamically enhanced sealed road ‘corner carver'. 
 
No word yet on whether this will be joined by a more off-road oriented W600X – mirroring the W580X that arrived late in the life of the previous Amarok – Volkswagen’s platform-sharing agreement with Ford could result in tense conversations about cutting the Ranger Raptor’s grass. 
 
The Amarok W600 is based on the V6 turbo-diesel version of VW’s mid-spec Amarok Style ($73,740 before on-road costs) with a few bits apparently borrowed from the flagship Aventura ($82,990 + ORC) and is due in the third quarter of this year. 
 
Pricing has not yet been disclosed but given the W580 carried at least a $10,000 premium over its donor vehicle, the W600 could be close to a six-figure proposition once on-road costs are factored in. 
 
The majority of tweaked “hero” one-tonners from other brands have generally gone the off-road route, accessorising with big, chunky rubber, raised ride heights, rock sliders, bull bars and a myriad other ruggedising components. 
 
But the W600 again targets a niche in the market for something channelling the much-loved HSV Maloo ute of decades past – a quick and imposing road vehicle designed for driver engagement and tidy dynamics above all else. 
 
Like its predecessor, the W600 is remanufactured for Volkswagen Australia by highly regarded automotive engineering outfit Walkinshaw and, as the name suggests, cranks out the same 184kW/600Nm as the regular Amarok's 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel engine, sharing its full-time four-wheel-drive system and 10-speed automatic transmission.  
 
Adding impetus to VW Australia’s assertion that the W600 will be the best-handling ute in its category (on-road) is a range of modifications to numerous dynamic components. 
 
For example, the rear suspension is assisted by a specially designed, stiffer 22mm sway bar for flatter corning and more neutral drive feel, presumably limiting understeer.  
 
A stock front sway bar is retained to help achieve the above. 
 
Further, standard Amarok springs are damped by firmer, frequency selective Koni shock absorbers valved for a more agile, car-like, feel says VW, with local testing defining suspension calibration. 
 
Although a dual outlet exhaust is fitted, no power or torque gains are claimed but the W600 may sound more “purposeful”. 
 
The model will feature an as-yet unrevealed “unique” frontal treatment but clear to see in supplied imagery are a more aggressive stance courtesy of wider wheelarch flares over unique Walkinshaw-designed 20-inch alloys which protrude 51mm further than stock Amarok wheels. 
 
Signalling the W600’s intent, it rolls on sealed-road-oriented 285/50R20 Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres more often seen on high-performance SUVs from Europe. 
 
Popularised by the HSV Maloo, the W600’s tray area is equipped with a sailplane-style sports bar lifted from the Amarok Aventura. 
 
Walkinshaw crests are applied to the front guards and a Waklinshaw badge is applied to the tailgate. 
 
Supplied images show leather seats with Walkinshaw embroidery on the headrests, suggesting interior components adapted from the Amarok Adventura. 
 
Other creature comforts include electrically retracting side steps that deploy automatically when the doors open. 
 
We’ll have more details in April when the “unique” front styling is unveiled and then, with luck, driving impressions a little further down the (race) track…

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