THE international motoring media will be among the first to drive the new Volkswagen Amarok when it is used as the support vehicle for the 2010 Dakar Rally.
VW Commercial Vehicles has been confirmed as the official vehicle supplier to this event and will supply 35 Amarok to the Dakar Rally organiser, the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO).
The Amarok fleet will be used as support vehicles for the rally, with ASO utilising 20 vehicles and a further 15 being used as press and shuttle vehicles.
The Dakar Rally, which is the world’s toughest cross country marathon, starts on January 1 and ends on January 17 in Buenos Aires in Argentina. It covers more than 9000km of extreme desert and high dunes with deep sand driving between Argentina and Chile. Four of the 14 legs of the race will run through the Atacama desert. There will be two crossings of the Andes at an altitude of 4700m above sea level.
Volkswagen Motorsport hopes to make it two in a row after the historic win by South African Giniel de Villiers and his co-driver, Dirk von Zitzewitz, in the debut South American Dakar Rally this year. For 2010, the organisation has entered five teams which will be competing in the diesel powered Race Touareg vehicles. VW was the first manufacturer in the history of the Dakar to win with a diesel powered vehicle.
The Amarok will undergo endurance tests during the Dakar Rally as it will have to handle all the challenges of the demanding stages. Some of the vehicles in the ASO fleet will get additional off- road conversions for the rally.
“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,” said Kris Nissen, Volkswagen Motorsport director.
“The Amarok is Volkswagen’s answer to the pickup, and on the Dakar Rally it will have the chance to show what it’s made of and to demonstrate its flexibility and durability,” said Stephan Schaller, CEO of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles. “ The 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.”
The production Volkswagen Amarok will be seen at the Dakar Rally in Argentina for the first time. It will initially be launched in the South American markets followed by Europe. The market introduction in SA is planned for the third quarter of 2010.