Volkswagen Atlas Tanoak Photo Gallery: A VW Pickup for the Rest of Us
Volkswagen has unveiled its Atlas Tanoak pickup-truck concept, a design study based on its MQB modular vehicle platform that sits under the skin of everything from the Europe-only Polo subcompact car to our Best of 2018-winning Atlas three-row SUV.
Related: More 2018 New York Auto Show News
Volkswagen already makes a pickup truck, the mid-size Amarok, but it’s not for sale here thanks to the infamous chicken tax. The Atlas Tanoak is similarly sized to the Amarok, but for a more American reference, it’s roughly the same size as a Chevrolet Colorado (or a regular-cab F-150 with a 6.5-foot bed, since mid-size trucks seem to get bigger and bigger every year).
The Atlas Tanoak features unique design elements like a completely redesigned front fascia from the Atlas SUV, as well as new rear doors with handles integrated into the C-pillars. The rear fenders are wider, and the tailgate features a stamped Atlas logo.
The taillights wrap around the tailgate and extend into the rear fenders in an oval-shaped loop, and both the front and rear Volkswagen badges light up — because this is a concept and why not show off a little?
The interior has seating for five and uses touchscreens for all the controls because, again: concept. Don’t expect that to make it into any sort of production truck that might come here.
As for that: Volkswagen says this is a design study only but is gauging reactions to see if it should enter the truck market in the U.S. Unless the reaction is severely negative — and it seems unlikely that it would be — there will likely be a Volkswagen pickup on these shores again sooner rather than later.
Check out our full preview of the concept over on sister site PickupTrucks.com.
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