Volkswagen Unveils Tristar Truck Concept in Hannover

10 years, 2 months ago - 26 September 2014, Autoblog

Pickups may not be the first type of vehicle you associate with Volkswagen, but the German automaker does make a handful. There's the Amarok we recently drove in the UK and the new Saveiro recently revealed in Brazil. And at the International Commercial Vehicle show in Hannover, Germany, VW is presenting the pickup concept you see here.

Based on its T-series vans, the Tristar concept is being shown on the 30th anniversary of the original Syncro – the most rough-and-tumble, jack-of-all-trades version of the T2 van. It bears what will likely be the design of its next-generation commercial vehicles, but with a short pickup bed behind its extended cab, all packed into a short wheelbase. That pickup bed, incidentally, is split into two parts, with a watertight compartment under the load floor.

Inside you'll find a 20-inch foldout tabletop tablet and even an onboard espresso machine packed into a clean, simple and flexible cabin space designed to suit professionals and surfers alike. It's all motivated by a 2.0-liter TDI inline four with 200 horsepower and 332 pound-feet of torque driven through a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox to all four wheels. 0-100 is quoted at 10 seconds flat, with top speed pegged at 185 km/h.