Along with the new Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport Concept, the German producer is also launching a pick-up concept during this year New York Auto Show. The Atlas Tanoak pickup – with its innovative cargo system – is an ideal choice for driving across America’s expansive landscapes. Both Atlas concept cars feature extensively digitalized interiors.

Volkswagen is presenting a pickup whose technical DNA follows the modular transverse matrix (MQB) for the first time: the all-wheel drive Atlas Tanoak. The pickup is named after a species of tree that is home to the Pacific Coast and grows up to 45 metres in height. 

At a length of 5,438 mm, the Tanoak is considered a mid-size pickup in the USA. The concept car is 2,030 mm wide and 1,844 mm tall. The Atlas Tanoak has been designed as a five-seater with a dual cab. Behind the dual cab is a cargo box measuring 1,627 mm in length, 1,450 in width and 530 mm in height.

SEE ALSO:  Volkswagen ID.4 was best selling electric car in Europe in October

The cargo box has been designed to transport bikes, boards and smaller boats. Take the example of boats: there is a newly developed cargo bracket on the cargo bed, which can be released from its parked position near the rear window of the dual cab and be moved to the side walls of the cargo box. 


This produces a carrier system that can be used to transport canoes, for example, by easily and securely fastening them to fixed mounting points at the cargo bracket and on the roof of the Atlas Tanoak.

Propulsive power for the pickup comes from a 3.6-liter V6 FSI engine of the Atlas model series with an output of 280 PS. It transfers its power and a maximum torque of 350 Nm variably to the two axles via a 4MOTION all-wheel drive system and an 8-speed automatic transmission.