Volkswagen said its new Amarok pickup will be clearly different in design from the next Ford Ranger pickup it will be based on.
VW's commercial vehicles division has released a sketch of the new pickup, which it will launch next year.
The design hints at a beefy, off-road performance version in line with the Raptor top-spec model of the current Ford Ranger.
The Amarok will be developed and built by Ford as part of a wider agreement between the two companies.
"It's not going to be just a fantastic pickup. It's going to be a genuine Volkswagen too -- with clear DNA in both technology and design," VW Commercial Vehicles CEO Carsten Intra said during the unit's annual media conference on March 25.
The pickup will be "exactly what our customers would want," Intra said.
Ford said in January that it will build the Amarok at its plant in Silvertown, South Africa, where it is investing $686 million to raise annual production capacity to 200,0…