Czechowice-Dziedzice, Poland - Volkswagen is one of the few bakkie makers that hasn’t yet climbed onto the “black” bandwagon with a limited-edition, more attitudinous version of its one-ton bakkie, as have Ford with the Ranger Raptor, Toyota with the Raider Black and Isuzu with the X-Rider.
Instead it has chosen to sell the Amarok on merit rather than image, which is probably why it took so long to release the V6 TDI version that every boer from Bethlehem to Bapsfontein was begging for, and why none of the superb concepts we‘ve seen at successive editions of the Hannover commercial vehicle expo has made it into production.
But wherever there’s a pick-up there’s a pimp, and in this case it’s Polish attitude purveyor Carlex, which specialises in distinctive upmarket interiors and composite body kits, rather than engine or chassis performance upgrades, on the principle that, in a society where the need for speed is rigidly policed, it’s not about how fast you are but how good you look.
Carlex specialises in very expensive bespoke projects for wealthy individuals, but its bread and butter is in small production runs of luxuriously upgraded bakkies for the leisure market - including the Amarok.
The Amarok Amy comes with seriously aggressive replacement front mouldings, made using the latest reaction injection technology and featuring bigger air intakes, black headlight trim and a metallic grey bashplate.
The body kit also includes wheel-arch flares, all-terrain rubber on black rims, an LED light bar and a narrow rear spoiler on the top of the tailgate.
The interior trim is a lot less subtle, with combined leather and fabric trim in black with beige inserts, special seams, graphic quilting patterns and a numbered plaque on the centre console telling you which of just 500 examples, at €48 650 (R733 000) each, yours is.