Photo: lars_o_saeltzer / Instagram
Today, everyone is thinking about building some hulking EV pickup trucks and SUVs that might please the American market and snatch a sizable chunk of the battery-powered profits.
Including Volkswagen, through its Traton commercial vehicles division, as it turns out. Remember the International Harvester Scout off-road vehicle that was created (complete with fold-down windshield and the whole shebang) as a Jeep rival? Well, the model that lived from 1961 to 1980 and provided a compelling alternative to the Chevy K5 Blazer or Ford Bronco may soon be reborn and reinvented.
This is because, after VW Group’s commercial truck business Traton acquired Navistar in late 2021, they also snatched the rights to the Scout nameplate (though not for the International Harvester parent, which remains with Case IH) and announced the following May the impending arrival of zero-emissions pickup trucks and SUV that would successfully compete with Stellantis’ off-road assets and the likes of Ford’s modern Bronco, among others.
Naturally, this led to ample speculation about the looks of these new Scout models, also fueled by the initial teaser sketches officially presented by the German automaker. There are a lot of different decisions to be made – such as the location of a potential Scout factory in the United States, but some people seem to think that VW has already arrived at certain (CGI) conclusions.
For example, the virtual artist behind Larson Design (aka lars_o_saeltzer on social media) brings to life his CGI vision of how Volkswagen will revive the Scout nameplate. And he also speculates that rekindling the affection for this American icon might involve a little bit of MEB platform DNA or at least some sort of close relationship to the VW ID. series.
Well, the first SUV and truck of the revived nameplate are not expected until next year in prototype form and 2025 or even 2026 in series production. So, perhaps there is still time to gauge the unofficial interest, especially when both the SUV and truck look tough yet stylish enough to handle anything, from a night out at the Opera to the far depths of the owner’s most remote overlanding adventure.
This is because, after VW Group’s commercial truck business Traton acquired Navistar in late 2021, they also snatched the rights to the Scout nameplate (though not for the International Harvester parent, which remains with Case IH) and announced the following May the impending arrival of zero-emissions pickup trucks and SUV that would successfully compete with Stellantis’ off-road assets and the likes of Ford’s modern Bronco, among others.
Naturally, this led to ample speculation about the looks of these new Scout models, also fueled by the initial teaser sketches officially presented by the German automaker. There are a lot of different decisions to be made – such as the location of a potential Scout factory in the United States, but some people seem to think that VW has already arrived at certain (CGI) conclusions.
For example, the virtual artist behind Larson Design (aka lars_o_saeltzer on social media) brings to life his CGI vision of how Volkswagen will revive the Scout nameplate. And he also speculates that rekindling the affection for this American icon might involve a little bit of MEB platform DNA or at least some sort of close relationship to the VW ID. series.
Well, the first SUV and truck of the revived nameplate are not expected until next year in prototype form and 2025 or even 2026 in series production. So, perhaps there is still time to gauge the unofficial interest, especially when both the SUV and truck look tough yet stylish enough to handle anything, from a night out at the Opera to the far depths of the owner’s most remote overlanding adventure.
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