A Truck Is The Last Thing We’d Build

Audi is known for thinking outside the box, and the quirky A2 is perhaps the best example of Ingolstadt’s willingness to experiment. There was a time when you could buy a Q7 with a V12 diesel engine, while an R8 powered by a five-cylinder became a reality. At one point, there was even a one-time RS4 Avante wearing a TT body.

But while the luxury brand occasionally surprises everyone, it won’t go so far as to make trucks. In an interview with Australian magazine DriveAudi CEO Grunt Dillner dismissed the idea of ​​a workhorse outright:

‘I’d say a pickup is the last concept I can imagine being an Audi. You should never say. But right now… this is the last segment I could imagine. ‘

His predecessor saw things differently. “I can’t promise that we’ll do one, but we’re considering it,” Markus Duesman was told in 2022. In hindsight, the former Audi boss was likely referring to a wild ActiveSpare concept to be unveiled as early as 2023.

It took the form of an oddly proportioned SUV with a rear glass panel that slid over the roof to reveal a cargo bed. However, the high-riding, four-door contraption never made it into production, not that anyone realistically expected it to. Still, it was interesting on a versatile luxury vehicle.

With Dillner closing the door firmly on the pickup, we can rule out an Audi version of the Scout Terra. The newly formed Volkswagen Group brand is developing an electric truck that will also be offered with a range-extending gasoline engine. Production is slated to begin next year in Blythewood, South Carolina, and it’s safe to say the Audi equivalent isn’t happening.

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Source: Scout Motors

Take Motor 1: Audi’s reluctance is entirely understandable. However, the Nissan Navara-based Mercedes X-Class was a spectacular flop. Elsewhere, Volkswagen teamed up with Ford to use the Ranger’s platform for the second-generation Amarok. The original, all-VW Amarok still lives on in South America, but its successor will be co-developed with China’s SAIC.

All of this goes to show how difficult it is for the German automotive conglomerate to make pickups profitable, and let’s face it, a luxury Audi would be a tough sell. The Scout Terra in high-end trim should scratch the posh truck itch for VW Group loyalists.

While a Scout-based truck is off the table, Audi has hinted at the possibility of a rugged SUV, possibly related to the Scout passenger. The same Dillner recently said that we should “be in touch” for something better suited to life than the Q7 or the upcoming Q9 off the beaten path.