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The Volkswagen Atlas Tanoak Debut - Hinrich J. Woebcken

The Volkswagen Atlas Tanoak pickup truck concept made its world debut at the New York International Auto Show. Named after a species of tree that is native to the Pacific Coast in the U.S. (and grows up to 135 feet high in height), the Atlas Tanoak is the first pickup based on Volkswagen’s MQB or modular transverse matrix architecture. Powered by a 276-horsepower V6 FSI gasoline engine, the Atlas Tanoak uses an efficient eight-speed automatic transmission and the 4MOTION all-wheel-drive system. Although there are currently no production plans for the Atlas Tanoak, Volkswagen is keen to gauge the reactions of buyers and media, since pickup trucks are one of the biggest volume segments in the U.S. The MQB architecture is one of the most innovative and flexible technical platforms in the automotive world, spanning vehicles from the European Polo subcompact all the way up to the Atlas midsize SUV. The Atlas Tanoak concept shows that MQB can potentially stretch even further. The Tanoak concept is 214.1 inches long, some 15.8 inches longer than the Atlas, which makes it a large midsize pickup by U.S. standards. The concept vehicle is 79.9 inches wide and 72.6 inches tall, with a wheelbase of 128.3 inches, 11 inches longer than the Atlas seven-seater.