Although Volkswagen’s revival of the historic Scout brand may still be years out, the company might have already given us a glance at the rough outline of future models thanks to an image initially spied by the eagle-eyed Zerin D on Twitter. For a thumbnail to make the North American region part of Volkswagen’s Capital Markets Day presentation pop, Volkswagen Group decided to use a low-res picture of some intriguingly boxy vehicles. Oh, and when I say low-res, I mean low-res — if I had a dollar for every pixel in this photo, I’d have seven cents. However, this might be our best look yet at the upcoming Scout pickup truck and SUV, so let’s dive in.
Some quick background: Volkswagen is planning to sell a line of off-road vehicles branded “Scout” just like the old Internationals of yore. It’s smart, as off-roaders are hot, and the Scout brand is cool.
Unsurprisingly, what VW’s presentation shows is a crew cab short bed pickup truck with Rivian-like proportions (the world loves crew-cabs these days). A very blunt fascia, well-defined beltline, and squared-off silhouette give it rugged vibes, and seem to track well with early teasers. One element not seen previously is the floating C-pillar treatment, a popular way for designers to hide bulk. It’s possible that the Scout pickup truck might not feature a separate cab and bed, in which case a significant C-pillar may be necessary for structural rigidity.
It’s pleasing to see round arches since wheels are round, but there’s a lot going on with the front fascia that we need to unpack. There’s a single-frame upper element completely devoid of detail yet unmistakably reminiscent of old International Harvester Scout 80 SUVs. Interestingly, there’s also a lightly-colored trim piece on the corner of the front bumper, complemented by lightly-colored sill garnish. While it’s difficult to tell if this is body-color or brightwork, it certainly doesn’t look to be unpainted black plastic.
We can see a little bit less of the SUV, which may be intentional, given the recent surge in off-road SUV popularity. The Ford Bronco is back, customers want Toyota 4Runners, so it doesn’t seem farfetched that Volkswagen Group might want to keep this SUV a bit more closely-guarded. That being said, we can still see enough of it to glean some key details.
First, there’s the unusual greenhouse arrangement. While the B-pillar on the pickup truck is black, the B-pillar on the SUV is body color and relatively prominent. It’s part of a very different greenhouse than what we’ve seen in earlier teasers, perhaps prioritizing function. Above the greenhouse sit sturdy black roof rails, perfect for lashing down the sort of go-anywhere flotsam and jetsam adventurers might carry with them.
Secondly, it looks like the SUV may have a pretty decent approach angle, owing to a short front overhang. While not nearly as blunt as the overhang in earlier teasers, it offers solid hope of proper off-road capability. Combine that with plenty of unpainted plastic on the lower fascia, and this SUV looks like it could take a proper licking off-road.
While there’s still lots to be seen regarding Volkswagen’s Scout revival, it shouldn’t be terribly long before we start seeing more. With a targeted on-sale date in 2026, it’s likely that we may see more concrete information on the incoming Scout SUV and pickup truck next year. Color me intrigued by things to come.
(Photo credits: Volkswagen Group)
Support our mission of championing car culture by becoming an Official Autopian Member.
-
Volkswagen Is Bringing Back The ‘Scout’ As An Electric Off-Roader; Here’s How A Diesel Scandal Helped The Company Get Rights To The Legendary International Harvester Nameplate
-
A Trained Designer Imagines What The International Scout Could Have Become
-
Ford Will Give Your Four-Cylinder Bronco V6 Horsepower For $850
-
This Rare 1986 Jeep Wrangler Press Kit Is Filled With Information That Never Made It To The Internet
-
I Volunteered To Fix A Jeep For Matt Farah And It Almost Spiraled Out Of Control
Got a hot tip? Send it to us here. Or check out the stories on our homepage.
First impression: easy to not like it. The proportions are way off, and it looks rather awkward.
Maybe it will get better with time. VW is usually good at making good-looking vehicles (kind of their singular strong point), but apparently not in this case.
electric car design is so lazy. “Just make some roundish blob, they will go crazy! Maybe we should start mentioning AI”
Not attractive, won’t be reasonably priced and not interested.
“Why did this fail?!” – Coming soon to a car site near you.
Sooner than you realised:
https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/volkswagen-scales-back-ev-production
This aint VWs area of expertise. Figure expensive failure or middle range failure but slapping a Scout badge on what looks like a piss poor 90s pickup is no sale
As long as they bring back the old Scout interiors from the 70’s, I’ll be in line to buy one.
Yawn.
So Volkswagen bought the name Scout. So F’n what?
The percentage of International Harvester Scout DNA in that vehicle is exactly the same percentage of Mona Lisa’s DNA in my cat.
“Reviving the legendary 4×4 offroader, the International Scout!”
Electric, four door only, hardtop only, probably $90k, will never touch even a gravel driveway.
There’s a serious opportunity here to steal the Bronco and Wrangler’s thunder, and they’re going after the new Defender? The one that everybody forgot about 43 minutes after it launched? Not the Bronco that continues to sell like hotcakes, including to serious offroading folks?
German marketing folks leak the design of a vehicle with American roots:
“I know NOTHing! I see NOTHing!”
They look like Rivians.
A few years ago, Rivian could have bought VW. Now maybe Volkswagen is planning to pick up some new model lines on the cheap.
Designing the new Scout gotta be the easiest job in the design industry.
Porsche would beg to differ.
Well, they’re basically the same company, so there you go!
Fair point. Underworked “designers” aka plagiarizers given extra roles perhaps?
All derivative design aside, I like the silhouettes that I’m seeing.
Can the “Floating Roof” design trend please finally die?
Looks like VW copied Rivian’s homework.
Beat me to it.
It sure does!! ┗(･ω･;)┛
Yeah, what were they thinking? They should’ve copied the Ford Bronco’s homework to stay truer to the original!
(yes I’m aware the original Bronco was copying the Scout, before anyone brings that up)
It also looks like they’re copying the GMC HUMMER’s homework with the grille for some reason, when the original Scout already has an iconic grille design that would work well on this…
I’ll continue to watch this truck with interest, but that interest is dwindling with each revelation.
A VW truck will have the same 10 year gestation period as the Microbus.
Sweet Bronco!
I’m not sure excited for these. If I remember these are likely to be EV only, and will end up as high dollar fashion statements and not the charming rough around the edges off-roaders they were known for. Not that they should make them as poorly as International did, but these are going to be more ID Buzz than Vanagon. More rivian and less 4runner.
I don’t see why it can’t be both, maybe not the rough around the edges part, but I am seeing it as a Land Rover type competitor just all EV. Stylish, but still quite capable and with good performance off road (though it will rarely be used there). They’ll certainly not be cheap, but nor is a 4runner these days. And truth be told, the majority of 4runners rarely see any unpaved roads these days either.
It is totally going to be a Land Rover competitor, which will not be anything other than another fancy SUV for the fashion conscious who aren’t concerned about payments. Even L663 Defenders are mostly sold as a fashion accessory over a functional tool.
I would say the 4runner is mostly in that category too though that’s my point. I know 5 people with them currently, and only one ever goes off road.
My parents have a TRD 4Runner and the salesperson started to show them the offroad drive modes, stopped, and said they wouldn’t use them. And that was 100% correct.
It’s not that they won’t be off-roaded, its that they will be premium offerings. A 4runner TRD Off-Road can had for around 45k. These are going to start well above that. My guess is something like 60 to start.
Maybe in theory, cheapest new 4runner near me starts at $49k, and there’s literally one SR5 at that price. Everything else is $50k+, going up to $60k. Yes an EV will start higher than the $50k, but all EVs are more expensive than a comparable gas equivalent still. I wouldn’t say that makes them premium necessarily, batteries are still expensive
I see it exactly how you see it – Land Rover Defender versus 4Runner. They are just going to be different buyers. I guess Im just not excited about another full luxury super expensive SUV/Truck.
Yeah. I am not excited for hardly any new cars honestly. They are all too expensive and bland. I am too cheap and like weird stuff too much for any of this stuff. The Volvo EX30, and the new Prius Prime are the only new cars I have actually considered in some time. But let’s be honest, I would still rather find myself a first gen rav4 convertible!
Yeah, most people that drive off road due it with modified 10-15 year old used trucks. The new Scout’s second or third owners might appreciate and utilize its offroad capabilities (assuming the battery holds up), but it has to sell to a first owner to use as a commuter and mall crawler first