Volkswagen Tristar Concept Is the German Pickup/Van Mashup to End All Pickup/Van Mashups

Volkswagen is an auto company after our van-loving hearts; sure, typical, everyday vans aren’t the coolest things in the world, but VW has been churning out a steady stream of awesome hauler variants—conceptual or otherwise—that really get us going. Now, the automaker has unveiled its latest van-based creation, the Volkswagen Tristar concept, at the IAA commercial-vehicle conference in Hannover, and it looks nothing like a van at all.

Compared to the camper’s dream Multitrack concept and the recently available (for Europeans only) new/old Type 2 Microbus, the Tristar has both a stronger affinity for capitalization and forays off the beaten path. The concept started life as a short-wheelbase Volkswagen Transporter van, but the rear portion of the roof has been cut away, leaving a deep but stubby pickup bed in its stead. Besides sporting an ultra-bad-ass full-size spare-tire mount, the bed also features a sealed “trunk” compartment similar to that in Honda’s now-defunct Ridgeline pickup.

The Transporter’s front end was toughened for Tristar duty, and knobby tires and plenty of black plastic body cladding complete the look. For more off-road prowess, VW fitted the truck with 4MOTION all-wheel drive and a locking rear axle and raised the suspension 1.2 inches. A 2.o-liter four-cylinder TDI diesel making 201 horsepower and 332 lb-ft of torque is mated to VW’s familiar seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, a combo that’s good for a 115-mph top speed and a zero-to-62-mph run in 10 seconds, according to VW.

We absolutely want a Tristar, and not the least because it resembles a classic Microbus pickup that spent some time in Tennessee and baked in a future oven for a while. Come to think of it, were this truck to lose its chintzy concept-car stuff (a video-conferencing flat-screen and a built-in espresso machine), we think it would make an excellent VW-made pickup for the U.S. market. It could even be built in Tennessee, alongside the Passat and Volkswagen’s upcoming three-row crossover.