VW solidified their bid to be the official vehicle of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics five years ago, and have spent the time since assembling a 3,000 vehicle fleet that includes some insane Volkswagen Amarok monster trucks.
Volkswagen's calling them "expedition vehicles" but, please, those tires are absurd even for deep snow. Ken Block might agree.
The official Amarok Polar website explains that three Amarok expedition rigs were built to make a 66 day trip from Moscow, across the Sredinny Range, to a remote "city" called Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. All nine members of the expedition made it, earning a Guinness World Record for longest off-road journey through a single country. Only in Russia!
Autoblog says the trucks, including the 2.0 turbo diesel, are pretty much stock besides big ass tires and some long-travel suspension. But as the revered Hammerheadfistpunch pointed out— those axles look pretty aggressive for anything a dainty little Euro diesel would have come off the factory line with.
The rest of the vehicles VAG has amassed for Sochi are more familiar varieties of Volkswagen, Audi, ŠKODA and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles.
Images: VAG, Amarok Polar