The Coolest Official Vehicle of the Sochi Winter Olympics

Volkswagen Group is taking its role as the official vehicle partner of the 2014 Winter Olympic in Sochi, Russia, very seriously. It is supplying over 3,000 Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda and commercial vehicles to the games, but the Polar Expedition Amarok, which it built a year ago to promote the event in Russia's most remote regions, is definitely the most exciting of them.

Three trucks were built to take nine people on an expedition from Moscow some 9,942 miles eastward by road to the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky on the Kamchatka peninsula, and it earned the team a Guinness World Record for the longest off-road journey through a single country. The 66-day odyssey was the first to reach Kamchatka from Moscow by driving over the glacier-covered Sredinny Range.

The specially built Amaroks received a host of upgrades to take on the cold and complete lack of roads. The team replaced the front and rear suspension with long-travel, heavy-duty shocks and massive knobby tires to ensure traction in deep snow and ice. The body was kept stock other than cutting out the fenders to fit the wheels and tires. ​The 2.0-liter turbo diesel engine remained mostly untouched because the goal was reliability, not speed. For added safety, the interior was fitted with a roll cage, and the trucks had extra navigation equipment to make sure the team didn't get lost.

They just look way cool I wish my former VW Passat could do that kind of stuff (have had 2 in my life-- a VW 1982 and a 2007 VW Passat). I swear it both were the worst when it comes to snow...even with top of the line tires. Honestly, when I saw the VW decal and all that snow I almost spit out my coffee

:jaw drop:

Everyone wants to be a Jeep.:yup:

Cool pics! In spite of the Passat heritage, this looks like snow wheelin' at it's best, BUT I am NOT going to Sochi to partake. Love the tire-wheel and diesel combo.:thumb:

If it has the 4motion AWD system then it is probably a beast in the snow. I have owned and driven many AWD and 4WD vehicles: F150, Izuzu Trooper, Subaru Outback (various years), Nissan Marano, Volvo XV70, Infinity G35x, BMW X drivers, and of course my Jeep. Besides the Jeep, my 04 Passat with 4motion AWD (same system as the Audi Quattro) was by far superior to anything I have driven in the snow. The only time I got that thing stuck was on an unplowed road with 12+ inches of snow, and that was because I was plowing the snow with the front of the car and built up quite a pile.....and that was with OEM all season tires, would love to see what that thing could have done with good snow tires! Unfortunately, someone murdered that car by pulling infornt of my former wife while she was driving 55MPH. She never had a chance to hit the breaks. Thankfully the car did its job and she was able to unbuckle, open the door, get out, and start yelling at the ass hat that pulled in front of her....only a few bruises.

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Those are badass, I'll take 2!

Looks like a touareg with solid axles and huge tires.
We owned a Touareg for a year, VW took it back on Lemon Law issues here in CA.
It did have an awesome V8 with tons of power, when it worked.
Went through a transmission, a transfer case, several system melt-downs, electronics glitches, limp-home debacles, over and over and over.
I know they've done alot with them over the last few years but I still prefer the JEEP - in so many ways.
Not as luxurious, but my Jeep works! Huge plus! And is way more trail worthy - maybe we pushed our VW too much on trails but they said it could take it.

Anywho - these look awesome - seems like they could have added winches for better recoveries.

pastorwug said:

Looks like a touareg with solid axles and huge tires.
We owned a Touareg for a year, VW took it back on Lemon Law issues here in CA....It did have an awesome V8 with tons of power, when it worked.Went through a transmission, a transfer case, several system melt-downs, electronics glitches, limp-home debacles, over and over and over....

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The Electronics glitches and mysterious breakdowns sounds like a typical VW. Add to that the famous VW oil burning issue (I carried at least 3 quarts in my trunk at ALL times), the VW-spooky-fogged-windows in normal weather and timing chain issues on some of their models Never again man....

Alright, those actually look pretty sweet!

Not for me, I don't like them :yup: :yup:

They were smart to bring some tracked vehicles with them to carry supplies and pull them through the deep snow.

I think it's sweet for a VW.. Not my cup of tea..