From Taigun To Truck: Indian Students Build A Custom Volkswagen Pickup

Volkswagen’s Amarok may grab the spotlight when it comes to pickups, but it’s not the only one in the company’s lineup. In Latin America, there’s the smaller Saveiro, and now, thanks to a group of innovative students in India, there’s a new contender.

This small, rugged-looking pickup was created through Skoda Auto Volkswagen India’s Student Car Project as part of the government's “Skill India” initiative. After nine months of development, the result is a unique little truck that combines elements from various Volkswagen models.

A group of mechatronics students, with the guidance of experts from Skoda and Volkswagen, pieced together this vehicle by repurposing parts from two familiar cars—the Taigun crossover and the Virtus sedan. Since they were working on a budget, they relied on readily available components to keep costs down. That led to some creative problem-solving and compromise along the way.

However, the team could not source everything from those cars, so they turned to 3D printing to create custom parts that would fit with the existing ones. To give the truck a tougher, off-road vibe, the students added fender flares, a snorkel, plastic cladding, and raised the suspension. The vehicle also sports an LED light bar on the roof and bold body graphics, rolling on chunky tires mounted to beadlock-style wheels. One glaring design feature is the extended rear overhang.

Originally designed not for pickups, the truck's small bed appears somewhat improvised and sticks out awkwardly. In comparison, Volkswagen’s Saveiro, though also based on a car platform, is much better integrated and doesn’t suffer from the same design quirk.