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AN AMERICAN ICON IS RETURNING, EXCEPT THIS TIME IT’S GERMAN AND ELECTRIC

The Scout Is Coming Back

international scout vw

The last International Scout rolled off the assembly line in Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1980. Even 40+ years later, the Scout is still revered by classic truck enthusiasts for its ruggedly boxy design, and fantastic off-road capabilities. In fact, the top-shelf Super Scout even had removable doors, roll bar and canvas top back when it was only a distant dream for even the Ford Bronco. Seeing the off-road truck and SUV segment experience a golden age here in America, it only makes sense to report that the Scout nameplate is coming back, but as our title would suggest, far from what most people would immediately assume it would be. Yes, the Scout is coming back, but it’s going to be an EV, and it’s going to be manufactured by Volkswagen.

Some owners aren’t buying it. But we’ll wait and see before we pass judgement.

The original Scout was an SUV that competed with the likes of the original Ford Bronco, and at the time there really wasn’t much competition besides the mighty Jeep CJ. The first iteration of the model was a smaller vehicle, and was powered by International-built four-cylinder engines.

As things got a little bigger in the early 70s, the brand introduced the International Scout II, a larger and more capable 4×4 similar to the K5 Chevrolet Blazer, Jeep Wagoneer, Toyota Land Cruiser, and Land Rover Series III models. Motivation was provided by AMC straight-six and V8 gasoline engines, as well as diesel engines sourced from Nissan.

Volkswagen Resurrecting Scout Name For Rugged EV

Volkswagen received the Scout trademark in 2016 as part of the acquisition of Navistar International, a holding company created as a successor to the original manufacturer of the Scout; International Harvester. This is also probably why Ford ended up calling its small rugged SUV the Bronco Sport, and not the Bronco Scout as was originally suspected.

Similar to what GM did with the Hummer, Volkswagen will return the name to market as both all-electric SUV and Pickup variants.

Volkswagen posted about the vehicle on Twitter, with silhouette sketches for the exterior design. It appears that the German brand will stay pretty close to the original profile of the offroader, featuring a similar short front end and rear C-Pillar treatment. As for the pickup truck variant, there is obviously a bed behind the cab, but the same C-Pillar shape appears, suggesting that the vehicle will likely be a hardtop instead of a convertible like the original.

If any Volkswagen executive is reading this, you’re probably going to want to offer a removable hardtop or soft-top variant if you want to compete with the Bronco and the Wrangler.

The vehicle will be used as a launching pad for the Scout nameplate, which will adorn a new lineup of electric off-road vehicles from Volkswagen. Volkswagen expects the first prototypes to be ready by next year, and production to start in 2026.

International Harvester Scout II Volkswagen AG Electric Vehicle EV Pickup Truck SUV

Written by Alex

Alex is a freelance automotive journalist hailing from the Toronto area. He considers Michigan to be a warm place.

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