This year’s Commercial Vehicle Show at Birmingham’s NEC, in England, will see the worldwide public debut of Volkswagen’s latest model, the Crafter. Replacing the Volkswagen LT, the Crafter will be the biggest van in the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles’ range and its European arrival, in September this year, completes the renewal of Volkswagen’s van line-up.

The Volkswagen Crafter is designed and built to meet the ever-increasing demands of modern industry. It comes with a choice of four potent five-cylinder engines, delivering 88, 109, 136 PS or 163 PS. Each offers the twin benefits of fuel efficiency and low emissions. A six-speed manual gearbox is fitted as standard, although an automated manual transmission will be optional.

The spacious cabin is ergonomically designed for comfortable and safe driving. Features include a dash-mounted gear leaver, excellent storage space and a driver’s airbag fitted as standard.

The three wheelbases, four load compartment lengths and three roof heights highlight the Crafter’s versatility, which is further enhanced by its availability as a panel van, chassis cab and double cab van. The Crafter has a maximum load capacity of 17 cubic metres, allowing the five tonne panel van to carry a weight of approximately 2,670 kg.

Visually more striking than its predecessor with strong lines, vertical clear glass headlights and robust side protection strips, the Crafter has a distinctive appearance and strong road presence. It is this strength and the Crafter’s ‘rock-like’ characteristics that Volkswagen has adopted as a theme for its presentation of the new van at the Commercial Vehicle Show.

‘Prepare to be rocked’ is the slogan that will greet visitors to the show and, just outside the main entrance, a team of stonemasons will sculpt the Crafter’s distinctive radiator grille out of a large rock during the two-day show. There will be five left-hand drive Crafters on the stand with a variety of wheelbases and bodies. The Crafter is due to go on sale in the UK in September when right-hand drive specifications will be available.

Although the Crafter will take centre stage, the Transporter and Caddy – including the Caddy DSG model – will also be on view, completing an impressive line-up.

The new Crafter is expected in Australia in early 2007.

2007 Volkswagen Crafter