{"id":143647,"date":"2026-01-01T10:12:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-01T16:12:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?p=143647"},"modified":"2025-12-31T20:24:01","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T02:24:01","slug":"darkside-developments-vw-amarok-with-a-diesel-v12-first-start","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?p=143647","title":{"rendered":"Darkside Developments&#8217; VW Amarok with a Diesel V12 First Start"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?attachment_id=143653\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-143653\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"143653\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?attachment_id=143653\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/VW-Amarok-with-a-6.0L-TDI-V12-04.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1920,1080\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"VW Amarok with a 6.0L TDI V12 04\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;VW Amarok with a 6.0L TDI V12&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/VW-Amarok-with-a-6.0L-TDI-V12-04.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/VW-Amarok-with-a-6.0L-TDI-V12-04.jpg?resize=600%2C338&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"VW Amarok with a 6.0L TDI V12\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-143653\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/VW-Amarok-with-a-6.0L-TDI-V12-04.jpg?resize=600%2C338&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/VW-Amarok-with-a-6.0L-TDI-V12-04.jpg?resize=1200%2C675&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/VW-Amarok-with-a-6.0L-TDI-V12-04.jpg?resize=768%2C432&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/VW-Amarok-with-a-6.0L-TDI-V12-04.jpg?resize=1536%2C864&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/VW-Amarok-with-a-6.0L-TDI-V12-04.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.darksidedevelopments.co.uk\/\">Darkside Developments<\/a> started building a wild project in 2023. The company started with a Volkswagen Amarok that came from the factory with a 2.0 L TSI (CPPA) inline-four. Darkside Developments realized it would be a great idea to swap a 6.0 L TDI V12 sourced from an Audi Q7. The company also swapped the factory ML390 six-speed manual transmission for a Tremec T56 Magnum six-speed manual transmission using a <a href=\"https:\/\/dieselpumpuk.com\/\">Diesel Pump UK<\/a> adapter and twin-plate clutch. Since our <a href=\"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?p=105768\">previous article<\/a> Darkside Developments completed the necessary work to start the diesel V12 for the first time.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/1w8g-6tU2R0?si=G9Lf0AgFg33DGJRG\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/darksidedevelopments\/\">Darkside Developments FB page<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Darkside Developments started building a wild project in 2023. The company started with a Volkswagen Amarok that came from the factory with a 2.0 L TSI (CPPA) inline-four. Darkside Developments realized it would be a great idea to swap a 6.0 L TDI V12 sourced from an Audi Q7. The company also swapped the factory&hellip;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?p=143647\" rel=\"bookmark\">Read More &raquo;<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Darkside Developments&#8217; VW Amarok with a Diesel V12 First Start<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":143653,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"off","neve_meta_content_width":100,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1219],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-143647","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-amarok"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/VW-Amarok-with-a-6.0L-TDI-V12-04.jpg?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":105768,"url":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?p=105768","url_meta":{"origin":143647,"position":0},"title":"Darkside Developments is Swapping a 6.0L Diesel V12 into a VW Amarok","author":"swaptastic","date":"October 5, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Darkside Developments is building a wild Volkswagen Amarok at their company in the UK. The truck originally came with a 2.0 L TSI (CPPA) inline-four making 160 hp (120 kW) and 221 lb-ft (300Nm) of torque. However they are swapping that for a 6.0 L TDI V12 from an Audi\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Amarok&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Amarok","link":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?cat=1219"},"img":{"alt_text":"VW Amarok with a 6.0L TDI V12 and T56 Magnum manual transmission","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/VW-Amarok-with-a-6.0L-TDI-V12-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/VW-Amarok-with-a-6.0L-TDI-V12-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/VW-Amarok-with-a-6.0L-TDI-V12-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/VW-Amarok-with-a-6.0L-TDI-V12-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/VW-Amarok-with-a-6.0L-TDI-V12-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":146344,"url":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?p=146344","url_meta":{"origin":143647,"position":1},"title":"Darkside Developments&#8217; V12-Powered VW Amarok First Drive","author":"swaptastic","date":"March 18, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Darkside Developments is back with an update on their unique Volkswagen Amarok project. The company replaced the factory 2.0 L TSI (CPPA) inline-four for a 6.0 L TDI V12 sourced from an Audi Q7. Darkside Developments knew the factory ML390 six-speed manual transmission would not be up to the task.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Amarok&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Amarok","link":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?cat=1219"},"img":{"alt_text":"VW Amarok with a 6.0L TDI V12","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/VW-Amarok-with-a-6.0L-TDI-V12-05.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/VW-Amarok-with-a-6.0L-TDI-V12-05.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/VW-Amarok-with-a-6.0L-TDI-V12-05.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/VW-Amarok-with-a-6.0L-TDI-V12-05.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/VW-Amarok-with-a-6.0L-TDI-V12-05.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":111643,"url":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?p=111643","url_meta":{"origin":143647,"position":2},"title":"VW Amarok with a BMW Diesel Inline-Six","author":"swaptastic","date":"February 16, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Werner Appelgryn's VW Amarok originally came with a turbocharged 2.0 L TDI inline-four, manual transmission, and 4WD drivetrain. Werner wanted more power so he swapped a 3.0 L M57 turbodiesel inline-six from a BMW 330d. These typically produce 228 hp and 370 lb-ft of torque. Cars.co.za reports Werner's M57 is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Amarok&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Amarok","link":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?cat=1219"},"img":{"alt_text":"VW Amarok with a BMW M57 Diesel Inline-Six","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/VW-Amarok-with-a-BMW-M57-Diesel-Inline-Six-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/VW-Amarok-with-a-BMW-M57-Diesel-Inline-Six-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/VW-Amarok-with-a-BMW-M57-Diesel-Inline-Six-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/VW-Amarok-with-a-BMW-M57-Diesel-Inline-Six-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/VW-Amarok-with-a-BMW-M57-Diesel-Inline-Six-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":120497,"url":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?p=120497","url_meta":{"origin":143647,"position":3},"title":"VW Amarok with a Twin-Turbo Hemi V8","author":"swaptastic","date":"September 6, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Stephan Fouche's Volkswagen Amarok came from the factory with a 2.0 L TDI inline-four and six-speed manual transmission. Stephan works at Mad Dog Racing in South Africa and swapped the diesel for a twin-turbo 6.4 L Hemi V8. The motor features forged rods and pistons, Turbosmart ProGate50 external wastegates, custom\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Amarok&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Amarok","link":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?cat=1219"},"img":{"alt_text":"VW Amarok with a Twin-Turbo Hemi V8","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/VW-Amarok-with-a-Twin-Turbo-Hemi-V8-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/VW-Amarok-with-a-Twin-Turbo-Hemi-V8-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/VW-Amarok-with-a-Twin-Turbo-Hemi-V8-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/VW-Amarok-with-a-Twin-Turbo-Hemi-V8-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/VW-Amarok-with-a-Twin-Turbo-Hemi-V8-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":114330,"url":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?p=114330","url_meta":{"origin":143647,"position":4},"title":"Darkside Developments Swaps a 2.0 L TDI into their Audi TT Race Car","author":"swaptastic","date":"April 17, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Darkside Developments has raced this Audi TT (8S) with a 2.0 L TFSI (CHHC) inline-four. Since the company specializes in VW\/Audi diesel and races another diesel Audi TT, they opted to convert this TT to diesel. In they engine bay they swapped a 2.0 L TDI CUAA inline-four upgraded with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;TT&quot;","block_context":{"text":"TT","link":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?cat=304"},"img":{"alt_text":"Darkside Developments Audi TT with a TDI inline-four","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Darkside-Developments-Audi-TT-with-a-TDI-inline-four-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Darkside-Developments-Audi-TT-with-a-TDI-inline-four-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Darkside-Developments-Audi-TT-with-a-TDI-inline-four-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Darkside-Developments-Audi-TT-with-a-TDI-inline-four-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Darkside-Developments-Audi-TT-with-a-TDI-inline-four-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":147745,"url":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?p=147745","url_meta":{"origin":143647,"position":5},"title":"Darkside Developments is Swapping a 1.9 TDI into an Audi A2","author":"swaptastic","date":"April 20, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Darkside Developments purchased an Audi A2 for a lightweight track project. The car came with a 1.4 L TDI (AMF) inline-three and five-speed manual transmission. The company upgraded the inline-three with a Darkside GT1752 hybrid turbocharger, 1.9 8v TDI PD150 ARL injectors, PD150 head bolts, custom 2.5-inch stainless steel downpipe,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;A2&quot;","block_context":{"text":"A2","link":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/?cat=1341"},"img":{"alt_text":"Audi A2 with a 1.9 L TDI inline-four","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Audi-A2-with-a-1.9-L-TDI-inline-four-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C674&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Audi-A2-with-a-1.9-L-TDI-inline-four-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C674&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Audi-A2-with-a-1.9-L-TDI-inline-four-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C674&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Audi-A2-with-a-1.9-L-TDI-inline-four-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C674&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/engineswapdepot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Audi-A2-with-a-1.9-L-TDI-inline-four-01.jpg?fit=1200%2C674&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143647","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=143647"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143647\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":143655,"href":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143647\/revisions\/143655"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/143653"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=143647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=143647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/engineswapdepot.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=143647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}