Volkswagen Expands Its Constellation Line with a 540 hp Off-Road Tractor, a Factory 8×4 and a Biomethane Truck

Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus has updated its Constellation extra-heavy range in Brazil during 2026. The changes include a 540 hp 33.540 6×4 for sugarcane and other off-road work, the brand’s first factory-built 8×4, two new road tractors and a biomethane waste-collection truck that went on sale in October.

The company showed the family at Fenatran in São Paulo on 9-13 November, after most of the line had been announced from late August to early September.

The headline version is the Constellation 33.540 6×4, which gets the MAN-sourced D26 Ultra engine at 540 hp (397 kW), reportedly rated at 270 kgf·m, or about 2,650 Nm (1,950 lb-ft). It is paired with a ZF TraXon 12-speed automated gearbox and is rated at 91 tonnes (about 100 US tons) gross combination weight and 125 tonnes maximum combination weight, or up to 150 tonnes in special applications with the manufacturer’s approval.

The truck is built for sugarcane road trains and has a reinforced chassis, radiator guard and fifth wheel, a raised suspension with a better approach angle, and a self-levelling air-suspended cab. Volkswagen says it was validated over more than one million kilometres and uses up to 5% less fuel than the previous generation.

The new Constellation 36.320 8×4 is Volkswagen’s first 8×4 built at the factory. It debuted at the Concrete Show in São Paulo in late August with 315 hp (232 kW), about 1,200 Nm of torque and a technical gross weight of up to 36.2 tonnes.

It comes prepared for a power take-off for tippers, mixers, concrete pumps and dry-cargo bodies. Volkswagen has also reportedly added 8×4 versions of the 27.320 and 31.320, and a V-Tronic gearbox with a power take-off option on the 31.320 6×4.

On the road side, the line gains two tractors with the 12.4-litre D26 Ultra at 490 hp (360 kW): the 20.500 4×2 and the 25.500 6×2, both with the ZF TraXon gearbox. The 25.380 returns in 6×2 and 8×2 versions with a 380 hp (279 kW) D26 engine, about 1,700 Nm of torque and a V-Tronic automated gearbox, for dry cargo, box bodies and tankers. Volkswagen has also reportedly added compactor-body chassis, the 18.260 4×2 and 26.260 6×2, with a 7-litre engine and up to 8% lower fuel use.

The Constellation Biometano is a 26.280 6×2 for waste collection with a 280 hp (206 kW) Cummins ISB 6.7 CNG engine and an Allison six-speed automatic gearbox. Eight steel cylinders hold 240 m³ of gas (960 litres) for a range of up to 300 km (186 miles), and Volkswagen says running on biomethane can cut CO2 emissions by up to 90%. The truck can also run on ordinary natural gas from filling stations. Sales began on 5 October 2026, and the first customer, the waste-collection company Loga, reportedly bought 56 units.

Ricardo Alouche, Volkswagen’s vice-president of sales, said the biomethane truck has a more favourable total cost of ownership than a diesel truck. The company has not announced prices for the new versions, although the biomethane model has reportedly been quoted at around R$1.3 million with the collection body.