2002
Touareg V10
Some legends are better told with numbers than words. Ten cylinders, 230 kW / 313 hp, 0 to 100 km/h in 6.9 seconds and above all: 750 Nm torque! The Touareg with a 5.0 litre V10 TDI and two turbo chargers under the powerful front hood pushes the limits of 2002 to the very top.
2004
Limited Edition Touareg W12 Sport
In 2004, the developers think that the masterpiece of engine construction at Volkswagen also belongs in the Touareg. And they implemented the 331 kW / 450 hp and 6.0 litre W12 powertrain in the successful SUV. The Touareg W12 Sport sprints to 100 km/h in 5.9 seconds. Customers also have to be fast: This pleasure is limited to 500 cars.
2005
Touareg Kong
Literally one of the biggest Hollywood heroes is the godfather of this special model. In 2005, the Touareg took part in the filming of “King Kong” as the official crew vehicle while appearing as an advertising star in front of the camera on the original film set Like its namesake, the Touareg “Kong” appeared confident, powerful and completely in black – only the “white woman” was missing at the wheel.
Once around the world
The dream of a round-the-world trip as one of the last big adventures was fulfilled by ten globetrotters – journalists, guests and professional drivers – in five standard Touareg TDIs with 128 kW / 174 hp. The Touareg experience 360° covered more than 77,000 kilometres and five continents through the most fascinating, beautiful and spectacular landscapes on the planet.
Driverless through California
Autonomous driving is still pure science fiction for ordinary people in 2005. However the researchers of Stanford University have long been making this technology feasible. And to prove that it works: with a Touareg – one of the first truly intelligent vehicles in automobile history – they win the Grand Challenge of the American DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) for autonomous vehicles in which only four of the 23 who started the race reach the finish line.
Team Zietlow in the Touareg
Adventurer Rainer Zietlow breaks a total of four world records with different Touareg models. The first is an altitude world record at 6,081 metres in Chile in 2005 (15 to 29 January 2005). In the years afterwards, he breaks three long-distance world records. At the Panamericana (23,000 km in eleven days and 17 hours, 2 to 13 July 2011), Cape to Cape from the North Cape in Norway to Cape Agulhas in South Africa (despite an accident and a 13-day pause for repairs in Ethiopia, 17,000 km in 21 days and 16 hours, October 2014) and Cape to Cape 2.0 from Cape Agulhas to the North Cape (17,568 km in 9 days and 4 hours).
2006
Touareg pulls a Boeing 747, otherwise known as the jumbo jet
Follow me! A Volkswagen Touareg pulls a 155 tonne Boeing 747 from the hangar in November 2006 – a world record. The Air France plane previously played a part in the Bond film “Casino Royale”. In 2014, the magazine “Fifth Gear” repeats the test. Once again the Touareg hooks up a jumbo jet and pulls it over the runway.
2007
Touareg R50
As one of the most powerful offroad vehicles in the world, the Touareg R50 makes history in 2007. Its V10 TDI engine delivers 258 kW / 350 hp and a superior torque of 850 Nm. 21 inch rims with 295 series tyres, air spring sports running gear, blue painted brake caliper, discreet wheel housing extensions and exclusive equipment characterise the R50.
2008
With Buggy technology to the Baja
The Baja 1000 is a crazy desert race where the most intense obstacles are also overcome at full speed. VW Buggys based on VW Beetles dominated the spectacle in the early days. In 2008, Volkswagen takes part with a modern Touareg Trophy Truck, in principle a breakneck steel cage with powerful wheels and carbon fibre body.
2009
Tuning Touareg “Silk Way Rally”
Before Volkswagen took motorsport to the great Dakar triumphs, the Race Touareg II Events such as the “Silk Way Rally” through Russia, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan dominated. For this reason, the Swabian automobile finisher, Hoefele, applies a conversion kit with newly designed front and rear bumpers, bull bar and side running boards made of stainless steel. The target is the markets in Russia and Asia.
The sons of the desert
“Dakar” is considered to be the hardest rally in the world – a Race Touareg dominates it three years in a row. The acclaimed double win of 2009 is surpassed by Volkswagen in 2010 and 2011 with a triple win. The desert racer is a genuine prototype with a five-cylinder mid-mounted engine, grid tubular frame, carbon body and powerful spring deflections.
2010
Meeting of the Dakar legends
In January 2010 Volkswagen wins the merciless Dakar rally for the second time in succession. Three all-wheel drive Race Touareg 2 share the winner’s podium. Exactly 30 years before, three all-wheel drive VW Race Iltis achieved the same triumph. The driving presentation of the Touareg 2 led to the summit meeting of the Dakar legends.
2011
Race Touareg Qatar
Finest racing technology on the road or better still: Desert approval. The Race Touareg 3 Qatar took the exquisite capabilities of the three-time Dakar winner into a small-series study. The concept car presented in Qatar combines uncompromising technology with high-quality materials – such as carbon and the finest nubuck and nappa leather. An all-terrain vehicle for connoisseurs.
Touareg Gold Edition
With this Touareg, all that glitters is gold. For the Qatar Motor Show 2011, Volkswagen finished a unique model in 24 carat gold. The 22 inch rims, roof railing, ram-protections, window frames, mirror caps and parts of the air intake grille, the “Touareg V8 emblem and the boot-edge protection are coated in the precious metal.
2017
On the Silk Road
For the 15th birthday of the successful model, a fleet of 30 Touaregs started an expedition along the historic Silk Road. They covered 5,200 kilometres on roads and paths of immensely varying quality. The route from Luoyang in central China to Horgos, the border town in northwest Xinjiang Uygur, was covered by the convoy within 15 days.