| New High-Performance SUV | Sydney Motor Show |
We've driven the
impressive Golf R32 and look forward to the recently announced Passat R36, now the Touareg gets the 'R' treatment with a tweaked version of VW's 5.0-litre diesel V10 powering the R50.
To look at, it's pretty obvious the most powerful Touareg to date is part of the 'R' family of cars borne out of VW's 'Individual' design and engineering subsidiary; the same team is also responsible for the BlueMotion projects and any other special edition cars from Volkswagen.
The sportier Aero body kit and 21-inch alloy wheels give the exterior a familiar aggressive stance on the outside; similarly the interior is also that bit racier than the more sedate models in the Touareg range.
The whopping great TDI V10 has been fettled so as to produce 345bhp and an enormous 627lb.ft of torque. That means 62mph is reached in 6.7 seconds and it'll pile on the speed until the R50 hits its terminal velocity of 146mph - performance deserving of the 'R' moniker we reckon. To match the extra grunt the suspension has also been firmed up and lowered for better body control, so don't expect this Touareg to excel off the beaten track.
Volkswagen has held off letting us know how much CO
2 the flagship Touareg emits but we presume it'll be a little worse than the 333g/km of the standard diesel.
We're expecting a £60k price tag, so while it's not cheap, it will be an imposing and quick bit of kit and we expect to see it on our shores by spring 2008.
The Touareg R50 will be officially unveiled at the Australian Motor Show which runs from the 11th - 21st October in Sydney.
Richard Tanner - 15 Oct 2007