Sharing lanes with Audi’s Q7 monster V12 turbo diesel, VW Individual has unleashed its latest heavy salvo on the premium SUV market – the Touareg R50.
By Bijon de Kock
VW has unleashed some similar performance desirables such as the R32 Golf and R36 Passat, all of which feature full-time all-wheel drive. The Touareg R50 guarantees the same 4Motion or 4XMotion system for impeccable traction, the latter being much needed to ground the massive torque and power delivered by its V10 TDI powerplant.
The V10 TDI was taken from the standard V10 TDI Touareg, but received a healthy power increase by adjusting the twin turbo setup as well as modifying the engine management system , allowing this mammoth powerplant to serve up 258 Kw and a sinew-snapping 850 N.m of torque from just 2 000 r/min. VW says that despite the hike in power output, combined fuel consumption remains unchanged at 12, 6 litres/100 km. Performance is breathtaking as the R50 catapults from zero to 100 km/h in 6,7 seconds and reaches a top speed of 235 km/h.
VW has aligned both interior and exterior design features with its racy R-badged models, setting apart the beast from the babies and making the bold sporty statement. The Touareg R50 is delivered with a sport design package in R look as standard equipment. Enlarged wheel arches house massive 295 tyres on 21-inch “Omynat” alloy wheels and blue painted brake callipers hint at serious stopping power. Up front, this package includes the radiator grille in matte chrome, with dual louvers that are also chrome-plated. The lower radiator opening consists of a grille in honeycomb look. This is repeated in the screens of the two intercoolers and the bezels of the fog lamps in front. Looking at the rear, notable features include a sporty roof spoiler in, independent bumpers with diffuser, and oval tailpipe openings. In addition, R50 signatures on the tailgate and radiator grille reinforce the statement! Tinted rear windows and bi-xenon headlamps are also standard.
The standard specification also includes a sport chassis air suspension: The so-called “driving dynamics package with adaptive roll compensation” and chassis lowered by twenty millimetres give the existing “Sport” mode of the manually or automatically controlled air suspension a stiffer spring rate. The driving comfort in the suspension’s “Comfort” mode is as good as in versions without sport chassis. “Biscay Blue” is the colour specifically designed for the Touareg R50 and is commonly worn by R-models since the label was first introduced in 2002. Alternative car colours offered on the Touareg R50 are “Campanella white”, “Reflex silver”, “Black Magic” and “Atacam grey”.
Inside, a dark design resonates the R-series’ sporting heritage. Drivers can comfort themselves in Anthracite-coloured Nappa leather with the R50 logo integrated in the front headrests. The logo was also worked into the front stainless steel tread plates. Also in keeping with the sporty character of the Touareg is the interior accent of the “Aluminum Engine Spin Bright” design – a metallic structure like those used in the race cars of a previous era – as well as R-design pedal caps detailed in stainless steel for accelerator and brake pedals. Sports branding is evident as even the gear selection lever for the six-speed automatic transmission (Tiptronic) sports an R logo.
You can catch a glimpse of the R50 at VW’s JIMS stand.
