Volkswagen Touareg R50

By Ben Pulman

Motor Shows

15 October 2007 12:42

Let me guess…some fuel-guzzling, turbocharged behemoth?

It might be a diesel, but yes, it’s still all of the above. Ths is VW’s new R50 and it’s the latest car from VW Individual, the same engineering group responsible for the Golf R32, Passat R36, and the Bluemotion range, including the Polo. The Touareg R50 has VW’s 4.9-litre V10 diesel but with power upped from 313bhp to 346bhp. Torque also climbs from 553lb ft to 627lb ft. That means the 0-62mph sprint is reduced from 7.4 to 6.7 seconds.

There's no word yet on CO2 figures. Despite being a diesel the standard car still pumps out 333g/km, so while that’s better than a Cayenne Turbo’s 358g/km, the power increase surely won’t do it any favours. The fuel economy is however exactly the same as the standard car's at 22.4mpg, which is definitely better than the Cayenne's 19mpg. Completing the package are bigger wheels and tyres, tweaked suspension and a new bodykit. It'll cost €88,260 (£61,159) in Germany when it goes on sale in November so by the time it reaches our shores in the spring of 2008 you'll be looking at nearer to £65k.

By Ben Pulman