Originally posted by Chaptorial
I didn't know Land Rover is gonna get into the performance SUV area too.

That Touareg is lookin good.

Look out Land Rover, Volkswagen has moved into the off-road record book by reaching the highest elevation ever for a stock vehicle.

Last January German adventurer and veteran off-roader Rainer Zietlow set out to conquer Chile’s Ojos del Salado, the world’s tallest volcano. When it came time to choose a vehicle for the ascent, Zietlow sought the services of Volkswagen and its Touareg.

Zietlow’s decision to use a Touareg for his record-setting mountain climb may come as a surprise, because, after all, the Touareg is Volkswagen’s first and only SUV. However, Zietlow contends, “The Touareg has the best off-road and on-road capabilities of all the SUVs sold in Europe.”


Zietlow’s Touareg, an expedition model available only in Europe, came equipped with a roof rack, spotlights, underbody protective skid plates, locking rear differential and a winch, along with the base 3.2-liter
240-hp V6.

It was important for Zietlow that his vehicle be capable straight out of the box, because unlike other hillclimbers, he does not boost his vehicles with performance modifications. “My name is [synonymous] with using stock vehicles,” Zietlow says. “The Touareg we used is exactly what came from the factory, with no modifications.”

Zietlow’s reputation for expeditions in stock vehicles is why Mercedes-Benz hired him to pilot one of its M-Class SUVs across the grueling African continent.

Zietlow’s record-breaking journey in the Touareg began with a run through the Atacama Desert, one of the world’s driest areas, to the team’s base camp at 14,435 feet above the salt lake Laguna Santa Rosa. From there they tackled the slopes of the volcano, encountering giant roadblocks en route.

Many large, impassable boulders blocked the path and had to be moved with the help of the Touareg’s winch. The team navigated through the volcano’s relentless terrain that included snow, volcanic sands and rock-strewn trails reaching an 80 percent gradient.

Along with setting a new altitude record, a seismographic station was also established on Ojos del Salado—a primary goal of the expedition. The station makes it possible to register earthquakes above potential eruption hot spots in a region of Chile that is in constant danger of such activity.

On Jan. 29 both the Touareg’s onboard navigation system and the team’s altimeters read 19,950 feet, recognized by The Guinness Book of World Records as the highest elevation reached by a stock vehicle.


The trip to the summit took eight days to complete, but it took the team just three hours to get back down the mountain.

Already a Toyota Land Cruiser has gone higher. The truck, sporting a modified suspension giving it greater ground clearance, climbed to 20,859 feet. While the overall record is lost, Zietlow’s record for a vehicle in stock form remains intact.

Not one to rest on his laurels, Zietlow intends to try and break his own record one day. “If Volkswagen and my sponsors come back,” says Zietlow, “we can go another 35 meters.”.

WASHINGTON -- Volkswagen of America Inc. vows to return the Touareg's V-10 diesel engine to the United States for the 2006 model year.

First, though, the company must persuade the EPA.

VW introduced the heavily promoted V-10 in last year, but it dropped the diesel from its engine lineup for 2005. The company could not certify that the engine would meet federal standards for tailpipe emissions.

For 2005, Volkswagen proposed injecting a compound called ferrocene into the V-10's exhaust. That would help the particulate filter work properly, the company said.

But ferrocene is not registered for use in the United States, the EPA says.

VW insists it will find an acceptable alternative.

"We are confident this flagship product will be back in the U.S. market for 2006," said David Geanacopoulos, VWoA's director of industry-government relations.

The same particulate issue does not affect the company's smaller diesel engines in other models, he says.

Halo engine

VW says it initially expects to sell about 450 V-10 diesels a year in the United States. That estimate falls far short of its prediction two years ago, when company officials said the V-10 would account for about 12 percent of projected annual U.S. sales of 40,000 Touaregs, or 4,800.

In 2004, U.S. sales of the Touareg were 27,706.

Regardless of numbers, the engine became a source of great publicity. VW cited the engine as evidence of its engineering prowess. It called the V-10 an example of the promise of modern diesel engines to provide clean, efficient power. Automotive reviewers generally raved.

Growing pains

VW's experience reflects the challenges diesels face in meeting increasingly tough U.S. clean air standards. Those standards are being phased in through the 2009 model year.

Geanacopoulos says VW sought to use ferrocene as an interim step until low-sulfur diesel fuel is widely available.

Federal rules require extensive production of the fuel by late 2006.

He did not describe the technology VW plans to use to get the engine back in the United States.

VWoA Vice President Len Hunt said in a February letter to dealers: "Sometimes being at the forefront of new technology entails setbacks, but we are confident of the next technological solution."

Merrylin Zaw-Mon, director of certification and compliance at the EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality, says she understands VW is seeking a particulate filter that does not need ferrocene.

She adds: "To Volkswagen's credit, it was their decision to pull the car off the market."

Zaw-Mon says such a decision probably has been made before but surely is rare.

Volkswagen presents special model Touareg "Kong" and the latest from Peter Jackson's film "King Kong" at the IAA.

What started as an online exclusive in June with the first King Kong trailer is now being continued at the Frankfurt Auto Show IAA. Volkswagen will be showing further exclusive material from the set of King Kong in New Zealand at a stand which has been inspired by Skull Island.

Furthermore, Volkswagen will be presenting a Touareg special model "Kong" at this year's IAA – a real power package both inside and out which can take on its namesake. “The film and the creature itself fit very well to this SUV with its off-road capabilities and ability to move confidently from rugged jungle outposts to city streets,” says Joern Hinrichs, Head of Volkswagen Global Marketing.

Underscoring its wild character are visible cues such as floor-guards front and rear, side skirts and a comprehensive chrome package. Identification as the official member of the King Kong crew will be provided by a specially developed badge. The Touareg will be presented wrapped into ropes – an allusion to the tied up sacrificed white woman in the movie.

An unusual advertising campaign has been devised for the Touareg and the stand: large adverts which show Kong in action at central locations in Frankfurt, such as the Bockenheimer Warte, the old library in the Schöne Aussicht and around the trade fair.

And subject to availability of his shooting schedule, actor Thomas Kretschmann is planning to visit the stand. He plays the role of Captain Englehorn, who brings King Kong to New York on his ship, Venture, in Jackson’s film.

With the extravagant construction of the stand and the extraordinary advertising campaign throughout Frankfurt, Volkswagen has started the second stage of cooperation with NBC Universal for King Kong. "But it gets even better," Jörn Hinrichs, happily explains "the advert for the special model with scenes from the film is also being produced by Peter Jackson’s Weta Productions in New Zealand. That’s something really special."

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