Volkswagen is set to roll out a new flagship variant of their large SUV, the Touareg. Now in it’s third generation, the all-new model made its debut last year underpinned by a fresh platform and brought the German high-rider up to par with legitimately premium competitors.
That all said, it did lack a full arsenal of powertrain options, carrying most of the motors from its predecessor as well as other areas of the VW line-up. Broaden that umbrella, though, and we come across Audi, whose own flagship SUV sports an innovative and massively torque-rich 4.0-litre TDI V8.
The group’s namesake brand got a little jealous, it seems, and has made an executive move to grab the SQ7’s donk for the benefit of the new Touareg, which is set to premiere at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show in early March.
Once the covers do come off officially in view of the public, buyers will know the new flagship range-topping Touareg as the V8 TDI. And while much has changed under the bonnet and in terms of sheer output and capability, there’s very little to indicate this latent oil-burning fury from its exterior.
The incoming Touareg V8 TDI will arrive with 18-inch alloys as standard with 19-inch Tirano design wheels available as an option. There’s also a ‘V8’ emblem in between the slats on the SUVs very bling front grille but, to our eyes, not much else.
This isn’t an R or even an R-Design as we’ve been accustomed to seeing from Volkswagen’s faster cars, but it does come equipped with similar technologies to corral the 310kW and mammoth 900Nm onto the road such as, of course, the 4Motion all-wheel drive system, active all-wheel steering, active roll stabilisation, active anti-roll bars, and adaptive dampers. And despite weighing well over 2 tonnes, needs just 4.9 seconds to reach 100km/h from rest.
Being the pinnacle of the current generation Touareg, the V8 TDI will also be fully laden with most - if not all - of the luxury trim and convenience features VW offers, including but not limited to, a Night Vision mode that leverages radar and a thermal imaging camera, Traffic Jam and Roadwork Lane Assist, and Front Cross Traffic Assist.
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