Race Touareg 3 to chase Dakar hat trick

The second-generation Volkswagen Touareg is due for SA launch in October 2010 - and right behind it is a new version of the Dakar rally-winning Race Touareg.

The Race Touareg 3 has a new exterior design with revised aerodynamics (and more than a look of the new production Touareg) but retains the proven diesel technology that has taken VW to consecutive wins in the world's toughest rally.

It has the latest development of VW's 2.5-litre four-cylinder racing turbodiesel, rated at 220kW, and uprated versions of the Touareg 2's chassis and suspension.

VW motorsport director Kris Nissen said: "This evolution into the Race Touareg 3 is the logical next step towards our big aim of pulling off a hat trick in the Dakar rally. The new aerodynamics will make it look even more spectacular, with aspects of the new production Touareg, while its core will be proven technology that's given the Race Touareg race-winning performance and maximum reliability."

The development of the Race Touareg 3 will continue with hot-weather testing in the desert of Morocco at the end of July, including several full-length rally simulations.

It will be officially unveiled in August before making its competition debut in the Silk Way Rally across Russia from St Petersburg to Sochi over September 11-18, which is regarded as a dress rehearsal for the Dakar rally.

Then it'll be off to Buenos Aires for the real thing over January 1-16, 2011, where four Race Touareg 3's will chase a third consecutive VW victory.