VW Race Touareg

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VW Race Touareg 1 at the 2005 Dakar Rally

The VW Race Touareg is designed for cross-country rallies , especially the Dakar Rally , developed SUV the prototype class. In January 2004, at the Dakar Rally, it replaced the VW Tarek , with which Volkswagen Motorsport made its debut in this segment in 2003. The vehicles from 2003 to mid-2005 are called Race Touareg 1 , and since October 2005 they have been called Race Touareg 2 . From 2011 they are called VW Race Touareg 3 .

The Race Touareg has little in common technically with the VW Touareg , various elements have been adopted visually.

Origin and development

After only seven months of construction, under the direction of technical director Eduard Weidl and motorsport director Kris Nissen, the first test took place in November 2003. The development location was the VW motorsport department in Hanover , but there was always close cooperation with the central technical development in Wolfsburg ( Test stands, wind tunnels, etc.). Head of design was Helmut Schmid, whose first drafts came very close to the finished prototype . Right from the start, emphasis was placed on a common parts strategy in order to keep the logistical and mechanical effort, especially for repairs, low. The wheel suspensions were diagonally interchangeable, the four drive shafts to the wheels were identical, as were the two cardan shafts. A key feature is the 5-cylinder diesel engine , which is a special feature in the rally sport car segment. Contrary to all competitors, the company consciously relied on the use of diesel technology in order to prove its suitability for motorsport. Furthermore, a high torque along with lower fuel consumption and thus a lighter tank is another reason for this decision. The 2.5-liter TDI engine from VW was chosen as the basic engine . The engine capacity was reduced to 2.3 liters for the 2004 season in order to fall into a more affordable weight class. As early as 2005, however, the original 2.5 liters could be reduced due to new regulations. In 2007, a four-valve cylinder head was used for the first time , which works according to the cross-flow principle and increases the torque to over 600 Nm.

The passenger cell is a 300 kg heavy lattice frame construction from the German manufacturer Bodytech. It is made of high-strength steel and offers high stability and rigidity. The outer skin consists of carbon fiber reinforced plastic with a total weight of approx. 50 kg. The body structure is therefore not self-supporting.

competition

In January 2004, the first Dakar Rally was finally completed. As pilots came Jutta Kleinschmidt and Frenchman Bruno Saby used. Both have already completed this competition, which is considered the toughest rally in the world, several times. Immediately a sixth (Saby) and a 21st place (Kleinschmidt). In 2005 two additional driver teams were added ( Robby Gordon / Dirk von Zitzewitz and Juha Kankkunen / Juha Repo ). Kleinschmidt came third here.

In 2006 VW set up the following five driver teams:

Giniel de Viliers achieved second place. The Mark Miller team finished fifth, Kleinschmidt retired due to a defective wheel suspension .

The 2007 Dakar Rally contested four teams of drivers:

For the Lagos customer team , the following driver team also started on a VW Race Touareg 2:

The VW team won ten out of 14 stages. Due to an engine failure, the previous overall leader Giniel de Villiers was thrown far back, so that the Mitsubishi works team was able to win the rally again. The best VW driver was Mark Miller in fourth place.

The Race Touareg 2 proved their high technical competitiveness in this rally. However, the reliability of the drive units fell short of expectations.

For the 2008 Dakar Rally it was planned to start again with four driver teams. The duo Ari Vatanen / Fabrizia Pons should be replaced by the two German pilots Dieter Depping / Timo Gottschalk, while the other teams should remain in their constellation. However, due to the security situation in Mauritania, the 2008 Dakar Rally was canceled on January 4, 2008.

Because of the attack threats for the Dakar 2008, the ASO decided to move the rally to South America. The route led from Buenos Aires to Valparaíso and back to Buenos Aires.

The 2009 Dakar Rally contested four driver teams:

The de Viliers / von Zitzewitz team also recorded the first overall victory for the Race Touareg at the first event on the South American continent. In 2010, the title of the Dakar rally was defended with a triple victory.

The 2011 Dakar Rally contested the following teams:

  • Giniel de Villiers / Dirk von Zitzewitz
  • Carlos Sainz / Lucas Cruz
  • Mark Miller / Ralph Pitchford
  • Nasser Al Attiyah / Timo Gottschalk

This time, last year's runner-up Nasser Al Attiyah won together with Timo Gottschalk in another triple victory. After that, Volkswagen Motorsport withdrew from the Dakar rally in order to concentrate on the World Rally Championship .

Technical data Race Touareg 1 (2004/2005)

Construction

  • In-line five-cylinder TDI diesel engine with exhaust gas turbocharger, charge air cooling, longitudinally behind the front axle

Displacement and performance

  • 2300 cm³ / 2500 cm³
  • Output 170/191 kW (231/260 PS) with torque> 460 Nm /> 500 Nm

Engine management

  • Robert Bosch GMBH

Powertrain

  • Sequential transmission, six gears, longitudinal installation
  • Permanent all-wheel drive with three mechanically lockable differential gears (via viscose)
  • Three-disc ceramic clutch

landing gear

  • Power-assisted rack and pinion steering
  • Double wishbones with two dampers each (manufacturer: ZF Sachs)
  • Four internally ventilated disc brakes, diameter 320 mm
  • Aluminum brake calipers
  • Aluminum rims 7 × 16 ″
  • Tire 235-85 / 16 (manufacturer: BFGoodrich )

body

  • Two-door structure
  • High-strength steel tubular space frame with CFRP paneling

measures and weight

  • Length × width × height: 4371 × 2000 × 1762 mm
  • Wheelbase 2780 mm
  • Track width 1750 mm
  • Weight at least 1750 kg / 1787.5 kg

Technical data Race Touareg 2 (2006/2007)

VW Race Touareg 2 at the 2010 Dakar Rally
VW Race Touareg 2, winner of the 2010 Dakar Rally

Construction

  • In-line five-cylinder TDI diesel engine with two-stage turbocharging system, exhaust gas turbocharger, charge air cooling, longitudinally behind the front axle

Displacement and performance

  • 2500 cm³, output 210 kW (285 PS) with torque> 600 Nm

Engine management

  • Robert Bosch GMBH

Powertrain

  • Sequential transmission, six gears, longitudinal installation
  • Permanent all-wheel drive with three mechanically lockable differential gears (via viscose)
  • Three-disc ceramic clutch (manufacturer: ZF Sachs)

landing gear

  • Power-assisted rack and pinion steering
  • Double wishbones with two dampers each (manufacturer: ZF Sachs )
  • Four internally ventilated disc brakes, diameter 320 mm
  • Aluminum brake calipers
  • Aluminum rims 7.2 × 16 ″
  • Tire 235-85 / 16 (manufacturer: BFGoodrich)

body

  • Two-door structure
  • High-strength steel tubular space frame with CFRP paneling

measures and weight

  • Length × width × height: 4171 × 1996 × 1762 mm
  • Wheelbase 2820 mm
  • Track width 1750 mm
  • Weight at least 1787.5 kg

Technical data Race Touareg 3 (2010/2011)

Race Touareg 3 by Carlos Sainz at the 2011 Dakar

Construction

  • In-line five-cylinder TDI diesel engine with two-stage turbocharging system, exhaust gas turbocharger, charge air cooling, longitudinally behind the front axle
Displacement and performance
  • 2500 cm³, output 228 kW (310 PS) with torque> 600 Nm
Engine management
Powertrain
  • Sequential transmission, five gears, longitudinal installation
  • Permanent all-wheel drive with three mechanically lockable differential gears (via viscose)
  • Three-disc ceramic clutch (manufacturer: ZF Sachs )
landing gear
  • Power-assisted rack and pinion steering
  • Double wishbones with two dampers each (manufacturer: ZF Sachs)
  • Four internally ventilated disc brakes, diameter 320 mm
  • Aluminum brake calipers
  • Aluminum rims 7 × 16 ″
  • Tire 235-85 / 16 (manufacturer: BFGoodrich)
body
  • Two-door structure
  • High-strength steel tubular space frame with CFRP paneling
measures and weight
  • Length × width × height: 4171 × 1996 × 1762 mm
  • Wheelbase 2820 mm
  • Track width 1750 mm
  • Weight at least 1787.5 kg

Baja 1000

VW also competed in the 2008 Baja 1000 Rally with a Touareg in the Trophy Trucks class. The car used was a completely new development and its dimensions were around 10% larger than a standard Touareg. A V12 TDI engine was used in the vehicle, which had already been used in the Le Mans winning car, the Audi R10 TDI . In the Touareg, the engine developed 405 kW (550 PS) around 70 kW (94 PS) less than in the Audi racing car. In contrast to cars with gasoline engines, the maximum tank capacity of diesel vehicles is limited to 246 liters.

The car was driven by Mark Miller, who brought the Volkswagen Baja Race Touareg TDI to the finish in a time of 18 hours and 58 minutes, placing 13th in the Trophy Trucks classification.

Others

VW Race Touareg in Wolfsburg approved and contribute accordingly WOB - mark . With their type approval, they can therefore also be driven in normal road traffic, as the departure from Wolfsburg in December 2005 towards Portugal showed. The VW Tarek , however, was registered in Hanover (H for Hanover).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Fourwheeler - Website: Off-Road Race Results Baja 1000 Edition. From: www.fourwheeler.com , April 1, 2009, accessed September 3, 2013 .