VW planning frugal-minded Touareg 2Motion?

Zach Bowman — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 16:58:00 EST

Filed under: SUV, Europe, Volkswagen, Rumormill

2011 Volkswagen Touareg - Click above for high-res image gallery

Rumor has it Volkswagen is mulling a two-wheel drive version of the Touareg. Whispers are buzzing around the francophone site L'Automobile that the company is considering dropping power to the front wheels in order to create a Touareg 2Motion. Why? If our Google translator is to be believed, Volkswagen is hoping to trim some weight and cost from its SUV while upping the vehicle's fuel efficiency at the same time.

The site quotes an unnamed member of the truck's development team as saying it would be relatively easy to make the Touareg a rear-wheel drive vehicle. What's more, a less-expensive VW SUV would likely appeal to the American masses. The Touareg currently carries a base MSRP of around $40,850, so some reduction in price for the two-wheel drive variant is all but assured.

L'Automobile doesn't make mention of when the Touareg 2Motion will come to market, though the current feeling is that it won't be until well past 2012, if at all. It would make sense to see VW offer a RWD version, though, especially when equipped with the upcoming hybrid drivetrain.

Gallery: First Drive: 2011 Volkswagen Touareg

[Source: L'Automobile]

VW planning frugal-minded Touareg 2Motion? originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 13 Apr 2010 16:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Volkswagen Touareg Hybrid with supercharged V6 joining BlueMotion offerings

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 14:58:00 EST

Filed under: Hybrid, Sedan, SUV, Green, Volkswagen

Click above for a gallery of the Volkswagen Touareg BlueMotion Hybrid

Volkswagen is set to launch a Touareg BlueMotion Hybrid in 2010. The new machine will be the first real production hybrid from the German company and will join the automaker's expanding BlueMotionTechnologies lineup. In addition to the Touareg headliner, VW has announced a diesel-powered Passat BlueMotion, a Passat BlueTDI that's able to achieve 2014 Euro-6 emissions regulations today, and a natural gas-fueled Passat TSI EcoFuel.

The Touareg BlueMotion Hybrid will feature a supercharged 3.0L TSI V6 engine that's shared with the Audi S4 along with a new 8-speed automatic transmission. While many would likely be awfully pleased just to see that drivetrain in the Touareg, the big news is what's sandwiched between them, namely, a 38 kW electric motor that gets power from a 288-volt nickel-metal hydride battery pack.

A similar hybrid system is expected to make an appearance in the upcoming Porsche Panamera and offers up 374 horsepower and 406 lb-ft of torque to all four wheels in this application. That's enough to push the bricklike Touareg to 62 mph (100 km/h) in just 6.8 seconds and, perhaps more importantly, deliver a European combined rating of 26.1 mpg (U.S.). That's an improvement of 25% over the normal Touareg, though it will surely come with a price tag to match. See all the details after the break.

Gallery: Volkswagen Touareg BlueMotion Hybrid

[Source: Volkswagen]

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Volkswagen Touareg Hybrid with supercharged V6 joining BlueMotion offerings originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 02 Feb 2009 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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