VW tackle longest ever Dakar Rally with 4 Race Touareg 2 TDIs

January 2008 will mark the thirtieth running of the Dakar Rally in which competitors spend sixteen days racing thousands of miles across the Sahara. The course has been lengthened 3564 miles this time and Volkswagen is set to take another shot at beating the Mitsubishi Pajeros. The Mitsubishis have won nine of the last eleven races including all of the last seven. VW will be continuing their commitment to diesel engines in racing with the factory team entering four Race Touareg 2 TDIs. While the production Touaregs use a 3.0L V-6 TDI, the race version uses a 2.5L inline-five that puts out 285 hp in the 2007 race. The 2008 race starts on January 5.

[Source: Motoring.co.za, via GermanCarBlog, thanks to Christian for the tip]