2008 ABT Volkswagen Touareg Facelift

Following the release of the updated 2008 Touareg back in January this year, German based, tuner Abt presented their revised versions of VW’s luxury SUV. The Abt Touareg stands out optically thanks to the full bodykit consisting of a front spoiler lip, side skirts, fender extensions, a rear wing, rear skirts and the 4-pipe exhaust system. Abt also equips the Touareg with 19, 20 or 22-inch alloys. Under the skin, Abt’s Touareg receives a revised suspension and brake system. For the moment, Abt offers three diesel and one petrol version, all of which come with a power increase: 2.5 TDI with 195hp (+21hp), 3.0 TDI with 270hp (+45hp), 5.0 V10 TDI with 360hp (+47hp) and finally the petrol 4.2 V8 with an output of 500hp (+150hp). -Continued below

Abt Touareg - facelift for the heavy weight from Kempten

2002, the Touareg marked Volkswagen’s powerful way into the field of SUVs. “Even for Abt, the car was absolutely new territory,“ explains Hans-Jürgen Abt. Back then, the managing director of Abt Sportsline did in fact have doubts about the market opportunities of the heavy weight: “But the SUV has become a great success, and meanwhile Touareg and Audi Q7 are among our success stories.”

Of course, one reason for this is the fact that the Allgäu-based tuners particularly stress the “S” in “SUV”. Abt has made the optically clearly improved version of the SUV from Wolfsburg also very sporty: at the moment, three diesel engines are available, and all of them come with a power increase. That is particularly obvious with the popular 3.0 TDI, which, in this version, delivers 270hp (199kW) instead of the serial 225hp (165kW) and 550Nm torque. The segment of elegant SUVs starts with the 2.5 TDI, which thanks to Abt delivers 195hp (serial version: 174hp) or 143kW (serial version: 128kW). The jewel is once more the Abt Touareg VS10, the ten-cylinder turbo diesel, which gains its enormous power of 360hp (265kW) from a five-litre engine. This engine perfectly harmonizes with the Abt Touareg. The V8, too, with its capacity of 4.2 litres is perfect for the powerful appearance of the SUV made in Kempten: instead of the serial 350hp (257kW), mighty 500hp (368kW) give the Abt VS8-R impressive drive.

The Abt Suspension, which is tailor made for the requirements of this extraordinary vehicle, guarantees that the enormous power potential of the Abt Touareg can be handled while driving. The comfortable air suspension with the innovative Abt Level Control (ALC) is also available for this version. Even in risky situations the Abt brake system bites with a firm grip and brings the car of 2.4 tons to a standstill.

Again, the Kempten-based tuners have designed an extravagant body kit for the SUV, just as they did for the first Touareg version: a front spoiler lip, side skirts, fender extensions, a rear wing, rear skirts and the 4-pipe exhaust system typical for Abt form a design unit, which makes the car look extremely dynamic from every angle. The Abt Touareg is far lower and broader than its serial twin, and that suits him perfectly. Even when the car is standing, you know that it feels at home on every terrain and that it will be able to deal with all challenges. Just right: the Abt AR-wheel with 19, 20 or 22 inches. The Abt Touareg is a power pack, an athlete in a tailor made suit; with this car, you are always adequately represented.

Technorati: VW+Touareg, Abt, Tuning, auto+news, car+news, automobile, cars, automotive, vehicles, Carscoop, blogs, 2007

VW debuts R-Line sport packs for Golf, Touran, Passat & Touareg

S-Line in Ingolstadt, R-Line in Wolfsburg… geez, those folks over at VW Group are full of surprises’ aren’t they! So what’s the R-Line? Nothing more, nothing less than sporty exterior and interior equipment packages available for the Golf, Touran, Passat and Touareg models. Officialy presented at the Essen Show, the R-Line pack will first be coming out in Germany in 2007.

So far the letter “R” has exclusively stood for high-performance cars such as the Golf R32 (250 hp), or the new Passat R36 (300 hp). The idea behind it: all R line products take up on the characteristic design elements that also distinguish the Golf R32 or the Passat R36. Via: VW & Autoblog.nl

Technorati: Volkswagen+R-Line, VW+Golf, Touran, Touareg, tuning+news, , images, pictures, autos, auto+news, car+news, automobile, cars, automotive, vehicles, autos, Carscoop

Paris Show : 2007 Volkswagen Touareg facelift

Featuring the company's new "face" -as previewed with the latest Eos, Passat, Polo & Touran MY'07 models, VW revealed its "light" facelifted Touareg SUV, a week before the Paris Show opens its gates. The 2007 Touraeg also gets revised rear styling, updated interior and seats, a Dynaudio sound system as an option as well as revised ESP and ABS systems. According to the company, the new Touareg will go on sale in Europe at the end of January 2007.

Press Release: At the front, the new Touareg features a new grille, bonnet, front wings and bumper, plus new headlights and mirrors. The rear lights, spoiler, bumper and exhaust pipes have also been modified to freshen the 4x4's appearance.

The new Touareg will feature new and revised technology, including ABSPlus and additional ESP (Electronic Stabilisation Programme) features. ABSPlus has been developed and patented by Volkswagen and is a world first. The system shortens the braking distance by up to 20% on loose driving surfaces. New features have been added to the ESP, these include Active Rollover Protection (ARP), rain brake support, fading brake support and understeer control logic, which improves the turning behaviour in the event of understeer.

Technorati: Volkswagen+Touareg, 2007, autos, auto+news, car+news, automobile, Mondial+de+l'Automobile, 2006, cars, automotive, vehicles, Paris+International+Motor+Show