2011 Volkswagen Touareg prototype spied
July 16, 2009 by George Skentzos
While previous encounters with the next generation Volkswagen Touareg have been of cobbled together mules, these are the first few photos of an actually prototype testing somewhere in the US.
While the design and powertrain are usually the headlining features of a new model, in the case of the Touareg a rumoured 300kg-plus weight loss has become the focus of its development.
This has been done not only to improve fuel economy but also performance when the shared chassis makes its way over to Porsche and Audi for their Cayenne and Q7 SUV replacements.
Along with the weight loss, the underpinnings have been lengthened by a few centimetres to improve interior space and better accommodate and optional third row of seats.
As for the styling, the Touareg will take on a more purposefully sporty persona with significant changes to the front fascia, grille, headlights, rear fascia and taillights.
Powertrains should include updated versions of the 3.6-litre V6 and 4.2-litre V8 petrol engines along with one or two turbo diesel offerings.
Volkswagen has also hinted at a Hybrid Touareg which should sport a 3.0-litre supercharged V6 – sourced from Audi’s new S4 and A6 – along with an electric motor that will sit between the transmission and the V6.
Sources have also indicated that the new Touareg will also be cheaper, although this is likely to be the result of VW stripping out a few of the luxury items for the lower trim levels.
Print it: 
This is pure speculation, but another blog site noted that all V8+ style engines will be dropped! Perhaps to focus on economy and not have too many choices, and to drive sales to the plummeting Q7?
Mmmm sounding delicious! I hope they didn’t bring over that spare wheel holder that was on the last model: that was so ugly.
I’ll have the uprated 3.0l V6 Diesel, thanks. Current one is 176kw and 550nm, uprated one better output, and coupled with a 300kg weight loss. Yes please. Will make the Pajero Exceed look even more outrageously overpriced.
There’s not much “luxury” in the base 3.6/3.0 models to prune out to make them cheaper. What? take out leather?
No mention yet of the V10 diesel for the R models, perhaps the V8 is going to be a diesel. V8 petrol will not be popular in AU and probably won’t be brought in.
No matter how u look at it, its still a big sized elevated golf vehicle pimped with a diesel.