Like the Volkswagen Golf R and R32, the Volkswagen Touareg performance model is expected and rumoured to be dropping the ’50′ from its previous R50 name and employing the simple ‘R’. Reports say the Volkswagen Touareg R could also be powered by a high-output twin turbo V8 using hybrid technology.

Said to develop upwards of 400kW, reports say the Volkswagen Touareg R will use a twin turbocharged V8 engine outputting around 370kW and a 30-plus-kilowatt electric motor. The hybrid package would not only be more powerful than the already ballistic 2009 Volkswagen Touareg R50, but it’ll also be more powerful than all of its main rivals, including Volkswagen’s own Porsche Cayenne Turbo.

The torque this sort of combination would offer could easily out-pull any passenger vehicle – electric motors alone are known to produce upwards of 200Nm. And then there’s the unmistakable torque of a twin-turbo V8.

This is just a rumour at the moment though, but suspicion could be right. The R50 is in need of a successor and with Porsche offering a hybrid version of its performance Cayenne model, the biggest and most powerful version of any upcoming car these days is likely to be a hybrid as well.

Reports say the model could be released to the public eye at next year’s Detroit motor show, in January.