Page 1 of 1 Twelve months after the one-two finish in the category for two-wheel drive vehicles, and the best result for a diesel engine car, Volkswagen is to take on the Dakar Rally again (1-18 January 2004). For the first time, the team under new Motorsport Director Kris Nissen will compete with two newly designed Volkswagen Race-Touareg cars. Both the desert racers, fitted with five-cylinder TDI engines producing over 230 bhp, will make their competition debut in the desert rally covering almost 11,000 kilometres between France and Senegal.
All the pick-up points for subassemblies, bodywork and suspension components are integrated in the space frame, which weighs only a third of a tonne, and functions, as it were, as roll cage. High-tensile aircraft steel guarantees an ultimate tensile strength of up to 700 Newton-metre per square millimetre - after all, the FIA roll-over test specifies a load that corresponds to approximately 16.9 tonnes for a defined area. Importance was simultaneously placed on achieving the lowest possible centre of gravity.
The four wheels of the Race-Touareg are supported by double wishbone units on the front and rear axles, each with twin spring-damper elements. The regulations limit the spring travel to 250 millimetres. In spite of the high ground clearance, which requires a relatively high positioning of the lower control arm, a suspension geometry guaranteeing forgiving handling characteristics was realised.
Volkswagen employs the same TDI Technology used in production cars, in cross-country rallying. The Volkswagen Tarek has already achieved a memorable one-two in its class during the 2003 Dakar Rally with TDI power. The Race-Touareg is powered by an in-line five-cylinder engine. Its 2.3 litre cubic capacity is defined by the regulations. To qualify in the category with a minimum weight of 1750 kilograms, the swept volume must not exceed 3500 cubic centimetres. In the case of a Turbo-diesel engine, a factor of 1.5 must be taken into account - therefore the capacity may not exceed 2333 cubic centimetres. A 39 millimetre diameter engine air intake restrictor is compulsory.
The four-wheel drive is subjected to 450 Nm torque delivered through a six-speed gearbox. The centre differential is designed as a planetary gear differential, front and rear differentials are also mechanical. As the regulations prohibit any form of electronic control all three differentials have viscous locking capabilities. Page 1 of 1
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Twelve months after the one-two finish in the category for two-wheel drive vehicles, and the best result for a diesel engine car, Volkswagen is to take on the Dakar Rally again (1-18 January 2004). For the first time, the team under new Motorsport Director Kris Nissen will compete with two newly designed Volkswagen Race-Touareg cars. Both the desert racers, fitted with five-cylinder TDI engines producing over 230 bhp, will make their competition debut in the desert rally covering almost 11,000 kilometres between France and Senegal.