If you asked me what’s one of the most underrated cars ever made in the modern day, I’d say it’s the Volkswagen Touareg. When you look at one, you might be inclined to think it’s not that serious of an SUV. I wouldn’t blame you, because it looks round and soft like a crossover. It doesn’t look like something that you’d ride in to conquer Moab. And that’s part of what makes it great. As I’ve written about before, the Volkswagen Touareg was born from the same development that created the Porsche Cayenne. Facing an unsteady future in the 1990s, Porsche decided to fund itself with a cash cow. An SUV was chosen to be Porsche’s financial vehicle, and initially, it was supposed to be the high-performance version of the Mercedes-Benz M-Class. Thankfully, that didn’t come to fruition, because Porsche ended back with old friend Volkswagen, led by madman exec Ferdinand Piëch. And two absolutely incredible SUVs came out of the other end. To call the Porsche Cayenne and Volkswagen Touareg super SUVs would be an understatement. These are mid-sizers with an incredible amount of off-road kit. I’m talking limited-slip differentials, permanent four-wheel-drive, short overhangs, loads of ground clearance, adjustable suspensions, low-range gearboxes, optional differential locks, and a 7,700-pound tow rating. And on the technology side, you get hill descent control, off-road traction control, off-road ABS, parking sensors, and even a hill start system for manual transmissions. This is technology that you’ll find on stuff like a Wilderness spec Subaru today, but a full 20 years ago. And perhaps the best part is that it’s all seamless. The technology works together with the hardware without you telling it to, making you look like an off-roading legend. Of the two, the Porsche Cayenne was meant to be more sporty. At its most powerful, you could get a Porsche Cayenne Turbo S featuring a 4.8-liter twin-turbo V8 making 550 HP. That’s good for a 60 mph sprint in just 4.4 seconds. But what if you like your super SUV a little more subtle? Well, the Volkswagen Touareg had versions that weren’t slouches either. The best version of the Volkswagen Touareg offered in the United States is the V10 TDI. Featuring a 310-HP 5.0-liter twin-turbo V10 diesel, the SUV–which sounds like a Lamborghini eating a bucket of bolts–pulls to 60 mph in about 7 seconds. Yes, that’s much slower than the Porsche, but that diesel actually makes the same torque as the Porsche at 553 lb-ft. It hauls like a train, even up a mountain. It’ll do 140 mph, too, which actually makes it faster than the Ram TRX’s electronically-limited 118 mph top speed. But you can do even better. Starting in fall 2004, Volkswagen offered an even faster version of the Touareg. The company reached into its parts bin and pulled out the 6.0-liter W12, an engine that had found other homes in the Audi A8, the Bentley Continental GT, and the Volkswagen Phaeton. Here, it’s making 444 HP and 443 lb-ft torque. Again, it’s not quite as fast as the Porsche, but since it can dispatch the 60 mph sprint in under 6 seconds, it’s plenty quick for an SUV. Oh, and here’s what a Volkswagen W12 sounds like straight-piped:
The Touareg W12 was originally intended to be a limited edition model limited to just 500 units. However, Volkswagen eventually just offered it as a regular model. It’s unknown how many of these were produced in total. What is known is that they set European buyers back about 100,000 Euros before adding them down with options. This particular Touareg W12 Executive was first sold in Japan. A sticker on the tailgate suggests that at one point it was sold by Yanase & Co., Ltd. in Japan. It appears to be pretty loaded with front and rear heated seats, sunroof, and a rather fantastic interior. These were never sold in any part of North America, so this is a rare beast to see. It also has an aftermarket exhaust, so it’s ready for you to let it sing. There’s just 41,010 miles on its odometer, so hopefully it’s not a reliability nightmare. Sadly, there’s a catch, and it’s that it’s across the border in Canada. Recently, I’ve been reaching out to importers to figure out if I could get a Smart Roadster here. Some have told me that it’s not worth trying to circumvent the infamous 25-year-rule, and others had confidence that they could import just about any car legally, so long as you have enough patience and time. One thing’s for sure, the consensus from importers seems to be that you better have some big money to import something like this. That said, if you’re lucky enough to already be in Canada, or know the right person, you could buy this for $37,800 from Winding Road Motorcars. That translates to $28,389 USD. That’s not bad at all for an off-road beast that can tow your track car and also be your track car. I’ve made many of these types of purchases. If my math is correct, down south of the 49th parallel, that W12 would be a W9.2. Touareg forum: “How do I get more power?” Answer: Get the V8. Need more? Get the V10. Still not enough? There’s the W12 (if you can find one). Still not floating your boat? There’s the Porsche variants, the V12 Audi or the Urus. Not many people ask anyway, even the ‘base’ V6TDi will pull stumps. Of course that’s probably because nobody wants to work on them… (Please don’t bother explaining why it won’t work or it’s stupid. I know it’s dumb. I just pulled it out of my ass for fun.) A V10 won the showroom stock class at pike:s peak! I would be very curious to have a look at a w12. I have no idea how they fit it in the engine bay because my V8 is absolutely crammed in there.
