Best ever V10s: the Volkswagen Touareg R50's torque-filled monster

Which car best represents the ‘build it or you’re fired’ engineering excess of Ferdinand Piëch’s Volkswagen Group? Probably the 987bhp, 253mph Bugatti Veyron. And the 313mpg VW XL1. Or the attempt to outdo the S-Class Mercedes with the spectacularly unsuccessful Phaeton. The list of self-owning zero business case leviathans is hilarious. And right among them is a Volkswagen Touareg... with a turbodiesel V10.

Unlike Audi (which later one-upped its parent company with a V12 powered Q7 TDI), VW didn’t have a diesel motorsport effort to promote. It already had a petrol W12 on the books. But someone, somewhere in product planning figured there would also be enough demand for a diesel drinking flagship engine. 

The resulting engine delivered 308hp and 553lb ft. Record breaking numbers for a diesel, but the Touareg ended up north of 2.6 tonnes. There was headroom for a tune-up which duly arrived with 2007’s Touareg R50. Boosted to 345bhp and 627lb ft, it’s the single torquiest V10 ever devised for the public highway.

The fact only 41 are currently registered to use in the UK tells you something about what it’s like to own. Keepers report mid-20s to the gallon and monstrous towing ability (VW famously set up a Boeing 747 hauling stunt when the car was new), but squeezing such a vast powerplant into a ‘normal car’ engine bay means working on the motor in situ is like trying to build a king size bed in a phone box. 

Still, none of Piëch’s follies are cheap to run. They’re landmark cars. And for turning a Touareg into the world’s first modern super SUV, the R50 V10 deserves commemoration. It was a different time...

Volkswagen Touareg R50

Price new (2008): £61,885
Price now: £3,500
Engine: 4,921cc TT V10, 345bhp @ 3,500rpm, 627Ib ft @ 2000rpm
Transmission: 6 speed auto, AWD
Performance: 0-62mph in 4.9secs, 146mph
Weight: 2,620kg

Photography: Jonny Fleetwood & Alex Tapley