A Dakar Racer for the Road

2012 VW Race Touareg 3 Qatar

Somehow, all the good stuff end up overseas. I guess it's because we have too many laws and restrictions and we, ourselves, are choosy, picky, buyers when it comes to cars. In Qatar, Dubai, or Abu Dhabi though, there are rules and restrictions, but buyers there don't care what car they drive, and here's a perfect example. The Qatar Motor Show was on recently and VW showed up with this race-ready VW Race Touareg 3 Qatar. This Touareg was specially modded so that it can be used on the road, therefore making it a road-legal rally machine. It still has the 300 horsepower 2.5-liter TDI engine, but the rest of car is about the same. On the outside, it's not that much different than the regular Dakar racer except for the gold-colored BBS rims, and gold-vinyled "Race Touareg" words across each side.

Interior View

Inside, there are some changes. First, the seats aren't regular leathers, but Recaro racing buckets. The steering wheel is a racing one as well. But, other than that, the car is still somewhat luxurious. There's even a Navigation screen on the passenger side of the car. So, if you want a rally racing SUV with real rally racing pedigree, and road-ready regulations, then this is the SUV for you. It's too bad that it's only available in Qatar.

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