VOLKSWAGEN SETS COURSE FOR 3rd DAKAR RALLY TITLE WITH NEW RT3

2010-08-23 16:38:08 Author: admin Source:

Volkswagen Motorsports held a lavish unveiling ceremony for the much anticipated VW Race Touareg 3 at the amphitheatre in Trier, Germany last week. The Dakar rally title defenders' main target is to secure the brand’s third consecutive "Dakar” victory in South America from 1 - 16 January 2011.

The RT 3, an evolution of the previous variant, is a 310-hp four-wheel-drive upgraded Touareg based vehicle. This latest Dakar challenger, the RT 3, contains three new major elements; improvement of the cooling system, optimized gearbox tuning and more power for driving at high altitudes. In addition, the engineers’ agenda included detailed work to increase the performance capabilities of the two-time Dakar Rally winning RT 2 even further.

In aerodynamics, the RT 3 has been optimized, plus it is now incorporated with a distinctive look of the T2 production "sibling” for the "Dakar” version which entails dynamic exterior character traits. The Race Touareg 3’s most obvious change compared with the predecessor model is found in the roof area (above) where the air flow towards the radiator, the damper cooling and the diesel fuel cooling systems has been radically changed. The objective was to improve the chimney effect to remove the heat which accumulates under the carbon fibre-reinforced cladding while optimizing air supply in the process.

For intercooling purposes, the RT3 has a much improved overall engine cooling mechanism which translates to a gain in efficiency and improved power output. Due to this and other detailed work, the 2.5-litre TDI diesel engine version for the 2011 RT3 delivers 229 kW (310 hp) – seven kW (10 hp) more than the unit used in the RT 2.
 

Also present at the event were VW Dakar Rally drivers; Dakar 2010 winner Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz, Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk, '09 champs Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz  and Mark Miller/Ralph Pitchford (USA/ZA). These brave men will again carry the VW banners at the 2011 Dakar that starts and finishes in Buenos Aires, and covers about 4,500 kilometres of special stages through Argentina and Chile.

To those unfamiliar with the Dakar, the cross-country rally is regarded as the greatest challenge in the rallying world. VW has revolutionized cross-country rally sport with the R T 2 and TDI technology – and decided the legendary "Dakar” twice in its favor in the past two years. VW is also the only manufacturer so far to have won the automobile classification of the desert classic with diesel power.
 
For the "Dakar” hat-trick mission, the VW squad leaves nothing to chance, in January 2011 four newly developed RT 3s will cross the starting ramp in Buenos Aires. The drivers' tasks will again be to master the endurance test consisting of the legendary Pampas, the dizzying altitudes of the Andes and the gruelling Atacama desert across two South American countries.