Volkswagen says goodbye to short-lived V8 TDI with Touareg Last Edition

With BMW ending production quad-turbodiesel straight-six engine last month, Volkswagen has now bid farewell to its V8 oil-burner in the Touareg after just over a year in production.

Although apparently set to continue in the Audi SQ7 and SQ8, the twin-turbo 4.0-litre bent-eight’s future became sealed last year after Volkswagen Group Head of Passenger Vehicle Sales and Marketing, Jürgen Stackmann, confirmed to Top Gear Magazine that the 310kW/900Nm unit would be Wolfsburg’s last ever large displacement diesel engine.

Before becoming available Touareg, it had already been discontinued in the Bentley Bentayga Diesel due to poorer than expected sales. According to Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport, the V8 only accounted for 17% of diesel Touareg sales in its home market, with 77% of buyers wanting an oil-burner opting for the smaller 3.0 TDI V6. Its place as flagship Touareg will now be taken by the plug-in hybrid Touareg R.

“We had a long debate, and we believe Touareg is a prime car. It can handle any competitor from around the world. Giving it a V8 twist is a very special honour, and I believe it’s going to be a collector’s car, from day one,” Stackmann told the British publication at the time.

“I’ve met a lot of Touareg V10 TDI customers, and those that have one will never sell it. It’ll be the same idea with the V8. It’s for those customers who want something very special, and they’ll get it. Most likely, it’ll be the last V8 diesel car you’ll see”.

Shown for the first time at last year’s Geneva Motor Show, the engine, which won’t be adapted to comply with Euro 7 emissions regulations, will remain unchanged for the Touareg Last Edition that will be sold only in Germany where production will total 400 units.

Going on sale next week Monday (17 August), the Last Edition uses the Touareg R-Line as a base, but receives unique touches, namely gloss black wheel arch cladding, a gloss black finish on the diffuser and door handles as part of the Black Style Pack, Last Edition badging on the B-pillars and a options pack that includes black 21-inch Suzuka alloy wheels, the Matrix LED headlights, adaptive chassis and the Innovision Cockpit.

Able to accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 4.9 seconds and on to a limited top speed of 250 km/h, the Touareg V8 TDI Last Edition will have a choice of six colours; Pure White, Silicon Grey Metallic, Antimony Silver Metallic, Malbec Red Metallic, Oryx White Metallic Pearl Effect and Deep Black Pearl Effect and come with a sticker price of €104 361 (R2 1418 47) versus the R-Line’s €92 201 (R1 892 282).

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