A&Q about 350Z
Q:
Record-breaking: Touareg tows Boeing 747
TDI power: A Touareg V10 TDI takes a 155-ton jet along for a ride
Wolfsburg, November 24, 2006. “Wanna bet that a Touareg V10 TDI
can tow a Boeing 747?” “A 155-ton jet?” “Never!” “Sure it can!” This
verbal exchange by two Volkswagen employees had consequences:
A few months later, on Thursday this week, a Volkswagen crew did
indeed hook up a new generation Touareg V10 TDI to a 747. The
certified result: The SUV pulled it off easily. However, the receipt of
orders from airport operators wanting to replace their tow vehicles
weighing up to 70 tons with the significantly more economical
Touareg could not be confirmed.
The “Touareg tows a Boeing 747” event took place at the Dunsfold
Aerodrome in England, located 40 miles from the gates of London. From
the very start the question, entirely seriously meant, was posed about
how powerful a modern, top range SUV with engine, four-wheel drive and
chassis is.
The Touareg is innately the ideal towing vehicle: Maximum load
capacities are 3,500 kilos for trailers and 1,640 kilos for the rear axle. But
when instead of a 3.5 ton boat trailer a jet weighing over 155 tons –
consisting of 511 m2 of wing surface, 4 engines, 450 seats and a fuselage
the size of a block of houses – is attached to the hitch, things look quite a
bit different. Careful preparations must be made.
In order for the Touareg V10 TDI to be able to tow the big bird, the weight
of the Volkswagen had to first be increased. This sounds paradoxical but
is absolutely necessary so that the power of the engine can be converted
into propelling force. For this purpose steel balls and steel plates were
distributed in the SUV. Extra weight: 4,345 kilos! Total weight of the
Touareg: 7,030 kilos. Weight distribution: 2,755 kilos in front, 4,275 kilos
in back.
The other modifications were kept to a minimum. For the front axle drive
the shorter transmission of the Touareg V8 was integrated in place of the
V10 TDI transmission. The crew increased air pressure in the standard
Michelin tires to 4.5 bar. And finally, the maximum speed was limited –
not out of fear that the unusual harnessed system would become
airborne, but to protect the tires. Everything else, from the engine to the
shock suspension system and four-wheel drive corresponded exactly to
the series production version.
An extra device was then used to hook up the Boeing 747 to the
Touareg’s standard trailer hitch. The experiment could begin. Based on
the maximum torque of the V10 TDI (750 Nm) and the transmission ratio,
the engineers had previously calculated that the Touareg would be able to
put approx. 200 tons into motion. But who would trust his calculations if a
1.7 meter high, 4.75 meter long car was suddenly attached to a 19.4
meter high jet over 70 meters long? Nobody would. Especially not when
typical English weather with heavy rain and headwinds were lashing
across the car and jet as if there was no tomorrow.
But the Touareg did the job. Volkswagen technician Uwe Krieghoff took
the wheel. He started the engine. Using the four-wheel drive control on
the middle console he selected the “LOW” setting for reduced off-road
speed. 50 percent of driving force was now distributed to the front axle
and 50 percent to the back. Krieghoff manually selected the second gear
of the automatic transmission, accelerated slowly and reflected on getting
the 18 head-height wheels of the 155 ton 747 rolling from a standing
position. The greatest power was required in these few seconds. As soon
as this harnessed system got moving, it would move. But the only thing
that budged at first was the engine speed. Krieghoff continued to push
down the gas pedal to about the halfway position. And with not a hint of
traction problems the Touareg and the jumbo jet started moving. After a
distance of 150 meters Krieghoff slowed the harnessed system to a stop.
A post check-up of the Touareg did not find any evidence of damage to
the car. Everything was A-OK.
Incidentally, the new generation of the Touareg is now available for order.
The SUV comes standard equipped with ESP plus trailer stabilization. It is
extremely effective at preventing trailers from dangerously fishtailing
when improperly loaded or traveling at excessively high speed. The
system didn’t kick in during the test with the 747 – the speed was only
eight km/h.
Wow, pretty impressive. Seen the picture as well.
A:
Saw this in the Sun, great advert for VW, he got up to 20mph!!
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Germans... I like their mentality. Isn't that how the old Audi quattro advert came about, driving up the ski jump slope. Need pics/vids.
A:
"This bit of news will no doubt be a big badge of honor for the few owners there are out there of the Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI. VW is hoping the number of Touareg TDI owners will g row, and demonstrated the diesel ute's mighty pulling power recently in a press event that pitted it against the standing weight of a Boeing 747. The Touareg was "lightly modified" with the addition of 7,030 kg (15,498 lbs.) of ballast weight (!) and the fitment of the 4.56 axle from Touareg V8 model. The latter mod turned out to be unnecessary since the driver, Uew Krieghoff, performed the stunt in the low ratio, second gear. Other than that, the Touareg was also fitted with a special tow adapter to marry the two vehicles together and wore outer body panels that made it look the same as the next gen Touareg being launched early next year. The engine, transmission, suspension, tires and brakes were all stock.
The plane used for the stunt was a decommissioned Boeing 747-200 that weighs 155 tons. VW had initially calculated the Touareg could successfully pull 200 tons, and had even done a dry run with a 190-ton Boeing 747-400. Unfortunately, the only plane that cou ld be acquired for the PR stunt was this one that is usually! used as a giant prop in films. Apparently it didn't put up much of a fight, as the Touareg towed the jet 150 meters at 5 mph before slowing itself and the plane to a stop with its stock brakes. Impressive indeed, and we think the Touareg V10 TDI has laid down the gauntlet for our domestic heavy haulers. Let's see what crazy objects the Ford Super-Duty, Chevy Silverado HD and Dodge Ram 3500 can tug around.
Follow the jump for more pics of the Touareg's towing exploits.
[Source: VW]"
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Absolutley awesome...
This picture is the icing on the cake:
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That is damn good going
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Absolutely, and it was lashing down with rain at the same time. The Touareg pulled it 150 meters too, impressive stuff eh?
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read this on pistonheads lastnight, i couldnt believe it! apparently they've done 7 completed runs! im gonna have to show my dad, it might persuade him to upgrade from his v6 tdi!
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Wasn't it a Touareg that towed a Fiat Panda up a quarter mile on a trailer quicker than the Panda could do it itself?
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Wasn't it a Touareg that towed a Fiat Panda up a quarter mile on a trailer quicker than the Panda could do it itself?
sounds very believable!
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How come its been in the sun, and on pistonheads, but the official VW press release was only sent to me this morning.
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Thats amazing! Especially in the wet!!
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i posted that agessss ago
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I'm doing it the opposite way, I'll now be using one of these to go shopping and picking up the kids...
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i posted that agessss ago
So you did. On the ball werent you. Thats 3 of us that have posted it now.
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bizarre!, but true
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lol
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beats stump pulling
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i posted that agessss ago
So you did. On the ball werent you. Thats 3 of us that have posted it now.
all from different sources too,
jaz
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Impressive. Still looks sh*t though.