Spyshots: 2011 Race Touareg 3

In what is perhaps the saddest coverage of a set of spyshots we've ever done, here's the 2011 Race Touareg. We say saddest because, you know, there's no chance in freezing hell we'll ever see this monster trek the common roads.

Purposely-built for use in the famous, dusty Dakar Rally and other similar events, the 2011 Race Touareg, Volkswagen's entry in next year's Dakar event has been caught while it was put through it's paces in a very unlikely place: the Swiss Alps.

As you can see in the adjacent photos, the racer is unchanged when it comes to the body it wears. Featuring the same design as today's version, the special Touareg hides something really special under the hood: a revised, tweaked version of the bi-turbo 2.5l five-cylinder TDI. We say revised because, you know, we hope to see slighter higher troop in the 2011 version, perhaps even one some 300 hp strong.

Yet, so far, expectations are the engine will develop only 284 PS and 443 lb.-ft (600 Nm) of torque. The same figures which earned the Race Touareg 2, the previous version, the first and second spot in the 2010 Dakar Rally.

The things which count the most however in a Dakar racer, the suspension, still remain a mystery. There is however rumour the new car will be using a revised electric system, to cope with the increase in power.

There will be no official presentation of the new racer, other than the one VW will host at the start line of the 2011 Dakar Rally on January 1st.