Volkswagen has revealed another anniversary edition, but this one won’t be coming to Australia.
The Volkswagen Touareg Edition 20 celebrates two decades of the brand’s flagship luxury SUV and will go on sale in the European market from mid-June 2022.
A spokesperson for VW Australia has confirmed the Touareg Edition 20 won’t be making the trip Down Under, despite the nameplate’s strong following locally, with the company instead focusing on the Touareg R plug-in hybrid.
Further, the company’s local division recently announced it has secured 1000 units from its Slovakian plant throughout the second half of 2022, which will cut wait times and satisfy high local demand.
The 20th Anniversary special will be available abroad with all of the Touareg’s existing non-performance powertrains – meaning 170kW and 210kW 3.0 V6 TDI diesels, a 250kW 3.0 V6 TSI petrol and a 280kW V6 TSI plug-in hybrid (PHEV).
The special edition gets new Meloe Blue exterior paint and 20-inch Bogota alloy wheels in high-gloss black, both of which aren’t available elsewhere in the range.
Other exterior enhancements include rear privacy glass, LED tail lights with cherry red tint, and an EDITION 20 badge on the B-pillar.
Further, there’s gloss-black trim for the wheel arches and rear diffuser.
Inside, the anniversary appointments include illuminated EDITION 20 door sills, high-grade Savona leather upholstery with diamond stitching, and seams in contrasting Ceramique (light beige).
The Touareg Edition 20 also adds sporty red contrast stitching and accents for the dash panel, steering wheel and door cards, and there’s EDITION 20 branding on the dashboard insert as well.
You’ll also find the EDITION 20 logo embossed into the leather gear selector.
Pricing in Europe starts at €77,530 ($116,782) for the Touareg Edition 20 170kW V6 TDI.
From left: Touareg 2Gen, 3Gen and 1Gen
Now in its third generation, the Volkswagen Touareg was first introduced globally in 2002, before arriving in Australia in 2003.
The first-generation Touareg offered a range of engines throughout its lifecycle, including five-, six- eight- and ten-cylinder engines. It shared its platform with the first iterations of the Audi Q7 and Porsche Cayenne.
Volkswagen’s first R-badged SUV, the Touareg R50, formed part of the facelifted range and was revealed at the 2008 Australian International Motor Show in Sydney, packing a stoning 258kW and 850Nm from its 5.0-litre V10 twin-turbo diesel. The hulking performance SUV could dash from 0-100 in 6.7 seconds and hit a top speed of 235km/h.
There was even a quicker 331kW 6.0-litre W12 model produced for certain markets, which shared its motor with the likes of the VW Phaeton limousine and the Bentley Continental.
The second generation launched in 2010 and ran until 2018, and ditched the five- and ten-cylinder engines in favour of six- and eight-cylinder units.
Like its predecessor, the second-gen Touareg was a technology carrier for the brand drawing upon its shared underpinnings with the Q7 and Cayenne.
The latest third iteration launched globally in 2018, and arrived in Australia 2019.
Currently, it’s offered with 170kW and 210kW 3.0 V6 TDI diesels, and will soon be available with a 340kW 3.0 V6 TSI plug-in hybrid in the form of the Touareg R – which has been slightly delayed until 2023 though orders will open during the latter stages of 2022.