WOLFSBURG, Germany — It's not as if you
are ever going to be in a position to use your Volkswagen
Touareg V10 TDI to pull a Boeing 747 out of
a ditch.
But the German automaker thought it would be
an interesting exercise to see if such a feat is even
possible. At the very least, it made for some interesting
photos.
The event took place at the Dunsfold Aerodrome
in England. To make the Touareg able to tow the
plane, VW engineers first increased the SUV's weight
so "the power of the engine [could] be converted into
propelling force." Steel balls and steel plates were
distributed in the SUV for an additional weight of
9,579 pounds. The total weight of the Touareg in this
case amounted to 15,498 pounds.
Other modifications included increasing air pressure in the standard Michelin tires, limiting the maximum speed of
the vehicle to protect the tires and replacing the V10 TDI transmission with the transmission of the Touareg V8.
An extra device was used to hook up the plane to the standard trailer hitch. "Based on the maximum torque of the
V10 TDI (550 pound-feet) and the transmission ratio, the engineers had previously calculated that the Touareg would be
able to put approximately 200 tons into motion," said VW in a statement.
Turns out they were correct. With the four-wheel-drive control in the low setting and the automatic transmission in
2nd gear, a VW technician was able to perform the
Read Article