Volkswagen has officially announced it is saying goodbye to the Touareg, its first SUV.
The Touareg has not been sold in the United States since 2017, when it was replaced by the Atlas, a wider and more affordable SUV. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t well received. Across its three generations, VW sold around 1.2 million Touareg units globally.
Now, Volkswagen has announced that it will officially discontinue the Touareg for 2026. To bid farewell in style, VW will offer a special Final Edition for pre-order in March next year.
The Final Edition model will cost around $87,500, according to Car And Driver. For comparison, a top-of-the-line Atlas SEL Premium R-Line costs approximately $54,630, making it easy to understand the reason for discontinuation.
Still, the Touareg was a true gem for VW. The V-10 TDI version, for example, featured a 5.0-liter turbo diesel engine capable of producing over 300 hp. Volkswagen was so proud of the vehicle that it hooked up one to a Boeing 747 and towed the airplane across a runway.
Volkswagen also entered a racing version of the Touareg in the Rally Dakar, achieving three consecutive wins starting in 2009. Another feat involved a second-generation model equipped with a V-6 TDI, which traveled from Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, all the way to Alaska in just under 12 days.
Twenty-three years after its launch, the impact of the VW Touareg still resonates throughout the automotive industry. In fact, the model laid the foundation for luxury SUVs we know today, such as the Bentley Bentayga and the Lamborghini Urus, which has become the best-selling Lambo of all time.
Photos: Volkswagen. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
