VW's Walk On The Wild Side

The Touareg may have arrived late to the off-roading party, but VW is making up for lost time with a wild mud-plugging roadster/coupé. Unveiled at this week's Detroit Motor Show, the Concept T is a direct rival to the Range Stormer, which also premiered at the US event.

Auto Express Car Reviews

By Mat Watson

07th January 2004

However, while the Land Rover looks familiar, the newcomer bears little re-semblance to the rest of the VW family. In fact, with huge cut-away wheel- arches and massive alloys, exposed suspension, bulging wings and a rear-mounted spare wheel, it looks more like a Paris-Dakar racer than a normal 4x4.

And these aren't the only wacky styling features. The Concept T has clever 'floating' lamps front and rear, a removable two-section roof incorporating a T-bar and rear hard-top, plus scissor-style doors. And can you see the two exhaust pipes? They are built into the back of the bodywork, next to the tail-lamps, to boost the ground clearance.

Inside, the driver and passenger sit in flexible aluminium seats. Satin-effect, dirt-resistant plastics feature throughout the cabin, although the hard-wearing trim can be swapped for leather panels when the vehicle is being used for in-town cruising rather than off-roading.

The Concept T also boasts a range of state-of-the-art technology. Driving information is projected on to a head-up display, while a dash-mounted palm- top computer operates functions such as the stereo and climate control. This unit is removable, so the owner can use the sat-nav system while hiking.

Under the bonnet of the Concept T is the Golf R32's 3.2-litre V6 unit. Power is fed to all wheels by VW's 4Motion system via a Tiptronic gearbox.

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