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Touareg TDI tugs a Boeing 747

Touareg TDI tugs a Boeing 747

James Martinez November 22nd, 2006 James Martinez By James Martinez Author November 22nd, 2006
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December 31st, 1969 Volkswagen’s mighty V10 Touareg TDI managed to pull a Boeing 747-200 jumbo jet, weighing approximately 155 tonnes, across a runway at Dunsfold Aerodrome in the UK. Fitted with a special towing adaptor to connect it to the jet’s undercarriage, plus almost 4.3 tonnes of metal ballast, the Touareg itself weighed in at over 7 tonnes. The vehicle was an ordinary production version powered by a V10 turbo diesel with 553ft-lbs of torque, and featured fully standard self-levelling air suspension, wheels and tires. The only modification was the fitment of the 4.56 axle ratio from the Touareg V8 model in place of the 3.27 gearing of the V10. For the event, the Touareg pulled the jet over a 150m stretch seven times with an average speed of 5mph before bringing itself and the jet to rest on the SUV’s standard brakes. Follow the jump to see more high-res images.
Touareg TDI tugs a Boeing 747

Touareg TDI tugs a Boeing 747

Enlarge Photo

Volkswagen’s mighty V10 Touareg TDI managed to pull a Boeing 747-200 jumbo jet, weighing approximately 155 tonnes, across a runway at Dunsfold Aerodrome in the UK. Fitted with a special towing adaptor to connect it to the jet’s undercarriage, plus almost 4.3 tonnes of metal ballast, the Touareg itself weighed in at over 7 tonnes.

The vehicle was an ordinary production version powered by a V10 turbo diesel with 553ft-lbs of torque, and featured fully standard self-levelling air suspension, wheels and tires. The only modification was the fitment of the 4.56 axle ratio from the Touareg V8 model in place of the 3.27 gearing of the V10.

For the event, the Touareg pulled the jet over a 150m stretch seven times with an average speed of 5mph before bringing itself and the jet to rest on the SUV’s standard brakes. Follow the jump to see more high-res images.

touareg_747_01.jpgEnlarge Photo
touareg_747_02.jpgEnlarge Photo
touareg_747_03.jpgEnlarge Photo
touareg_747_04.jpgEnlarge Photo

Tags: Odds and ends

Posted in: 2008, Volkswagen, News, SUVs, Touareg


Comments (9 total)

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  1. By charley #1, Posted: 11/23/2006

    Astonishing ! don't you think it's one of those Top Gear's challenges coming in the next series? Or was it just a widely advertised event from volkswagen themself?

  2. By surok #2, Posted: 11/23/2006

    nahh it has to be topgear.. who else at dunsfold no less

  3. By charley #3, Posted: 11/23/2006

    yeah that's exactly what i thought :) ! Can't wait to watch it on TV !

  4. By surok #4, Posted: 11/24/2006

    wait, no its not topgear.but i think they will mention it like " during our break volkswagen brought their V10 touareg down to our base and towed a 747, we have some footage of that. "

  5. By charley #5, Posted: 11/24/2006

    Yeah exactly you're right, i've just checked on the TopGear magazine website www.topgear.com , and they say it's an event performed by VW themselves, on the same track where the stig use to do his power laps.
    Although, I can't really understand why they came there. Just for J.Clarkson to talk about it in the upcoming series?

  6. By admin #6, Posted: 11/24/2006

    No, because the track they use is also for hire by private companies. It's relatively cheap, and I think the 747 was already there because you can often see it in the background of Top Gear episodes.

  7. By T_Rabbit #7, Posted: 12/8/2006

    hats off to the new generation of diesel engines.. the only other engine that can stand up to this task is the TDV8 by Land Rover.. btw this event was actually set up by VW themselves but was featured on Top Gear's rival programme, Fifth Gear. (4th December Episode - i haven't seen the episode yet so cannot confirm)

  8. By Robby #8, Posted: 5/27/2007

    Those engines are very close for the B747-200 but the body looks correct comments?

  9. By Alan Brown #9, Posted: 8/2/2007

    The jet is a genuine 747 which was bought by Dunsfold Park as a "museum piece". The actual engines were removed, the engines seen in the photos are props added for the filming of Casino Royale. They are mounted side by side, as in the b52.

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