To commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Pan American highway, a team led by Rainer Dietlow plans to drive from Ushuaia, Argentina to Deadhorse, Alaska in a VW Touareg diesel AWD SUV. The drive starts June 29th. Follow the progress here:
http://www.tdi-panamericana.com/index.php
To increase the challenge, the three man team will attempt to complete the 15,000+ mile journey in 14 days. They will drive in shifts around the clock, stopping as little as possible. The team will travel in a single vehicle, without additional support.
The Touareg SUV will be mostly in stock condition. Preparations include adding an extra 300 liter fuel cell (that's about 80 US gallons), driving lights and slightly bigger tires. Since diesel fuel weighs about 7 lbs per gallon, that means they're carrying an extra 560 lbs of fuel. So I'm guessing that they strengthened the Touareg's suspension. I bet they also added racing seats and 5 point seat belts for added protection.
Rainer Dietlow has made a career out of drives using VW equipment. You may remember the altitude record Dietlow and others set in 2005 driving a team of Touaregs up a volcano in Chile. At the time, this was an absolute automobile altitude record. Shortly thereafter, a pair of Chilenos drove a modified Suzuki Samurai farther up the same mountain. So now Dietlow's web page calls his effort a record "for standard models."
http://www.touareg-record.com/index_e.htm
In 2008, Dietlow led a team on a six month, 28,000 mile drive through 40 countries on five continents in a vehicle powered only by compressed natural gas. On this trip, they used a VW Carry, a small utility vehicle about the same size and shape as a Ford Transit Connect. At the completion of the trip, the team estimated that they spent less than half as much on fuel costs and emitted fewer pollutants than what a typical gasoline-powered vehicle would have on a similar journey. Read about the EcoFuel World Tour here
http://www.ecofuel-world-tour.com/238.0.html?&L=2
http://www.tdi-panamericana.com/index.php
To increase the challenge, the three man team will attempt to complete the 15,000+ mile journey in 14 days. They will drive in shifts around the clock, stopping as little as possible. The team will travel in a single vehicle, without additional support.
The Touareg SUV will be mostly in stock condition. Preparations include adding an extra 300 liter fuel cell (that's about 80 US gallons), driving lights and slightly bigger tires. Since diesel fuel weighs about 7 lbs per gallon, that means they're carrying an extra 560 lbs of fuel. So I'm guessing that they strengthened the Touareg's suspension. I bet they also added racing seats and 5 point seat belts for added protection.
Rainer Dietlow has made a career out of drives using VW equipment. You may remember the altitude record Dietlow and others set in 2005 driving a team of Touaregs up a volcano in Chile. At the time, this was an absolute automobile altitude record. Shortly thereafter, a pair of Chilenos drove a modified Suzuki Samurai farther up the same mountain. So now Dietlow's web page calls his effort a record "for standard models."
http://www.touareg-record.com/index_e.htm
In 2008, Dietlow led a team on a six month, 28,000 mile drive through 40 countries on five continents in a vehicle powered only by compressed natural gas. On this trip, they used a VW Carry, a small utility vehicle about the same size and shape as a Ford Transit Connect. At the completion of the trip, the team estimated that they spent less than half as much on fuel costs and emitted fewer pollutants than what a typical gasoline-powered vehicle would have on a similar journey. Read about the EcoFuel World Tour here
http://www.ecofuel-world-tour.com/238.0.html?&L=2
