VW Touareg finishes a tour along Silk Road

A fleet of Touareg SUVs from Volkswagen took 15 days to finish a 5,200-kilometer trip along the ancient Silk Road. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

A fleet of 30 Touareg SUVs from Volkswagen have finished a 5,200-kilometer trip along the ancient Silk Road. The trip, which took 15 days to complete, was designed to demonstrate the model's ability to cope with different road conditions.

The journey, in celebration of the model's 15th anniversary, started from Luoyang, a city in central China's Henan province, to Horgos, a border city in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

"Our Touareg doesn't just look like a conqueror; it also acts like one," Axel Schroeder, managing director of Volkswagen Import, said.

Sporting a 3.0-liter V6 supercharged engine and an eight-speed Tiptronic transmission, the model boasts a maximum output of 235 kW and a top torque of 440 Nm.

It can finish a 0-100 km/h sprint in seven seconds and has a top speed of 235 km/h.

Schroeder said the model featured a strong body structure, and added its enhanced air suspension offered four modes of comfort and sport, on-road and off-road. He said it offered a ground clearance of up to 300 mm, and the 4-Motion technology enabled smooth driving through even very challenging conditions.

"Our number-one mission is to provide Chinese consumers with Volkswagen's latest and most authentic German-engineered cars," he said.

More than 150,000 Touaregs have been sold in China since its entry into the country during 2004.

In the past years, the Volkswagen Touareg has undertaken many grueling journeys and long-distance driving challenges.

In 2005, a Touareg drove up the world's highest active volcano, Ojos del Salado, and in 2014 the model traversed Europe and Africa in 21 days, breaking the multi-continent endurance record.