VW Touareg TDI Trophy Truck

LOS ANGELES — VW will unveil its purpose-built Baja Race Touareg TDI Trophy Truck next week at the 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show. The truck is powered by a clean turbodiesel engine and is intended for use in the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 desert race.

VW's Trophy Truck will be the first truck in the Baja racing series to be powered by a turbocharged clean diesel engine. The 5.5-liter V12 makes 550 horsepower and 625 pound-feet of torque.

VW prepared the Touareg for the 634-mile desert course with a double A-arm front suspension that allows 25 inches of wheel travel, a four-link rear suspension, Fox Racing shocks, Eibach coil-overs and huge BFGoodrich 37-by-13.5-by-17-inch off-road tires.

The truck is 213 inches long, has a wheelbase of 125 inches and weighs 5,650 pounds. Its chassis was built by Arciero Miller Racing and the body was designed at Volkswagen's Design Center in Santa Monica, California.

Inside Line says: This truck should be more than capable in the desert with its long list of suspension mods. — Mike Lysaght, Correspondent