In the 2003 Dakar Rally, Volkswagen entered a team of rear wheel drive Tarek buggies.
VW claimed sixth overall, driven by Stephane Henrard and co-driver Bobby Willis.
In the following year, the 2004 Dakar Rally saw the debut rally for the T2 class purpose built Race Touareg by Volkswagen Motorsport.
Bruno Saby and co driver Matthew Stevenson claimed sixth position overall.
In the 2005 Dakar Rally, Jutta Kleinschmidt and co driver Fabrizia Pons claimed third spot overall in the Race Touareg.

In the 2006 Dakar Rally, Volkswagen driver Giniel de Villiers and co-driver Tina Thörner claimed second spot the highest ever for a diesel model in the new Race Touareg 2.
It has a shorter wheelbase than the original Race Touareg, as well as increased visibility.
 For the 2007 Dakar Rally, VW driver Mark Miller and Ralph Pitchford drove the Race Touareg 2 to 4th position overall.
In the 2008 Central Europe Rally, Carlos Sainz drove his Race Touareg 2 to victory.
Finally, in the 2009 edition of Rally Dakar, Volkswagen achieved a one-two result.
Giniel de Villiers and co driver Dirk von Zitzewitz won the race ahead of Mark Miller and Ralph Pitchford.
With just two days to go, Carlos Sainz crashed out after dominating the rally for several days, thus preventing Volkswagen from making it a one-two-three result.

Carlos Sainz won in 2010 with a 1-2-3 finish, and Nasser Al-Attiyah won for VW in 2011.

A 1/32 slot car model of the Red Bull-sponsored Touareg, which is designed to run on the company's RAID track (which simulates off-road racing), is available from Ninco.

Power Output: VW Dakar Racers
2007 Race-Touareg 2 (T2 spec) 2.5 TDI 285 hp/209 kW
2006 Race-Touareg 2 (T2 spec) 2.5 TDI 275 hp/202 kW
2005 Race-Touareg (T2 spec) 2.5 TDI 260 hp/191 kW
2004 Race-Touareg (T2 spec) 2.3 TDI 231 hp/170 kW
2003 Tarek 1.9 TDI 218 hp/160 kW
In the 2003 Dakar Rally, Volkswagen entered a team of rear wheel drive Tarek buggies. VW claimed sixth overall, driven by Stephane Henrard and co-driver Bobby Willis. In the following year, the 2004 Dakar Rally saw the debut rally for the T2 class purpose built Race Touareg by Volkswagen Motorsport. Bruno Saby and co driver Matthew Stevenson claimed sixth position overall. In the 2005 Dakar Rally, Jutta Kleinschmidt and co driver Fabrizia Pons claimed third spot overall in the Race Touareg.
In the 2006 Dakar Rally, Volkswagen driver Giniel de Villiers and co-driver Tina Thörner claimed second spot the highest ever for a diesel model in the new Race Touareg 2. It has a shorter wheelbase than the original Race Touareg, as well as increased visibility.  For the 2007 Dakar Rally, VW driver Mark Miller and Ralph Pitchford drove the Race Touareg 2 to 4th position overall. In the 2008 Central Europe Rally, Carlos Sainz drove his Race Touareg 2 to victory. Finally, in the 2009 edition of Rally Dakar, Volkswagen achieved a one-two result. Giniel de Villiers and co driver Dirk von Zitzewitz won the race ahead of Mark Miller and Ralph Pitchford. With just two days to go, Carlos Sainz crashed out after dominating the rally for several days, thus preventing Volkswagen from making it a one-two-three result.
Carlos Sainz won in 2010 with a 1-2-3 finish, and Nasser Al-Attiyah won for VW in 2011.
A 1/32 slot car model of the Red Bull-sponsored Touareg, which is designed to run on the company's RAID track (which simulates off-road racing), is available from Ninco.
Power Output: VW Dakar Racers
2007 Race-Touareg 2 (T2 spec) 2.5 TDI 285 hp/209 kW
2006 Race-Touareg 2 (T2 spec) 2.5 TDI 275 hp/202 kW
2005 Race-Touareg (T2 spec) 2.5 TDI 260 hp/191 kW
2004 Race-Touareg (T2 spec) 2.3 TDI 231 hp/170 kW
2003 Tarek 1.9 TDI 218 hp/160 kW
Volkswagen Touareg