SPECIAL EVENT (PIKES PEAK) - Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI Sets New Record at the 85th Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

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AUBURN HILLS, Mich., July 30 -- Volkswagen of America, Inc. has set a new record with its Touareg V10 TDI driven by Ryan Arciero at the 2007 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC) race. Arciero's time of 13:17:70 was officially declared the new record holder for the alternative fuel diesel truck high performance showroom stock division. The previous record for this division was set in 2000 with a time of 13:34:63.

"It's a great honor to be recognized as the record holder at a historic race like Pikes Peak," said Arciero. "The Touareg V10 TDI is the perfect vehicle for this race, giving the driver an abundance of torque, traction and stability. That's a highly effective combination for the short straights, 156 corners and switchbacks of this race."

Volkswagen raced three diesel powered Touaregs in the High Performance Showroom Stock division at the 2007 PPIHC. Second place driver Mark Miller's official time of 13:25:24 was also good enough to break the seven year-old division record for diesel vehicles by over nine seconds.

Video footage of the race from the Touaregs can be seen at www.vwvodcasts.com, providing a first-hand perspective of the 12.4 mile race to the summit of Pikes Peak, an elevation of over 14,100 feet.

Founded in 1955, Volkswagen of America, Inc. is headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany. Volkswagen is one of the world's largest producers of passenger cars and Europe's largest automaker. Volkswagen sells the Rabbit, New Beetle, New Beetle convertible, GTI, Jetta, GLI, Passat, Passat wagon, Eos, and Touareg through approximately 600 independent U.S. dealers. Visit Volkswagen of America online at vw.com.