Volkswagen Touareg Finally Rides into the Sunset After 24 Years

Hugely significant for the VW Group as a whole, the Touareg was VW’s first SUV and debuted with some massive diesel power.

• Volkswagen is finally pulling the plug on the Touareg SUV, a full generation after it left the United States market.
• Hugely significant for the VW Group as a whole, the Touareg was VW’s first SUV and debuted with some massive diesel power.
• As the underpinnings for the likes of the Lamborghini Urus, the Touareg also fuelled the rise of the luxury crossover.

The Volkswagen Touareg hasn’t been sold in the United States since 2017, when it was supplanted by the larger and less expensive Atlas. Still, the brand has soldiered on throughout the globe, racking up some 1.2 million vehicles sold over three generations. However, that run is coming to an end, as Volkswagen is finally discontinuing the Touareg in 2026, with a special Final Edition available for ordering in March of next year, to bookend the nameplate.Volkswagen

It’s not hard to see why VW USA called it quits on the Touareg. The Final Edition model costs the equivalent of $87,500 overseas, as compared to $54,630 for a top-of-the-line Atlas SEL Premium R-Line. Still, you could say that the Touraeg walked so the Atlas could run (more than 70,000 of them sold in the U.S. last year). Besides which, the Touaregs we did get until 2017 came in some pretty interesting flavors.Volkswagen

Take the V-10 TDI version, with its slightly ludicrous 5.0-liter turbo-diesel engine good for more than 300 hp and 550 pound-feet of torque. Volkswagen was so proud of that vehicle that, in a famous stunt, it hooked one up to a Boeing 747 and towed the airplane down a runway.

Just the thing for family life if you have two kids, a goldendoodle, and an international airport. Volkswagen also entered a racing version of the Touareg in the Dakar Rally—winning three times in a row from 2009 forward—and drove a more sensible V-6 TDI-equipped second-generation model from Tierra del Fuego in Argentina straight through to Alaska in just under 12 days.VolkswagenVolkswagen

Besides this, the Touareg provided the underpinnings for luxury SUVs like the Bentley Bentayga and the Lamborghini Urus, the latter of which has become the bestselling Lambo of all time. While the third-generation chassis was never available in the U.S. market with a VW badge up front, it still sold in huge quantities here as an Audi or other luxury product.

And so, a farewell to a vehicle many North Americans pronounced the “Toe-rag,” as if they were referring to a particularly odious Cockney gangster. Twenty-three years after its debut, the effect of the VW Touareg still echoes throughout the car industry. That’s what happens when you come right out of the gate with 10 cylinders of diesel power.

BaT Find: Time-Warp 1986 Toyota MR2

This winsome, first-gen sports coupe looks straight out of the ’80s, but it would be lots of fun today.By Brendan McAleerPublished: Oct 19, 2025Save Article

Bring a Trailer

• Here’s a first-gen MR2 in fantastically original condition.
• A multiple-time show winner, it’s been in the same family for decades.
• Simple and economical, it offers a pure driving experience.

Back in the 1970s, Toyota set out to design a small and economical car, and the initial project wasn’t necessarily intended to be a sports car. The thinking was: If a commuter is going to be riding solo anyway, why not something less practical that might be fun to drive on the weekend? Almost by accident, the result was the creation of one of the purest little sporting cars to come out of Japan: the Toyota MR2.

There’s a prime example of the effervescent first-generation Toyota MR2 for sale right now on Bring a Trailer (which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos). That’s M for mid-engined, R for rear-wheel drive, 2 for two-seater runabout. It’s like a lowercase Acura NSX (nsx?) from the normally sensible folks at Toyota.Bring a Trailer

U.S.-spec MR2s were slightly less feisty than some of the Japan-market cars, because our lower-octane fuels made for relatively modest engine output. The 1.6-liter 4AGE four-cylinder engine in a U.S. MR2 was the same unit in the Corolla GT-S, and it made about 112 horsepower.

There was a later supercharged variant with a bit more punch, but arguably, the naturally aspirated MR2s are better, as they are significantly lighter. When you have a curb weight like a first-generation Miata, 112 horsepower is plenty, especially when it’s coming from an engine mounted amidships for the best possible driving dynamics.Bring a Trailer

Further, the OG MR2 offers fantastic visibility and a cockpit that’ll make you feel like you’re piloting a Rebel Alliance A-Wing from Star Wars. It’s light on its feet, dancing through corners and plastering a grin on your face.

This example was delivered new in New York State and remains in stunning condition with just 48K miles on the odometer. Finished in classically sporting red over black leather interior, it comes with a whole shelf of trophies from various MR2 car shows in the Northeast. As well it should: It looks like a brand-new car.Bring a Trailer

You’re going to want to keep this one away from autumn rains and winter conditions. But come the spring, this tiny Toyota will be the ideal machine for special Sunday drives and the belle of the ball at any classic car show you might want to take it to.Bring a Trailer

Even though Toyota’s intent was to make something accessible and ordinary, this little car has become something truly special. No wonder Toyota keeps hinting at bringing the MR2 nameplate back. When the original is this good, you don’t let those memories fade.

The auction ends on October 23.

Roll Like Rat Pack Royalty in This 1958 Dual-Ghia on Bring a Trailer

Sinatra drove one, and you can too.By Brendan McAleerPublished: Oct 18, 2025Save Article

Bring a Trailer

• Never heard of a Dual-Ghia? In the 1950s, it was the A-list car to have.
• This one has an onboard record player, fitting for a brand of car owned by nearly every member of the Rat Pack.
• The style is hand-built Italian, but the power is V-8 American.

Frank Sinatra. Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Sammy Davis Jr. If you were on the celebrity A-list in the 1950s, then you drove something even more special than a Cadillac or a Mercedes. Something handmade, exclusive, and jaw-droppingly gorgeous. Something that said, “I did it my way.” Something like this 1958 Dual-Ghia swinging into the scene over at Bring a Trailer (which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos).

This convertible, in super classy burgundy over tan leather, is very rare; it’s said to be #60 of 115 cars made. It’s a big-finned, big-chrome blend of Italian coachwork and American V-8 power.Bring a Trailer

If you’ve never heard of a Dual-Ghia before, that’s understandable. A relatively short-lived partnership between the Detroit-based Dual-Motors Corporation and the better-known Carrozzeria Ghia coachbuilding house in Italy, the Dual-Ghia lasted just three years, from 1956 to 1958. At the time, the company could boast the longest production line in the world, with Dodge-based frames and drivetrains being shipped to Italy for bodywork and interiors, then shipped back to Detroit for final assembly.

The roots of the idea can be traced back to Ghia’s concept work with Chrysler in the early 1950s, which produced the Firearrows I through IV and the Firebomb. While never put into production, these cars gave Chrysler something to point to at auto shows when GM stuck a Corvette in its display.Bring a Trailer

Dual-Motors was so-named because it mostly built fire trucks and the like, vehicles that would have one engine for driving and another for pumping water. Workmanlike fare, but fire trucks sure have a lot of chrome on them and require skilled assembly, so the company workforce had the ability to build something special. The owner of Dual-Motors, an Italian-American named Eugene Casaroll, had the desire.

Fitted with a 315-cubic-inch “Red Ram” Dodge V-8 good for 230 horsepower, a Dual-Ghia could run up to 120 mph, very fast for its day. When at rest, its incredibly labor-intensive build quality was equally stunning. The paintwork at Ghia involved some 15 coats of hand-polished lacquer.Bring a Trailer

The car cost $7650 when new, nearly $90K in today’s money, making it one of the most expensive cars on sale in the U.S. at the time. As production was so slow, only the well-connected could get their hands on one, and the cars cropped up in all sorts of great stories of the era. Once, then-governor Ronald Reagan lost his Dual-Ghia in a poker game with President Lyndon Johnson.

This example is peak Rat Pack era, with an onboard Highway Hi-Fi record player. You can just see ol’ Blue Eyes at the wheel, cruising around Palm Springs.Bring a Trailer

Somehow, every Dual-Ghia lost money for the company that built them, and the cars soon faded from the scene. For a time, though, not even a Rolls-Royce could touch them as the way to make the scene.

The auction ends on October 23.