23 November 2006 10:42 GMT / By Jonathan Goddard
As PR stunts go, getting a Volkswagen Touareg to successfully tow a Boeing 747 is rather impressive.The 155-tonne retired passenger liner - the very same one you can see in the background on Top Gear when they’re testing cars on the track - was hauled through seven complete runs by a Touareg V10 TDI.
A special towing adaptor, 4.3 tonnes of ballast, and panels to make the car look like the 2007 model were the only modifications made to the Touareg - a special gearing system taken from the V8 version wasn’t needed.
An engineer from the technical department at VW HQ in Germany was behind the wheel, completing the task in a strong headwind and torrential rain and without any damage recoded to the car.
So next time you’re at the airport and you see those enormous tug cars with their ridiculously large Tonka wheels and over-sized engine, just think about what a waste they are. You could probably do the job in your Vectra.
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