Volkswagen Debuts 2005 Touareg W12 Sport in Paris

New Touareg Super-SUV Rivals Porsche's Cayenne Turbo for Horsepower Supremacy

Volkswagen's Touareg has only been available in production form for about a year now, but already it's an unequivocal success. The

The unequivocal success of the Touareg has launched Volkswagen into an all new market segment and leveled the SUV playing field against the likes of BMW and Mercedes-Benz. (Photo: Volkswagen Canada)

midsize luxury SUV has not only propelled Wolfsburg into an all new market segment, but given what was once merely an entry-level German nameplate a formidable player amongst the luxury SUV competition, namely BMW's X5 and Mercedes-Benz's ML-Class.

But unlike its European, Asian and American counterparts, the Touareg did much more than norm by introducing new technology. As

Leave it to Volkswagen to create the world's only twelve-cylinder super-SUV. (Photo: Volkswagen Canada)

it stands, Volkswagen is the only German manufacturer (aside from the Touareg spawned Porsche Cayenne) in the luxury SUV category to offer an electronically adjustable air suspension, and with its new V10 is the only luxury sport utility vehicle to feature common rail turbodiesel power in North America. Leave it to Volkswagen then, to create the world's only twelve-cylinder super-SUV.

Despite the odds stacked against a luxury SUV wearing an economy car badge, the Touareg W12 Sport has hunted down and is now firing some critical shots at the high-performance image of BMW's X5 4.8is, Porsche's Cayenne Turbo, and the Mercedes-Benz ML55 AMG.