2021 Volkswagen Tiguan R Spied Strutting Its Stuff At The ‘Ring

2021 Volkswagen Tiguan R Spied Strutting Its Stuff At The ‘Ring

There isn’t much Volkswagen is hiding on the Tiguan R in these spy shots. For that matter, the automaker isn’t hiding much on the standard Tiguan’s facelift, either. The R is special for obvious reasons, but beyond that, we haven’t seen many prototypes out and about. A couple of spy photo teams caught this white model turning laps at the Nürburgring, giving us a rare look at the amped-up people-mover.

The test vehicle in these shots looks identical to our last Tiguan R sighting, right down to the color. The camouflage pattern is the same as well. Yes, there is camo on this Tiguan, designed to throw off the casual observer. The black/white treatment on the front fascia tends to disguise the size of those front vents, and there’s some white tape on top of that vent as well.

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Moving further back, quad exhaust pipes identify this as an R model, but the innermost ovals are considerably darker. To a person seeing this on the road, only two pipes would be noticed. The camera, however, reveals all.

It also reveals what looks like a roll cage in this SUV, suggesting VW is serious about exercising this particular prototype. We’re told the Tiguan R will have full-time all-wheel drive and use a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-pot generating 296 horsepower (221 kilowatts), but a more aggressive tune could see that engine making closer to 330 hp (246 kW). It should be a lively SUV either way, and considering the aggressive-looking tires with the roll cage inside, it appears VW is keen to make the Tiguan something of a corner-carver as well.

Obviously, Coronavirus has new-vehicle debuts all in a tizzy right now. From our previous sighting in February we thought a debut was right around the corner. However, we haven’t yet seen the standard Tiguan revealed, so right now we’re offering conservative estimates of a debut sometime late in 2020.

Published at Wed, 15 Apr 2020 22:46:55 +0000