The Volkswagen Race Touareg 2 was a T1 rally-raid prototype with tubular chassis, bodywork inspired by the production Touareg, and permanent all-wheel drive. It was equipped with a 2.5 TDI five-cylinder diesel engine, around 275–280 horsepower, designed more for endurance and navigation than for pure speed. It was fast but still fragile, a precursor to the dominant Race Touareg 3. In 2006, Carlos Sainz made his Lisbon-Dakar debut at the wheel of a Volkswagen Race Touareg 2 from the Volkswagen Motorsport team, co-driven by Andreas Schulz. They began the race by winning the first two stages, and although they won two more subsequently, they only managed to finish in eleventh place. This car was reproduced by Tecnitoys in their reference 6226.