VW plans to unveil their new 550-hp 5.5L V-12 TDI-powered Touareg Trophy Truck at the Los Angeles Auto Show next week.The vehicle is slated to leave the show on the 21st and head straight to Ensanada, Baja Mexico to arrive just prior to the start of the 41st annual Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 off-road race.

Driver  and chassis design/production manager Ryan Arciero and Mark Miller feel confident that the vehicle is quite capable of finishing the race right out of the box. Placing in the top 3 however is not expected as this race program is still in it's infancy. The Race Touareg TDI Trophy Truck features a wheelbase of 125 inches, overall length of 213 inches, width of 92 inches, an overall height of 78 inches and weighs 5,650 pounds- light by Trophy truck standards. The Race Touareg TDI Trophy Truck Body was designed by the Volkswagen Design Center located in Santa Monica, California.

The news conference is scheduled for 10:45 to 11:10 a.m., Wednesday, November 19, 2008, at the Volkswagen stand in the L.A. Auto show. For now here are some sneak peek renderings of the design, as well as two shots of the car minus the body.

For more information about the VW Race Touareg and exclusive live race coverage bookmark this LINK and log on at 6:00 AM (PT) on November 21st watch the race unfold.

Also, come back to Four Wheeler in the days after the race to see video and photography from the ground, air and in the field as Four Wheeler's Web Editor Jason Gonderman and Feature Editor Robin Stover document the Touareg's effort first hand. Jason will have video footage from the start and from the air as well as the finish line while Robin will be embedded in Pistol Pete Shoren's Trophy Truck, which is to start just 30-seconds behind the Touareg on race day.