Pulman Sponsored Picarsso CycloCross Team Ranks 4th

Pulman Volkswagen is proud to sponsor the Picarsso Racing Team in the British Cyclo-Cross championship. Out of a field of 261 participants, the Picarsso/Pulman Race Team, headed up by Stuart Wearmouth, achieved a ranking of 4th overall for the 2008-2009 season.

Cyclo-Cross is a demanding off-road cycling event using modified road racing bikes, and takes place in the autumn and winter months. The tracks are usually around a mile in length and the competitors have to complete several laps, sometimes having to dismount their bikes to clear man-made obstacles.

The racing is very exciting with around 100 riders competing in most events.

We wish Stuart and the Picarsso/Pulman Race Team all the best for the next season.

For more information see the British Cyclo-Cross website and check out our website for a few more photos of the team in action - Pulman/Picarsso Race Team

Volkswagen win the Dakar Rally 2009

Volkswagen have made history by achieving first and second place in the Dakar Rally. The first time the rally has been held outside of France & Africa.

Utilising a specially prepared Touareg with at 280ps engine, the teams beat a whole host of other manufacturers to the trophy.

Click the read more link below for the full article.

History was made on several levels when the Volkswagen Factory Driving team won the 2009 Dakar Rally. It was the first time that a diesel-powered vehicle had won the Dakar, the first time VW itself had won the famous endurance race, the very first time the team posted a one-two finish and the first time ever that the Dakar Rally was not held in Europe and Africa. A lot of firsts indeed, but that's not all.

VW drivers Giniel de Villiers and Dirk von Zitzewitz are South African and German respectively. Their teammates Mark Miller and Ralph Pitchford are American and South African respectively, making it the first one-two finish for South Africa as well. Miller became the highest finishing American to ever test the Dakar.

"It was just an incredible result for the Volkswagen team this year, with Giniel and Dirk taking the historic first diesel-powered win," said Clark Campbell, Volkswagen of America Motorsport Manager. "All of us here at Volkswagen of America are also especially proud of Mark and Ralph's tremendous finish this year as well."

Team Volkswagen made use of a special Race Touareg 2 TDI which is powered by a five-cylinder diesel turbo motor. It produces 280hp (206kW) and about approximately 440 lbs.ft. of torque. US consumers will get to test their own suburban rallying skills when the standard six-cylinder Touareg TDI appears at US dealers this spring.

Because of geopolitical reasons and a terror threat it was decided last year to move the rally to South America where competitors experienced temperatures ranging from 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celcius) to below 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celcius). The race started from the city of Buenos Aires in Argentina, went across to Chile and ended back in Argentina. Teams were subjected to varied terrain that encompassed hard stony ground, very high sand dunes, extreme passages through water and scaling the Andes Mountains.

Pulman Volkswagen - Durham & Sunderland

Volkswagen Unveil BlueSport Concept

Volkswagen have officially unveiled their new BlueSport Concept roadster at the Detroit Motor Show. The new concept uses a variety of BlueMotion technologies to improve fuel economy and lower emissions drastically.

Whilst not confirmed for production, the new BlueSport appears very close to a final production model and so could be in our showroom within 3 years.

Read the full Autocar article by clicking the "read more" link below.

Volkswagen has unveiled this mid-engined two-seat roadster concept at this week’s Detroit show. It’s the latest step in the firm’s long-running flirtation with a Lotus Elise rival.

Powered by a transversely mounted 2.0-litre, four-cylinder diesel engine, the VW Concept BlueSport is a sports car designed with current emissions and budget-sensitive times firmly in mind.

With a kerb weight of less than 1200kg, the roadster has been conceived to appeal to keen drivers. It’s capable of cracking 62mph from rest in 6.6sec and hitting 140mph flat out.

And yet, thanks to its advanced diesel powertrain and modest weight, the car should also be capable of around 50mpg on the combined cycle and better than 60mpg while touring.

Exhaust emissions should be modest and clean too, with VW’s Blue TDI technology bringing CO2 emissions down to just 113g/km. It should keep NOx and particulates emissions low too.

At just under four metres in length, the VW BlueSport Roadster is a little longer than Lotus’s Elise, but within centimetres of the British roadster’s width and height. Its diesel engine provides 178bhp and 258lb ft of torque.

The VW BlueSport Roadster is fitted with a six-speed DSG gearbox and both auto stop-start and brake energy regeneration, which will also be fitted to the BlueMotion version of the latest Golf. Lightweight construction and aluminium panels contribute to the BlueSport’s low kerb weight.

As is still the norm for roadsters at the affordable end of the market, the BlueSport has a manually operated cloth roof that stows behind the seats.

VW claims that, with 112 litres of storage space in its nose and another 70 in the rear, the car can swallow a weekend’s worth of luggage. Boosting its touring credentials is a 50-litre fuel tank, which gives the car a range of more than 700 miles.

The BlueSport is VW’s third roadster concept since 2003 (see panel, right). Insiders suggest that the car has “a very strong chance” of appearing in VW showrooms within three years, as it is a more mainstream proposal than its predecessors.

“The feeling within the company towards this car is very good,” one source said, “and the platform and materials are production-feasible too.”

Expect VW’s Elise rival to have a price tag of less than £25,000, powered by a choice of 2.0 TDI diesel or 1.4-litre TSI petrol power. And don’t be surprised if other VW Group brands spin off their own versions.

The new Volkswagen BlueSport with Pulman Volkswagen