Volkswagen is strengthening its ties with the enthusiastic community by releasing a series of production car-based concepts over the course of 2021. After unveiling the nostalgia-infused Jetta GLI Blue Lagoon, it presented a Tiguan called Black RiNo that has been cut back to within inches. off the ground.
Renowned builder Jamie Orr helped the German company turn its popular crossover into something that would look perfect at the SEMA show. After installing a height-adjustable coilover suspension supplied by Solo-Werks, he fitted larger brake discs and six-piston front calipers from Forge Motorsport and replaced the factory wheels with 20-inch Rotiform units. The result is a much lower Tiguan with almost completely filled wheel arches.
And yet RiNo sounds like a rhinoceros, which tends to live in parts of the world where you want more ground clearance, not less. What gives? Shake the safari thoughts out of your head; Volkswagen explained that RiNo stands for the hip River North arts district in downtown Denver, Colorado, which is full of breweries and galleries. If you want to get off the curb, be it to see a rhino or lose cell reception for a few hours, the RiNo is decked out with a clutch-mounted Thule rack and an Alpine Trail 2 carbon fiber mountain bike from California. Marin Bikes.
Orr added a front splitter, aluminum running boards, and two extra rear spoilers, but didn’t make any major mechanical changes. Power still comes from a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine, which produces 184 horsepower and 221 pound-feet of torque. It exhales through a custom exhaust system built with Borla parts.
Accessories such as a built-in air compressor and LED light bar turn the Tiguan’s trunk into a bicycle repair shop. Volkswagen noted that Orr had installed a Black Forest Industries shift knob, but no photos were released.
Like the Jetta GLI Blue Lagoon, the Tiguan Black RiNo is a concept built to show off at enthusiastic events across the country. It will not be added to the Volkswagen range, although many of the parts used to build it are readily available.