VW Phaeton, Take 2: let's try smaller this time, with a bit more Audi
by Noah Joseph on Apr 23rd 2007 at 1:24PM 
Volkswagen's Phaeton could not exactly be described as a run-away success. The German carmaker planned to make a modest 20,000 units, but only managed to sell a quarter that amount. But someone in Wolfsburg must have gotten an "if at first you don't succeed" fortune cookie, and they're determined to give it another shot.
The next Phaeton, as we've reported previously, will save considerably on development costs by sharing its underpinnings with the next A6 from corporate cousin Audi. This, however, is no mere speculation: it comes straight from the mouth of CEO Martin Winterkorn. The end result will be a Phaeton smaller than the one it replaces, bringing costs down and bringing it slightly closer to the top-end Passat to help close the enormous gap in the Volkswagen model line-up.
The current slow-selling Phaeton cost Volkswagen a bundle to develop, but all was not lost as the platform ended up providing the basis for the more successful Bentley Continental range, with its coupe, cabrio and sedan variations. What will happen with the next Continental, you ask? Sources suggest that it will take its underpinnings from the latest Audi A8.
All in all this amounts to a change of direction for the German auto group, which has a history of investing heavily into new models which compete with offerings from their own subsidiaries.
[Source: Motor Authority]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
dave 1:59PM (4/23/2007)
"The next Phaeton, as we've reported previously, will save considerably on development costs by sharing its underpinnings with the next A6 from corporate cousin Audi."
Then,
"All in all this amounts to a change of direction for the German auto group, which has a history of investing heavily into new models which compete with offerings from their own subsidiaries."
How does that not constitute a 3/4 scale version of the original Phaeton formula? You guys should read your own writing before editorializing.
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Jason 5:17PM (4/23/2007)
I said this to my VW group back in 2002 when the first car was planned. They needed something the size and price of an A6. DUH. Where's my cookie?
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ViktorVaughn 2:16PM (4/23/2007)
VW, stop shitting where you eat. Work on making these damn VWs decent looking at least and then FIX ALL THE ELECTRICAL GARBAGE GODDAMNIT.
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Puffy C 2:42PM (4/23/2007)
They need to fix all of the reliability and quality issues first, then they can worry about moving upmarket. Who wants a more expensive version of the same crappy POS they can get already?
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Nick 2:57PM (4/23/2007)
They'll continue moving upstream, BUT...without rectifying quality that's among the industry's worst. Sounds like genius to me.
Further, most companies stop doing what doesn't work...it's called common sense business.
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jj 3:02PM (4/23/2007)
You morons already tried this once. My memory's not what it used to be, but it failed, right?
Give it a rest already. I don't care of it is smaller and costs less. It's still a stupid waste of time and resources.
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testa di cazzo 3:15PM (4/23/2007)
*sigh*... americans just don't understand...oh well, let them build this car just for us in europe. we don't want ostentatious and showy cars. we want nice cars that are nondescript. something that nobody in the US seems to care about.
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steve 3:39PM (4/23/2007)
what idiots, complete morons. Nissan has it right using the skyline as a halo car. Who the f$%^ dreams about an A6 and goes into the showroom too see it. At this point i resign as VAG fan.
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papercliprebel 3:31PM (4/23/2007)
"6. *sigh*... americans just don't understand...oh well, let them build this car just for us in europe. we don't want ostentatious and showy cars. we want nice cars that are nondescript. something that nobody in the US seems to care about."
you want overpriced econoboxes? check. by the way, there is this bridge i want to sell you.
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The FedEx Man 3:35PM (4/23/2007)
One car I truly hope succeeds. Amazingly understated which is so refreshing compared with the current look-at-me BMW 5/7 series and American luxury cars.
The Phaeton kind of reminds me of the old Audi S8 (the one in Ronin - superb film) or the last generation BMW M5 (the best looking saloon car ever?). Pretty quick in W12 guise, over 200mph if the limiters were removed - and yet its a stealth car so people would think you were in a Passat (Jetta in US?).
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Bill 3:38PM (4/23/2007)
As an american i think the Phaeton is one of the coolest cars produced in the last 10 years.
no, its not very nice to look at, it doesnt grab attention, but thats the point... its not supposed to.
From an engineering standpoint the Phaeton was a work of art. I would take a Phaeton over an A8/S600/760li any day of the week.
The only thing that comes close (actually surpasses) is the Flying Spur and thats because its largely the same car.
If anything the Phaetons two problems are that it is ahead of its time, and that its a VW
If it had been the new A8 or something even higher in the audi lineup, but looked exactly the same as it does i think it would have been a huge success.
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wahooligan 3:50PM (4/23/2007)
papercliprebel: You obviously didn't do your homework.
The Phaeton wasn't an overpriced Passat. It was a cheap A8. It wasn't an econobox, it was feature-laden and critically well-received.
It failed in the US because Americans are self-conscious badge-whores that don't know a good thing when it plops down on them in the face. They just have to have a Lexus/BMW/MB because it's all about showing off to the neighbors (lame).
Hyundai has the same challenge ahead of them, trying to prove they have a quality product that's competitive with Toyota/Honda while still being cheaper. Here's to VW for giving it another try. We'll see if America is smarter the second time around.
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66coronet 4:51PM (4/23/2007)
How about changing the looks. The previous one looked like a passat but bigger. Why spend lots of money to just have a passat. They need a look that says, I'm rich and this car say's I'm rich.
That's what I like about the chrysler pheaton concept. There is the driver and a glass that seperated the driver from the back area. Plus as a fat fender lover, I just loved the chrysler pheaton look.
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papercliprebel 4:20PM (4/23/2007)
on the contrary. i know the phaeton too well. i know it shed the advanced for aluminum body for an inferior overweight steel body, doesn't have the driving dynamics of both the 7 and S, and doesn't have the warranty or service of any of them, yet charged the same price?
why would i pay that again?
as far as the a6, it's a better idea, but i don't consider the a6 as an advanced car to begin with. also, seeing as how the passat has divested itself of the a4 platform in favor of the golf, it appears vw is going down market on one end, yet filling in spots at the top end? what is it vw?
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Jacquester 4:30PM (4/23/2007)
Yes, in North America, badges play a huge role in people's decision to invest $70+ grand into a quickly depreciating asset, but the reality is that when you want an ultra complicated luxury car with thousands of miles of wiring and endless electronic widgets/gadgets, the last brand you think of is VW. The appaling quality of their electronics is only thinly veiled by the beauty of the interior design. I would consider a Phaeton if VW could convince me that I wouldn't have to manually pull my power windows up and that the spedometer would still have that cool blue glow after 5 years. Having owned a Jetta and a Passat, however, I am not willing to take a chance with a luxury VW quite yet, maybe in 10 years.
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Don 4:34PM (4/23/2007)
Great looking sedan.
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Bill 5:02PM (4/23/2007)
@ #15
VW made this car explicitly for people who DIDN'T want a car that screamed "I'm rich and this car says I'm rich". They built it for people who were thinking more along the lines of "I want a bentley at half the price that will draw 1/100th of the attention".
And thats exactly how it was built.
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Bill 5:03PM (4/23/2007)
I feel like most of the people posting on here have no idea at all about this car.
Go on youtube or something and look for the Top Gear review of this car by Jeremy Clarkson.
Clarkson says he would take one over an XJ8... now thats a statement coming from him.
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The Doctor 5:05PM (4/23/2007)
"12. on the contrary. i know the phaeton too well. i know it shed the advanced for aluminum body for an inferior overweight steel body, doesn't have the driving dynamics of both the 7 and S"
The steel body makes the Phaeton's chassis one of the stiffest ever at about 35,000 nm/degree flex. As for driving dynamics, it may not be as "sporty" as the 7 but is every bit the equal of the S-Class and thanks to its quattro system and weight is far more sure-footed than either when conditions are less than perfect. Oh, and the warranties are just as good as any of its competitors.
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The FedEx Man 5:13PM (4/23/2007)
No. 15. Making the Phaeton a showy ostentious hey-I-earn-more-than-you saloon car and what do you get? A tasteless affair with enough chrome to blind a man.
The Phaeton offers something that is becomeing rarer by the minute - understatement.
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