Click above for a high-res gallery of the 2008 Volkswagen Phaeton.
To put it charitably, the Phaeton never met the U.S. sales expectations set by Volkswagen, but that hasn't stopped VW execs from considering another push to market the luxobarge in North America. Sales of the facelifted Phaeton are up in Germany by 45.4-percent for the first quarter of 2008 and that's making V-Dub's brass seriously consider bringing the Phaeton back to U.S. shores. According to Autobild, many of the higher-ups at VW want to start shipping the Phaeton across the Atlantic towards the end of the year, but VW's largest shareholder, headed by Porsche CEO Wendelin Wiedeking, isn't convinced that the Phaeton could fly again. We can't blame him, considering the chilly reception a $60k+ VW garnered here in the States, partnered with Volkswagen's new push to reestablish itself as the affordable people's car.
click above image to view more pics of the Passat CC in high-res
Remember when Volkswagen launched the Phaeton, and everyone was like, What the heck are they thinking? Yeah, that was awesome. But it left a huge gaping hole in Volkswagen's product line-up between the Passat and the Phaeton. Wolfsburg tried to bridge the gap a little with the previous-generation Passat W8 4Motion, but that didn't do so well and was quickly taken off the market. The Passat CC unveiled earlier this week in Detroit helps fill the void, and the next Phaeton is expected to go down-market, but the gap is still so wide between the sedans that Volkswagen is reportedly considering making another one to slot into the line-up. Since the Phaeton isn't sold in the U.S. anymore, we assume this gap-bridging car is destined for the European market only.
This isn't mere rumor, speculation or conjecture. It comes straight from the mouth of Volkswagen's design chief, Klaus Bischoff, who revealed at the Passat CC's unveiling "We are planning another model between the Passat CC and Phaeton." Well, there you have it.
Volkswagen has been struggling here in the US, but in emerging markets the German automaker is among the best. VW has been a big player in China since way before it was cool, and now Mr. Winterkorn and co. are focusing their attention on the booming India market. VW is planning on producing 240,000 vehicles per year in India by 2012, and it's using two small cars to supply much of the volume. The size and price of the Polo compact and the upcoming Up! minicar are perfect for the India market, and Europe's largest automaker plans on building both vehicles at its new plant in Chakan. Up! will go head to head with its low-cost Indian market competition with a price tag in the $7,500 price range.
The Passat has already been on sale in India since November, the next generation Jetta and the ultra-luxury Phaeton are scheduled to hit India's VW dealerships in the next couple years. With VW's vast expertise making and selling its cars in low-cost markets, the company that created the original Beetle has a great chance to make hay in the land of Gandhi and the Taj Mahal.
Although it came as a surprise to most (okay, all), Volkswagen plans to revive the Phaeton nameplate and possibly make a play for buyers of more high-budget coupes like the Mercedes SL. A few spy shots surfaced last month showing a test mule of VW's intentions, and although little was gleaned from the misshapen two-door, artists contracted by Automobile decided to take a whack at styling the Phaeton coupe in the virtual realm.
Looking more like an Eos hopped up on a Barry Bonds cocktail, the stretched wheelbase and bulging fenders make an attempt to convey more luxurious pretenses. We say it fails to excite. But then again, neither did the original sedan, so it's keeping with tradition. What say you?
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.
Click image for hi-res gallery of the facelifted VW Phaeton
It appears that the VW Phaeton will make a return to the Unites States market, according to Volkswagen CEO Dr. Martin Winterkorn. In an interview with Financial Times Deutchland, he essentially stated that to be successful with a product, it has to be something sold worldwide. (We're paraphrasing from a Google Translation of the FTD article, so be advised that the wording may be off a bit.)
The other thing we took from the translated article is that the car earmarked for a return to the States is the "successor" to the Phaeton. That has us thinking that the facelifted car introduced at Geneva last week is not the one Winterkorn's talking about. The Phaeton story is well known by now; poorly marketed and just as poorly received by car shoppers, the VW super sedan is a beautiful, handbuilt machine that tanked thanks in large part to an idiotic campaign at the car's launch (remember the TV commercials where VW showed still photos of the car with the logos covered while a voiceover clown said things like, "No question...that's a BMW"?) and a price tag that was incongruous with what people were willing to pay for a Volkswagen. The 8-cylinder Phaeton stickered at over $64K, and a gargantuan $94K was the price set for the range-topping W12. For that kind of money, people could go shop at Audi (or BMW, or Mercedes), and that's likely what many of them did. The Phaeton was pulled from our market in 2005.
Assuming this actually happens, it'll be interesting to see what Volkswagen does to help make round two a success for the Phaeton. If any readers have a proper command of German and can better elucidate what the FTD article says, please chime in with your own comments. The Financial Times piece can be found here. If you don't read German, this will come in handy.
It's not coming here, no need to get out of your chair. The Phaeton picks up a new nose, a ton of little tweaks, a new 3-liter TDI V6, and will be on sale in Europe this summer. It's a wonderful car -- gorgeously appointed and scrupulously assembled. Unfortunately, the marketing didn't connect enough Phaetons with owners, so it has been banished from US showrooms. A shame, really, as VW's already dreamy dreamboat picks up a passel of safety gear and the aforementioned new diesel that meets Euro V emissions standards while remaining the ultimate showcase of VW's formidable tech integration chops. We like the new face, which keeps the Phaeton in line with the corporate look of Volkswagen. It's always been a stealth bomber, and it still maintains its Passat-in-a-double-breasted-suit look, which will help you fly along under the radar of most drivers (and constabularies, hopefully) while enjoying sumptuous appointments and a vaultlike structure.
This spot is as amazing as the fact that the Phaeton actually made it into production. Of course, its run didn't pan out (at least in the U.S.), but you have to admit the Phaeton's a hell of a car no matter the badge on the grille. This commercial is truly incredible, as well. The expressiveness, detail and natural-looking motion these shadow puppets achieve just boggles the mind. Actually, it makes us wonder if it was a real spectacular feat shot in a single take with many talented performers who had rehearsed it until they were doing it in their sleep; or if it was a digital creation. Either way has its challenges, but we're more impressed with the former, so that's the story we'll continue to tell ourselves.
Earlier reports suggested that Volkswagen may be canceling the range-topping Phaeton sedan. Some opined that it'd be right to do so – the big saloon was never the runaway global success Volkswagen had hoped for. It seems customers, in the United States especially, weren't prepared to drop that kind of dough on a VW.
Such rumors are now looking to be just plain wrong, as Volkswagen prepares not just one, but two sequential replacements for the uber-sedan. The first is a minor facelift to update the Phaeton's styling to be more like – perversely – the Polo supermini (and also like the Passat and Golf for that matter). The front bumper, headlights and hood are all revised, and inside the CD navigation system is replaced by a DVD version.
The facelift is just to tide the Phaeton over until its complete replacement comes in 2009. The all-new sedan is expected to take on more coupe-like styling, in the same vein as the Mercedes CLS. The 2009 Phaeton will also go down-market a bit so as not to compete with the Audi A8, but still positioned significantly higher than the Passat.
With cars like the Bugatti Veyron and the all-conquering Audi racers dominating Le Mans, we all know what happens when the people at the Volkswagen group set their minds to something, so this ought to be interesting....
(Follow the link for more pics of the revised Phaeton caught in the wild)
Volkswagen Individual, the company's in-house customizer, is charged with creating bespoke vehicles and various limited-edition, niche market and specialty models. Their involvement could be something as simple as developing a new paint color or wheels to producing a run of specifically-equipped variants of existing models.The breadth of Individual's involvement across the VW lineup came as a surprise to us, and we'll discuss that in a separate post. For now, we want to focus on a special car they created to show off their capabilities, the Phaeton Lounge stretch limousine.
A 2005 design and engineering study, this six-passenger (2 in front, 4 in back) Phaeton limo also happens to be the first 4WD vehicle of its kind. Powered by a 420-horsepower W12, the 22-foot-long Phaeton Lounge's exterior is drenched in shiny black piano lacquer and accented with flashes of chrome.
The passenger compartment is decadently luxurious, awash in premium woods and contrasting leathers. The floorboards, all wood with aluminum strips separating them, look like they belong in a megayacht, never mind a car. In addition to the rich materials used, the rear cabin is predictably feature-laden. Replete with individually adjusting seats and footrests, 12-liter refrigerator, minibar, humidor, DVD entertainment system with two 17" displays, and a hidden PC with Bluetooth peripherals and mobile internet connectivity, the Phaeton Lounge is set up to make each ride comfortable, relaxing, and, if necessary, productive.
It's tastefully executed and communicates subtle elegance inside and out. As a showcase of Volkswagen Individual's abilities, it succeeds completely.
(Press release & high-res photo gallery after the jump)
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