For a company that is literally called "Peoples Car" (which in German is "Volkswagen") this W12 6.0 litre limousine is really quite an ironic car! Far from being a car for every man, the Phaeton is VWs attempt to cut it at the very top of the executive/luxury car tree. Competitors include the superb Mercedes S-Class, the BMW 7 series, the Lexus LS430 and the Jaguar XJ6 and XJ8. It also competes with it's sister car, the Audi A8. Badge kudos is all important in this market and many have wondered whether anyone will buy such an expensive VW. Personally I would say the Phaeton could be the used car bargain of the century as depreciation is bound to be huge.
The name comes from "Phaëton" who was the son of the sun god Helios in Greek mythology. Also, a Phaeton in the 19th century referred to a rakish horse drawn carriage, and in the early part of the 20th century it referred to an open topped car with 2 or more rows of seats.
Apparently the reason why VW decided to make such an expensive car to top their range, was in response to the Mercedes-Benz A-Class. VW boss Ferdinand Piech was outraged at Mercedes attempt to steal Golf sales from VW (the market the A-Class was pitched into) so he decided to move VW upmarket to tackle Mercedes. His intention was to build big luxury powerful VWs to tempt buyers away from an equivalent Mercedes, party by pitching the VW alternative at a lower price than the equivalent Mercedes. For example the Passat gained a W8 cylinder engine and 4 wheel drive to turn it into a convincing BMW 5 series alternative, but sales were a disaster, not being helped by it's poor fuel economy. VWs attempt at moving upmarket has not been a success in general, and the Phaeton is (as of the time of writing in September 2006) unlikely to be replaced when it goes out of production. Their new 4x4 the Touareg by contrast has been a huge sales success, but somehow Jeeps can get away with a more downmarket badge so long as they look the part!
To build the Phaeton, VW built a brand new factory in Dresden which is apparently like a glass palace, thanks to the amount a glass walls throughout it's structure. VW encourage new Phaeton owners to take delivery in person at the factory if possible, where they have a fancy hand over centre for people taking possession of their new luxury VW, all in the name of making the whole ownership experience something special.
The 6.0 W12, the 4.2 V8 and the 5.0 V10 turbodiesel are 4 wheel drive, while the cheaper V6 model is front wheel drive.
The Phaeton is indeed an impressive car, hugely powerful (414bhp in the case of the W12, and an impressive 313bhp from the 5.0 diesel version, 330bhp from the V8 and 238bhp from the base 3.2 litre V6), with good handling and performance across the range. Jeremy Clarkson got to drive an unrestricted W12 in Dubai at the press launch, and he reached a top speed of 200mph! Customer cars are restricted to the voluntary 155mph maximum adopted by most German car manufacturers (with Porsche being the only company that doesn't stick to that limit).
Inside, there is plenty of room, wood and leather trim, and all the toys one expects from a top line luxury car. 4 zone climate control, fantastic electrically adjustable seats, an excellent sound system and so on.
The Chancellor of Germany, the Prime Minister of Portugal, and North Korean Officials are all chauffeured in Phaetons, but most World leaders prefer Mercedes-Benz S-Classes just like most luxury car buyers do. Sales in the USA have been so poor that the car is to be withdrawn from the American market in 2007. It is a shame the car has not proven a success, for it is a good car, but one with an image problem. British motoring journalist Jeremy Clarkson (who actually likes the Phaeton) summed up the cars problem with the following quote: "To what question is the answer a £68,000 Volkswagen?"
The real Phaeton has not been a success for VW but the AUTOart model of the car is definitely a winner. Best feature on the model is the superb brakes, which like on many of AUTOarts latest models has a realistic metal finish in addition to a detailed calliper. The interior is good too, and it even includes the rather awkward looking rear seat climate control panel. The wood trim of the interior looks very realistic on this model too. One error on the model are the rear lights. They are coloured differently than the ones on the real car but their shape is correct.
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