How ironic is it that the next-generation Volkswagen Phaeton, a German-born vehicle if there ever was one, will be sent to the US and Chinese markets and not to the vehicle’s home continent of Europe. It’s even more perplexing considering that the first-generation Phaeton was such a sales flop in America (the company only managed to sell 2,253 units in the country).
According to Autocar, the new Phaeton looks to be a car that will be made for America and China where the high-end VW sedan is rumored to come with a platform that’s similar to the Audi A6L, a car that incidentally was released exclusively for the Chinese market.
As far as the US-bound Phaeton is concerned, Volkswagen is looking at building the car with a styling and mechanical set-up that’s geared towards the US market, which would mean that the Phaeton is more likely to come as a bigger size and a more aggressive approach that’s far from the previous models of the Phaeton, which were more on the conservative side.
As far as seeing the next-generation Phaeton in Europe is concerned, VW is still likely to release units in the market, but for now, the emphasis is to tailor the car for the US and Chinese markets, which VW is hoping will have a better showing than the previous incarnation ever did.
Volkswagen unveiled the new Phaeton today at Auto China 2010 in Beijing. The new luxury sedan features Volkswagen’s new design DNA, meaning a new front section with a new chrome grille, restyled headlights, a three-dimensional moulding of the grille and bonnet, new Bi-Xenon headlamps. The car’s rear has been also redesigned and gets new LED rear light clusters, a new, three-piece chrome bar, modified side trim strips, narrower LED indicators in the wing mirrors and new 18-inch (‘Experience’) alloy wheels.
The 2011 Phaeton will be offered with a choice of two wheelbase options, two back seat versions (three seats / two individual seats) and four engines (a turbo diesel and three petrol engines).
The engine line-up will include: a V6 petrol engine delivering 280 HP, a V8 with 335 HP and a W12 with 450 HP. The diesel engine is a V6 TDI with 240 HP.
The luxury sedan will be offered with Dynamic Light Assist (camera-based dynamic main beam regulation) and a navigation system that, if desired, can integrate online data from Google into the map display.
Updated 06/07/2010: Volkswagen today revealed new images of the new generation Phaeton. Check the gallery to see them all!
Press release after the jump.
Full story
Volkswagen stopped selling the Phaeton on the US market back in 2006 simply because, priced at more than $60K, the car just wasn’t what it was meant to be. That being said, it seems the German company has improved on the flagship sedan and wants to give it one more try. The new Phaeton will go on sale as a 2011 model and will be priced at around $55k.
Spy photos shot while the Phaeton glistened and gleamed at a photo shoot reveal a new front bumper, grille, headlight-units, and re-designed taillamps in the rear. Under the hood there will be a wide range of engines with a V10 TDi motor rumored as a possibility.
After the sedan makes its world debut on the European market, the company will also analyze the possibility of getting it back to the US although it might be a tough sale considering the redesigned Mercedes Benz S-Class, Audi A8, and Jaguar XJ making their grand appearances. Let’s just hope, for Volkswagen’s sake, that the new Phaeton is more car than the old model.
Lets face it: the Volkswagen Phaeton was never a very successful model. But Hofele-Design has found a solution to make it look better than ever. Their tuning program is called Mythos Royal and includes both cosmetic and performance modifications.
Hofele-Design has started with a new fascia with a redesigned front bumper and reshaped bonnet that houses a different grille. At the rear they added a discreet boot lid spoiler and a new apron with integrated trapezoidal tailpipes. The exterior package is finished with 20" alloy wheels.
For the interior Hofele added a two-tone color scheme inspired by the Bentley models.
It seems that for a while, Volkswagen had no intentions of bringing back the Phaeton back on US soil. Sure, there were discussions involved, but nothing amounted to anything serious. While most of us were pining for the Phaeton to make its way back to America, it wasn’t until Stefan Jacoby, president and CEO of Volkswagen America, made sure that our calls weren’t falling on deaf ears when he announced that the Phaetons will once again return to run on US highways.
In an interview with The Detroit News, Jacoby all but confirmed that the Phaeton, as well as a number of other cars from VW’s compact car (possibly the Polo) and SUV segment, would all be sold in the U.S. On the flip side, Jacoby hasn’t given a definite timetable for the Phaeton’s re-introduction to the US market, stopping short of saying that a return was imminent.
In any case, the word has finally come from the horse’s mouth, and for those who have been yearning for the Phaeton’s US comeback can now breathe easy.
