Pelican Parts Forums - Shame the Phaeton didn't sell better

Here's another very positive review of the Phaeton.

Quote:

But even on a race track, a standard W12 Phaeton would not reveal its true potential. With a design limit of 300 kph, the production car is electronically limited to 250 kph, or 155 mph. But nonetheless, the wipers, braking, suspension, steering and stability control are designed to operate at the higher speed.

And so is the air-conditioning. Billed as 'probably the best air-conditioning in the world', the W12's system is capable of maintaining a steady interior temperature of 22 degrees Celsius while the car is travelling at 186 mph in an ambient temperature of 50 degrees. Phew, what a scorcher; or not, as it happens. But even if VeeDub's claim is hard to substantiate in the real world, it nonetheless is impressive and entirely typical of the car.

http://www.newcarnet.co.uk/Volkswagen_Phaeton_roadtest.html?id=835#

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Volkswagen Phaeton 6.0 W12 4MOTION Tiptronic

By Graham Whyte 31.05.2006

A late entrant into the premium-car market, the VW Phaeton has every right to be considered a worthwhile choice for big-buck buyers.

I am often asked to name my favourite car, which is a bit like naming your favourite piece of music. It changes with mood, circumstance, and, as I have discovered, age. During a long career as an automotive journalist, I have encountered many cars that I liked, really liked, and a few I wanted to keep. But even amongst those, none is a particular favourite; and were I to drive them again today, my opinion might differ.

But, were I asked to nominate the most remarkable cars I have driven, I could narrow them down to just one or two, and for what you would probably regard as the wrong reasons. And if you substitute for remarkable the word 'unexpected' then the list could probably be counted off on one finger.

In an inevitable and no doubt commercially sound volte face, Volkswagen has in a few short years eschewed the socialist ideal that gave the company its name and ethos, and has, with increasing determination, advanced upon the corridors of power, prestige and performance.

The Phaeton's 450 PS, W12 engine is shared...with the Bentley Continental GT

Volkswagen – source of the people's car, strength-through-joy, and so on – appears to have rummaged through its corporate attic, come across the luxurious, 1930's, 6.0-litre V12 Horch, reputedly Himmler's favourite car, and resurrected it as the Phaeton.

As with the Horch, the Phaeton comes in two lengths, and, in range-topping form, has 12 cylinders and a 6.0-litre displacement. But whereas Horch called its stretched version the Pullman-Limousine, VeeDub contents itself with latter-day pragmatism and refers to the longer model simply as LWB, for long wheelbase.

Given that Mercedes-Benz has resurrected the pre-war Maybach brand – at the time, one of Horch's main rivals – I am surprised that Wolfsburg has not followed suit. However, a Volkswagen it is, and no less impressive for it, the LWB moniker notwithstanding.

And how can it not impress? The Phaeton's 450 PS, W12 engine is shared – albeit in modified form – with the Bentley Continental GT; the 4Motion all-wheel drive has quattro written all over it; and the Tiptronic 'box is to gear-changing what Beluga caviar is to fish paste. And in Tokyo, were the Phaeton's rear quarters to be proposed as a hotel development, it would be refused planning permission on the grounds of its occupying too much real estate.

In the old days, the Phaeton would have been tagged a 'floater' and ranked alongside a Rover 3-Litre or Austin Princess, and other stalwart provincial wedding cars. But with its Continuous Damping Control (CDC) air suspension and adjustable dampers, the Phaeton is as taut and sharp-handling as many so-called sports saloons. Select the 'sports' damper setting, use the hands-on side of the six-speed Tiptronic transmission, find somewhere quiet, and see what happens when you bolt together a couple of vee-sixes.

But even on a race track, a standard W12 Phaeton would not reveal its true potential. With a design limit of 300 kph, the production car is electronically limited to 250 kph, or 155 mph. But nonetheless, the wipers, braking, suspension, steering and stability control are designed to operate at the higher speed.

And so is the air-conditioning. Billed as 'probably the best air-conditioning in the world', the W12's system is capable of maintaining a steady interior temperature of 22 degrees Celsius while the car is travelling at 186 mph in an ambient temperature of 50 degrees. Phew, what a scorcher; or not, as it happens. But even if VeeDub's claim is hard to substantiate in the real world, it nonetheless is impressive and entirely typical of the car.

Belt, braces and a length of twine seems to be the governing philosophy, a philosophy that Volkswagen no doubt encountered during its tenure at Rolls Royce, a company in which over-engineering is endemic, and the source of the marque's legendary reliability.

But it's not just about engineering for extremes: the Phaeton must satisfy an audience weaned on BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

As a Johnny-come-lately in the premium car market, Volkswagen needs to offer convincing evidence that its proletariat badge conceals an A-List specification, a task that it makes more difficult for itself by offering watered-down lead-in models with Passat engines. And given the company's policy of democratised quality, there is ample evidence of component sharing with the likes of Skoda and SEAT, along the lines of spot-the-Saab in the latest Cadillac BLS.

Yet these issues aside, the evidence for A-list status is not merely convincing, it is nothing short of compelling. No matter what parameters you use to judge the W12 Phaeton – luxury, technology or performance – it offers a genuine alternative to range-topping 7 Series, S-Class or A8 offerings. And against any of those rivals, the VW emerges as the 'driver's car' – a curious phrase but well understood by those to whom it applies.

In a market segment where the question "Are you being servoed?" makes as much sense as asking Beckham if he likes football, the Phaeton is definitely the car for the owner who would rather sit in the front than the back. Like a Hardy Amies tracksuit, the Phaeton is classily sporting. Or it is, if that's the mood you're in. Set the suspension to comfort, select auto' mode, and give the keys to someone else, and the Phaeton's alter ego will treat you to a magic carpet ride that's as koniglich as anything else that Germany has to offer.

And the price is regal, too. As tested, the W12 Phaeton 4Motion Tipronic would set you back £82,595, which is more than twelve times the cost of Volkswagen's cheapest car – the 1.2 Fox. Given that the extras alone – including Automatic Distance Control, keyless entry and TV with Teletext - account for more or less one Fox, that leaves us with eleven Foxes to spend on the basic car. Take off, say, two Foxes for the powertrain, one for the 5-metre, super-rigid bodyshell, another for the active air suspension, and one more for the active safety systems, and that leaves us with six-strong skulk of Foxes to spend on fixtures and fittings.

The four individual seats are between them worth a Fox or two: the front seats have 18-way electric adjustment; all four seats are heated, air-conditioned and have a massage function; the rear seats have 10-way electric adjustment, and the front seats can be adjusted from the rear – although for what purpose, I'm not sure.

And the air-con system is capable of diverting a couple of Foxes away from Ms Hood herself. Apart from the Mach 1 desert trick, the Phaeton's air-con operates within four separate zones, one for each occupant. That leaves us with a couple of Foxes for the audio system, on-board computer, powered boot-lid, more lights than Albert Bridge, and a host of minor things that would take until tomorrow to list in detail. And finally, there's the fork-lift truck - to lift the handbook.

Overwhelmed with the munificence of it all I took time out to luxuriate in the rear seats – or one of them, at least. In a curtain of Mozart – courtesy of the 12-channel audio upgrade – I felt like Sir Alan Sugar en-route to fire an apprentice. It is a great shame that the four-seat option is about to be dropped. From 2007 model-year onwards, Phaetons will be offered with only a 5-seat configuration, thus negating one of its most endearing features. Maybe the company has given up on trying to flog its crown jewels to the chosen few and instead intends to oust Mercedes-Benz from the taxi market.

When I introduced the Phaeton to the only friend I've got who could afford such a thing, I did so via the back door, chauffeur-style, without telling him what it was. After 10 minutes the only answer he could come up with, as to the make, was Lexus, which, if you ignore the gaping price differential, kind of says it all. Then I showed it to another friend who actually works as a chauffeur, driving an S-Class, and all he could say was "Good grief!"

All of which brings me back to my opening remarks: ultra-conservative Volkswagen is the last company in the world that you would expect to come up with the unexpected, yet it has, and with resounding success. Or at least in terms of all means of objective measurement. Sales are a different matter, and here Volkswagen might take comfort from the fact that the W12 Phaeton may ultimately have something else in common with its spiritual ancestor, the Horch V12 – only 80 were ever built.