The Volkswagen Phaeton W12 Was a 120, 000 VW Ultra-Luxury Sedan
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Date: 2019-10-25
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Comments and reviews: 10
D Stanoev
VW built an entire new factory (the Transparent factory) in Dresden Germany, only to manufacture Phaeton in it. Workers wore white clothes, similar to doctors. The floor in the factory was made of maple wood, walls were made of glass top to bottom. The entire factory is as clean as hospital, if not cleaner. Each car was built by hand individually by only 1-2 people at a time. Interiors were made by customer order. Potential buyers could go to the factory on a tour with a tour guide and see cutaway models, W12 engine simulator, test the seats, pick the colors, etc. It was unique manufacting and selling processes for a car. As mentioned in this video, the badge led to poor sales and VAG bought Bentley to use their badge. Exactly the same car with some cosmetic transformations was soon after sold as Bentley Continental GT and Flying Spur, this time a lot more successfuly. There was a second generation Phaeton that came around 2010, but it had even worse sales then the first one. I also remember the maintainance on those was a nightmare for the owners and that was a big reason nobody wanted it. Some of it's best features not mentioned in this video were the adaptable and self-adjustable air suspension and the Torsen all wheel drive. The windshield has Lead and Gold in it to better reflect sunlight, which is why the EZ Pass doesn't work, not because the glass is very thick. The second Generation had all the bells and whistles of the modern cars like lane departure warning, radar adaptive cruise control with Stop-and-Go, traffic sign recognition, internet Hot-spot, rear view camera, 3D GPS navigation and many more, not seen in any other car at that time. Overall, it's a unique car with unique history, one of the most-underrated ones in car history.
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VW built an entire new factory (the Transparent factory) in Dresden Germany, only to manufacture Phaeton in it. Workers wore white clothes, similar to doctors. The floor in the factory was made of maple wood, walls were made of glass top to bottom. The entire factory is as clean as hospital, if not cleaner. Each car was built by hand individually by only 1-2 people at a time. Interiors were made by customer order. Potential buyers could go to the factory on a tour with a tour guide and see cutaway models, W12 engine simulator, test the seats, pick the colors, etc. It was unique manufacting and selling processes for a car. As mentioned in this video, the badge led to poor sales and VAG bought Bentley to use their badge. Exactly the same car with some cosmetic transformations was soon after sold as Bentley Continental GT and Flying Spur, this time a lot more successfuly. There was a second generation Phaeton that came around 2010, but it had even worse sales then the first one. I also remember the maintainance on those was a nightmare for the owners and that was a big reason nobody wanted it. Some of it's best features not mentioned in this video were the adaptable and self-adjustable air suspension and the Torsen all wheel drive. The windshield has Lead and Gold in it to better reflect sunlight, which is why the EZ Pass doesn't work, not because the glass is very thick. The second Generation had all the bells and whistles of the modern cars like lane departure warning, radar adaptive cruise control with Stop-and-Go, traffic sign recognition, internet Hot-spot, rear view camera, 3D GPS navigation and many more, not seen in any other car at that time. Overall, it's a unique car with unique history, one of the most-underrated ones in car history.
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Leland Fitz
Let me shed some light into the mystery why VW would build a luxury car. At the time it was developed and first shipped the German Bundeskanzler was a politician that was the former head of state in Lower Saxony. This German state, Lower Saxony is the biggest shareholder of VW, as it has it's headquarters there. It was rumored that he wanted to drive a VW instead of a Mercedes or BMW which both come from southern states of Germany. Also, the Phaeton was built in a new production facility in Eastern Germany. So it was intended to help boost the region of the former socialist part of Germany GDR. That region still lacks economic power. That's why industry that settles there gets a lot of government subsidies when they decide to move production there. So that can be an explanation as to why VW once decided to build a luxury car. As Doug said, they stopped building it. Audi is part of the VW family an it has been said that VW sees it's enough to have the Audi A8 from their family as the competitor to Mercedes S-Class or BMW 7 series.
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Let me shed some light into the mystery why VW would build a luxury car. At the time it was developed and first shipped the German Bundeskanzler was a politician that was the former head of state in Lower Saxony. This German state, Lower Saxony is the biggest shareholder of VW, as it has it's headquarters there. It was rumored that he wanted to drive a VW instead of a Mercedes or BMW which both come from southern states of Germany. Also, the Phaeton was built in a new production facility in Eastern Germany. So it was intended to help boost the region of the former socialist part of Germany GDR. That region still lacks economic power. That's why industry that settles there gets a lot of government subsidies when they decide to move production there. So that can be an explanation as to why VW once decided to build a luxury car. As Doug said, they stopped building it. Audi is part of the VW family an it has been said that VW sees it's enough to have the Audi A8 from their family as the competitor to Mercedes S-Class or BMW 7 series.
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Cornelius Dr Vanderbilt
3: 57. the rear door mesh curtains do not cover the whole area. I have a BMW '98 750il V12. factory installed double glazed windows, electrically operated rear screen sunshade, manually operated rear window sunshades and separate quarter windows. it is a monster of a car with Sports switch on. BTW, VW Phaeton is a man's ultimate Luxury car. Its road holding is more gripping than mine. It is the best value for money. If I shall lose my BMW, I shall buy a VW Phaeton.
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3: 57. the rear door mesh curtains do not cover the whole area. I have a BMW '98 750il V12. factory installed double glazed windows, electrically operated rear screen sunshade, manually operated rear window sunshades and separate quarter windows. it is a monster of a car with Sports switch on. BTW, VW Phaeton is a man's ultimate Luxury car. Its road holding is more gripping than mine. It is the best value for money. If I shall lose my BMW, I shall buy a VW Phaeton.
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Coen van Houwelingen
I miss two very very interesting features about the Phaeton in this review: - Memory middle rearview mirror. Yes once you save the Memory for the driver seat, it will adjust the interior rearview mirror as well. - Most Phaetons had a solar panel in the sunroof. The power would be used to run the airconditioning while parked in the sun.
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I miss two very very interesting features about the Phaeton in this review: - Memory middle rearview mirror. Yes once you save the Memory for the driver seat, it will adjust the interior rearview mirror as well. - Most Phaetons had a solar panel in the sunroof. The power would be used to run the airconditioning while parked in the sun.
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ph0ib0s1
How can you talk about Phaeton and not mention Ferdinand Piech even once? The grand son of Ferdinand Porsche. A brilliant car engineer, like his grandfather, who made Porsche, Audi and VW the great and respectable car maker companies they are today. This car has been designed and build according to the vision of this great man.
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How can you talk about Phaeton and not mention Ferdinand Piech even once? The grand son of Ferdinand Porsche. A brilliant car engineer, like his grandfather, who made Porsche, Audi and VW the great and respectable car maker companies they are today. This car has been designed and build according to the vision of this great man.
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Chris Green
What about the other engines that the Phaeton came with. A friend of mine had a twin turbo V10 Diesel version with 750Nm of Torque. it also had a solar panel in the sunroof that allows the Air conditioning to be going without the engine on. You get back into the car on a hot day and it is super cold inside. That is luxury.
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What about the other engines that the Phaeton came with. A friend of mine had a twin turbo V10 Diesel version with 750Nm of Torque. it also had a solar panel in the sunroof that allows the Air conditioning to be going without the engine on. You get back into the car on a hot day and it is super cold inside. That is luxury.
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olfrygt2007
Another Phaeton perk people might not know about, is that VW built a dedicated, extravagant final assembly line dubbed the transparent factory which also doubles as an artsy event space. Customers could configure their Pheaton there and pick it up after watching its final assembly steps. watch? v=YlIyDhss4Cg
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Another Phaeton perk people might not know about, is that VW built a dedicated, extravagant final assembly line dubbed the transparent factory which also doubles as an artsy event space. Customers could configure their Pheaton there and pick it up after watching its final assembly steps. watch? v=YlIyDhss4Cg
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Art Tafil
OK, I haven't watched the entire video yet BUT my wife's 2005 Volvo S80 Premier has dual playing DVD players in the front seat headrests AND a refrigerator behind the rear armrest for holding your wine and cheeses at a proper temperature. This was Volvo technology for their executive S80 sedans in the 2000's.
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OK, I haven't watched the entire video yet BUT my wife's 2005 Volvo S80 Premier has dual playing DVD players in the front seat headrests AND a refrigerator behind the rear armrest for holding your wine and cheeses at a proper temperature. This was Volvo technology for their executive S80 sedans in the 2000's.
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Winton White
Lock all the doors in an emergency The location of that seems odd, particularly if you're trying to lock the doors, you've got to have that door open. Why not just hit the door lock button on the door panel? AND what sort of an emergency would there be that might require locking all the doors?
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Lock all the doors in an emergency The location of that seems odd, particularly if you're trying to lock the doors, you've got to have that door open. Why not just hit the door lock button on the door panel? AND what sort of an emergency would there be that might require locking all the doors?
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Olusegun Animashaun
i had a mercedes W124 E320 and it too had Ashtrays in each rear door Doug. and it was a '94 model. im pretty sure all Mercedes' of that time and era all had them. so Dual Rear Ashtrays arent that uncommon and moreso, Luxury cars have had them way before the Phaeton.
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i had a mercedes W124 E320 and it too had Ashtrays in each rear door Doug. and it was a '94 model. im pretty sure all Mercedes' of that time and era all had them. so Dual Rear Ashtrays arent that uncommon and moreso, Luxury cars have had them way before the Phaeton.
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