Development The Phaeton was conceived by
Ferdinand Piëch, then chairman of
Volkswagen Group, Piëch also wanted to move the VW brand upmarket, with the Phaeton serving as the brand's flagship model. Initial development of the Phaeton, given the internal project code VW611, began with Piëch giving his engineers a list of ten parameters the car needed to fulfill. Most of these specifications were not made known to the public, but a number of them were told to automotive reporters. One of them was that the Phaeton should be capable of being driven all day at with an exterior temperature of whilst maintaining an interior temperature of . Piëch requested this even though the Phaeton's top speed was electronically limited to . Other requirements were that the car should have a torsional rigidity of 37,000
N·m/
degree, and that the electric motors that perform various functions in the vehicle be hidden for a cleaner look. At the
1999 International Motor Show Germany, Volkswagen presented the
Concept D, which was essentially a
hatchback prototype of the Phaeton, with very similar design,
V10 TDI engine, air suspension and all wheel drive.
Overview The Phaeton used a special version of the
Volkswagen D platform, designated
D1. The D1 variant was shared with the
Bentley Continental GT and
Bentley Flying Spur, and was differentiated from the other D platform model, the
Audi A8, by using all-steel construction, whereas the A8 continued to use the all-aluminum "Audi Space Frame" chassis. Certain systems, such as the
automatic transmission and some
engines, are shared with the A8. Compared to the Audi A8L 4.2 litre FSI quattro, the Phaeton is heavier but is still competitive with the lighter A8 in most driving tests, due to the Phaeton's increased engine power (335 hp versus 330) and a shorter axle ratio (3.65:1 versus 3.32). However, the weight gives the Phaeton considerably worse acceleration and poorer fuel economy compared to the A8. The Phaeton had the longest
wheelbase in the Volkswagen passenger car line.
Features Development of the vehicle led to over one hundred individual patents specific to the Phaeton. Distinctive features include a draftless four zone climate system and standard
Torsen based
4motion four-wheel drive. For ride comfort, it introduced
Adaptive Air Suspension with
Continuous Damping Control (CDC)-(Skyhook suspension). The same suspension system, with firmer settings, was introduced in the technically similar
Audi A8 in November 2002. The Phaeton was the first Volkswagen with
radar adaptive cruise control:
automatic distance regulator (ADR). Additionally, the 5.0 L V10 TDI engine option in Phaeton marked the first ever use of a
V10 engine in a production sedan.
Phaeton Lounge (2005) The Phaeton Lounge was a concept car based on a lengthened version of the Phaeton with seating for four (two pairs of seats facing each other) in the rear compartment. It features a W12 engine, a reinforced chassis, six speed
Tiptronic automatic transmission, individual climate control for each passenger, front and rear wine coolers, a minibar, multi color mood lighting, a cigar humidor, two 17 inch monitors, DVD changer in the trunk, second DVD player in the rear cabin, and a Bluetooth enabled computer with a broadband connection. The vehicle was unveiled at the 2005
Middle East International Motor Show.
Production The Phaeton was hand assembled in an eco friendly factory with a glass exterior, the
Transparent Factory () in
Dresden, Germany. This factory had a capacity of producing 20,000 vehicles a year, and was planned to expand to 35,000 vehicles a year. It also assembled
Bentley Flying Spur vehicles destined for the European market until October 2006, when all assembly of the Bentley products was transferred to
Crewe, England. The Phaeton body was fabricated and painted at the Volkswagen works at
Zwickau, Germany, and the completed bodies were transported approximately 100 km by special road transport vehicles to the main factory. Most Phaeton engines, the W12 being the notable exception, were built at the VW/Porsche/Audi engine plant in
Győr, Hungary.
Reception and sales Sales of the Phaeton fell far short of expectations. Its biggest market was China, followed by South Korea. In 2002, the manufacturer stated the annual capacity of the new Phaeton plant at
Dresden was 20,000; by September 2006 a four-year total of 25,000 had been built, with production running at approximately 6,000 cars annually. The domestic market was the Phaeton's strongest, with 19,314 Phaetons delivered in Germany alone by January 2009. Production decreased to 10,190 cars in 2012 and 5,812 in 2013. In the Phaeton's 15 year production run, 84,253 units were built. The Phaeton debuted at prices comparable to similar offerings from
Mercedes-Benz,
BMW,
Lexus and the Volkswagen Group's own
Audi A8 (which shared its powertrain with the Phaeton).
Motor Trend suggested that the "VW badge on the hood may not say 'premium' to many auto shoppers" but they were impressed at how the Phaeton drove. In January 2011, Volkswagen reported the possibility of bringing the Phaeton back to the US in the car's next product cycle. In Autumn 2013,
The Economist placed Phaeton into the report on Europe's biggest loss making cars. In October 2014,
Top Gear magazine placed the Phaeton on its list of "The worst cars you can buy right now." In 2008, Volkswagen released the first update to the Phaeton. Subtle design changes were made by the introduction of chrome fog light covers and cherry red rear lights. The CD-based navigation system was upgraded to a DVD system, and the 3.0 V6 TDI engine had its power increased from 222 to 230bhp. The German
Chancellor Gerhard Schröder chose Phaeton to be his
official state car in his second term from 2002 to 2005. The reasoning can be generally correlated to the fact that before becoming chancellor, he previously served as the
Minister-President of Lower Saxony in 1990–1998, where Volkswagen is headquartered in the city of
Wolfsburg and is a major employer in the state and of which the
Lower Saxony state government holds a 11.8% subscribed share capital, and 20% of voting rights in distribution, stake in Volkswagen AG. ==Third series (GP2; 2008)==