VW recently revealed the pictures of VW Phaeton’s cancelled second generation. Sadly, the Phaeton didn’t manage to see its second generation. When Phaeton was first revealed in 2003, it shocked the industry. VW was entering into the luxury F-segment and going to compete with Mercedes-Benz S-Class.
To compete in the luxury segment, Phaeton was offering groundbreaking technologies. Phaeton was designed to be driven non-stop at 50-degree at 300 km/h, with an interior temperature of 22. This was requested by Ferdinand Piech (grandson of Ferdinand Porsche). And Phaeton achieved this request. To be an invincible vehicle, Phaeton was over-engineered with many redundancy systems. Everything had a backup system designed to survive the most challenging conditions. Another game-changer feature was the windows were coated with an anti-moisture coat. So whatever you do, inside the Phaeton, you won’t have foggy windows (Tried by Jeremy Clarkson at Top Gear).
I can’t forget the mechanical arms of the boots; they were a piece of engineering. Still, you can’t find this type of engineering in any of the cars. Phaeton was a gamer changer. Also, I can’t forget the W12 engine, not a V12, a W12! This was another game-changer in automotive engineering. Air condition would never make you sick, with the torsional rigidity of 37000 nm/degree (this is high). There were also more requests from Piech but never revealed to the public.
Sadly, Phaeton had one problem, it was a VW. And it was nearly impossible to compete with Mercedes-Benz S-Class, BMW 7-Series, Audi A8, Maserati Quattroporte, Lexus LS and Jaguar XJ (now gone). Even the Jaguar couldn’t keep up with the competition. S-Class has always been the leader of the F-segment. VW had the money but couldn’t gain traction. Sadly, Phaeton was out of production in 2016.
Interestingly, the highest demand came from China and South Korea. Although this demand didn’t manage the keep the production alive. The Phaeton was also used for first-generation Bentley FlyingSpur and did really well.
So, what are these second-generation pictures of Phaeton? VW just wanted us to show what the second generation Phaeton could have looked like. As I am not an industrial designer, one thing I can say, the first-generation Phaeton has cleaner lines and looks better. I hope Frank Stephenson will cover the second-generation Phaeton in his future videos.
The second generation Phaeton was going to have a plug-in hybrid system, the same V6, V8, and W12 engines. Also, electrochromic side windows was on the plan. At the touch of a button, the user can switch from opaque to transparent glass.
Lastly, Phaeton was a great car. If you find a clean one with a W12 engine, go for it! If you live in China, Phaeton is kind of alive as Phideon. It is a smaller version based on a smaller platform.
Photos // VW