Product Deep Dive - 2016 Volkswagen Phaeton

There are two types of people in the world. One who like to wear their bank account wherever they go and then there are others who find doing so as extremely ostentatious and garish.

The Volkswagen Phaeton is for the second lot - people that would only like to show you the tip of the iceberg. In simple words, the Phaeton is meant for Warren Buffett and not for Snoop Dog.

Sadly, there are very few people like Warren Buffett on this planet. As a result, in its 10 years of existence, the Phaeton has not been able to make a strong mark on the automotive industry.

To give you an idea – in 2011 Volkswagen sold 10,270 units of the Phaeton worldwide; in the same duration Mercedes sold 68,969 S-Class models. And is the VW Phaeton any less of a car than a Mercedes S-Class? Absolutely not!

But thanks to the demand for the Phaeton from China, South Korea, Russia, UK and of course Germany, the Phaeton lives on for yet another iteration.

Here are all the details of the 2016 VW Phaeton

• The next generation Phaeton will be a ‘retirement legacy’ of Dr. Martin Winterkorn, VW Group CEO, and Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, VW product development chief. Thus, VW is intending to design and develop the next gen flagship right from scratch.
• The current VW Phaeton sits on a 10 year old platform which is a steel monocoque. The all-new Phaeton will be based on VW’s new MLB platform that will also underpin the next generation Audi A8, couple of Bentleys and the entire Porsche Panamera family.
• Thanks to the MLB platform, the 2016 VW Phaeton will be largely built out of aluminum in order to shed as much weight as possible. This will make it more fuel efficient and kinder to the environment.
• It will also debut a new design language that will influence the entire future VW range. However, the car will not lose its basic product philosophy of being a straightforward sedan for the person who is successful but doesn't feel the need to show it.
• Volkswagen wants the new Phaeton to rival the likes of Jaguar XJ and not compete with BMW 7 Series and Mercedes S-Class.
• Volkswagen plans to tailor it for the U.S. and China. Thus, it will also grow in size and a long wheelbase version is also expected for China.
• The W12 motor will be dropped from the range thanks to the recent trend of downsizing engines. The engine options will be restricted to V6s and V8s both in petrol and diesel avatar

[Rendering Courtesy - Autobild.de]