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 The 2006 2007 Volkswagen Phaeton is a luxury car for people who prefer to wear their designer labels on the inside of their clothing. If you can afford a hand-built luxury car but don't need to go around with a three-pointed star or a leaping cat or a flying lady hood ornament to proclaim your arrival, then you may find that this new VW more than meets your needs. We use the word "more" because the Phaeton offers a luxury car with a 12-cylinder engine for about the price of a V8-powered Mercedes-Benz S-Class. Phaeton comes standard with features such as a navigation system for about what you'd pay for a basic short-wheelbase 7 Series BMW. Volkswagen is moving upscale and the Phaeton is its new luxury sedan, the flagship of a fleet that in the North American market includes the Golf, New Beetle, Jetta, Eurovan, Passat, and the new Touareg sport-utility. In 2006 2007 we should see a modern interpretation of the hippies' favorite, the VW Microbus, followed, perhaps, by a new, mid-engine, two-seat sports car.
The term phaeton dates back to days of horse-drawn carriages, and then was applied for special, coach-built touring cars with custom features. In the case of the 2006 2007 Volkswagen Phaeton most of those custom features are included as standard equipment. Phaeton will be available in two models: V8 and W12. There also is a Premier package of the W12. Each model takes its name from the engine beneath its aluminum hood, either a 335-horsepower, 4.2-liter V8 or a 420-horsepower, 6.0-liter W12. W12? Don't engines only come in V configurations, such as an inline-4 or a V8 and I? Not anymore. What VW Group has done, in very basic terms, is to take a pair of its compact, 3.0-liter V6 engines, give them a common crankshaft and, after substantial engineering and recasting, produce a short but powerful motor with lots of displacement.
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