2004 VW Phaeton W12 Premier Edition
I always wanted to drive a W12 Phaeton. I could
never justify their cost. I don't think anyone (in retrospect) could
justify their cost. I've been on the lookout on again off again for quite
a few years since the Phaetons were introduced in 2004. To kick off the
introduction to the USA, VW produced and imported 330 "Premier Edition" Phaetons
which came standard with every option available and at a nearly $20K discount
from full MSRP (which meant only $88K). This is one of those original 330
cars. The Phaeton was VW's proof that they were a competitor in the Luxury
Car market. They are produced in a remarkable "Transparent
Factory" in Dresden, Germany. While the Phaeton is mildly successful
in the rest of the world, VW's image as a practical Driver's car did not suit
the Phaeton well (or vice-versa), and commercially they failed in the US,
ultimately pulling out of this market in the 2006 model year. That doesn't
take away the fact that the Phaeton is a technical masterpiece, showcasing
everything VW knew how to do well (and some things they didn't do so well) in
once fantastic piece of machinery. The list of Luxury options on these
cars is quite large, and because of their lack of success selling in the USA,
they can be found at a small fraction of what they once cost new. A
similarly equipped Phaeton in 2005 or 2006 would have had an MSRP north of
$100K. As a marketing gimmick, VW included a brown paper bag next to the
window sticker of some Phaetons in order to help customers jokingly recover from
hyperventilation due to the sticker shock experienced by seeing such an
expensive VW. This particular Phaeton has had 2 owners, and was actually
featured with its original owner in "VW Driver" magazine in an article called
"Phaeton Phoresome." Click here
to go back.