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The Volkswagen Phaeton is one of the most understated, overlooked luxury cars ever built. It's built around Bentley architecture, as big as an Audi A8, and could be had with a massive 12-cylinder engine. It was basically a Continental Flying Spur in sheep's clothing. Because the VW badge doesn't carry the clout that buyers expected for the price, VW pulled the Phaeton from the US market not long after its debut. The few examples sold here now have a cult following. This one is in basically new condition, and it just popped up for sale on Bring a Trailer. You should buy it.
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Shown here is one of the cleanest examples of a W12 Phaeton we've ever seen. It has just 7551 miles on the odometer, and looks like it just rolled off the showroom floor. The paint, underside, engine bay, and interior all look brand-new. Hell, some of these interior shots seem like they were ripped straight from a VW sales brochure. According to the ad, the car is in perfect working condition, right down to the buttons on the dash. Even the complex self-leveling air suspension operates as intended.
The biggest differentiation between a W12-engined Phaeton and its more pedestrian-spec V8 counterpart, aside from the badges, is the quad exhaust tips (eight-cylinder cars had dual tips). The W12 car made 420 horsepower when new, and judging by the mileage and condition of this car, we'd guess it's still making most of that power today. It's currently up for grabs on Bring a Trailer with a high bid of $15,000 and seven days remaining. Even if this car sold for over $30,000, I'd still rather have it over a similarly-priced Flying Spur.
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Road & Track staff writer with a taste for high-mileage, rusted-out projects and amateur endurance racing.
