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Volkswagen Phaeton
| Volkswagen Phaeton |
| Description: |
Overview
The Phaeton was the idea of Volkswagen chairman Ferdinand Piëch, who perceived the addition of such a flagship as a means to burnish the Volkswagen brand. The decision to release the Phaeton was, in part, a response to Mercedes' decision to compete directly with VW in the low end A-Class marketplace in Europe.
Initial development of the Phaeton began with Piech giving his engineers a list of ten paramaters the car needed to fulfill. Most of these specifications are not known to the public, but the motoring show Top Gear reported one: that one ought to be able to drive the Phaeton all day at 186 miles per hour when the exterior temperature is 122 degrees farenheit, and the climate control system should not let the interior temperature stray above 71.6 degrees. Piech requested this despite the Phaeton's top speed being limited to 155 mph.
The Phaeton's platform, the D3 platform, is shared with the Audi A8, Bentley Continental GT and Bentley Continental Flying Spur. D3 platform is constructed from high strength steel while Audi A8 is made in a different factory, on a different platform, using an aluminium space frame. This choice of metal is for reducing the production cost as to make Phaeton about 20% cheaper than comparable rival vehicles.
As of 2005, the Phaeton has the longest wheelbase in the Volkswagen passenger line.
The Phaeton is hand-assembled in a distinctive factory with a glass exterior, the Gläserne Manufaktur in Dresden, Germany. This factory also assembled the Bentley Continental Flying Spur until October 2006, when assembly of the Bentley was transferred to Crewe, England. |
| Date: |
24.11.2006 03:06 |
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