|
Volkswagen, Europe’s most successful car manufacturer, enters Australia’s
prestige market segment with the launch next April of the beautiful Phaeton
sedan.
Powered by a 4.2-litre V8 engine - driving all four wheels via a six-speed
Tiptronic automatic transmission plus Volkswagen’s 4MOTION system and featuring
a continuously variable four-wheel air suspension - the Phaeton brings a fresh,
dynamic style to the prestige sedan segment...and a range of luxury, performance
and safety features that more than match its German, British and Japanese
segment rivals.
Volkswagen Group Australia has chosen the long-wheelbase (LWB), V8 powered
Phaeton model, featuring extra rear legroom and the most comprehensive level of
features.
Put simply, the Australian specification Phaeton is everything Volkswagen
does, done all at once. There are no ‘optional extras’ available.
Styling is unique, fuss-free and powerful, allowing the Phaeton to stand-out
from its segment rivals. ‘Imposing’ is the term that best describes Volkswagen’s
first prestige sedan – Phaeton is actually one of the largest vehicles in the
segment, with the LWB version stretching to a full three metre wheelbase.
Volkswagen Group Australia is supporting the Phaeton with an appropriate
after-sales and service operation that includes personalized pickup/delivery,
Phaeton loan cars and other benefits.
The Phaeton was conceived by Volkswagen’s former Chairman, Dr Ferdinand
Piech, and his brief to the design and engineering teams was to produce the
world’s best luxury car.
To boldly announce the Phaeton and distinguish it from the rest of the
Volkswagen range, the company invested
186.62 million in a magnificent new
production facility in the German city of Dresden exclusively to manufacture the
company’s first prestige sedan.
Not just any factory, the ‘Transparent’ factory (because of its 27,500 square
metres of glass walls) is one of Germany’s most recent architectural triumphs
and is actually located in a tranquil setting next to the city’s botanical
gardens. In fact the Transparent factory hardly resembles a car plant at all –
the manufacturing area sits on 24,000 metres of maple parquetry floors and the
operations are virtually silent as each Phaeton is assembled by a small team of
craftsmen.
The city of Dresden is famous for its chamber orchestra and opera house –
when they suffered during the floods last year, both were relocated to the
Phaeton ‘Transparent’ factory for its ambience and acoustic qualities.
“Clearly Volkswagen has delivered a product that more than matches the
world’s best,” explained Volkswagen Group Australia’s Managing Director, Mr
Peter Nochar. “And we know that to successfully market the Phaeton in this
segment, we must deliver the sort of sales, service and after-sales experience
demanded by prestige customers.”
One luxury feature unique to the Phaeton is the 4-zone Climatronic
air-conditioning that enables the driver, passenger and rear seat passengers to
individually adjust the temperatures in their own separate ‘zones’. The cooling
or warming air is then directed draught-free via automatically closing and
opening emitters (with indirect ventilation via fine Chestnut wood faceplates).
Every Phaeton’s four-door galvanized steel bodyshell is manufactured (with
precise laser-welding) at Volkswagen’s state-of-the-art plant in Mosel, Germany
and transported by a unique CarGoTram (an 18 minute journey) to the Dresden
facility. Here they are matched to the aluminium boots, bonnets and doors.
The result is class-leading body rigidity – a major factor in both active and
passive safety.
In addition, the use of aluminium sandwich construction, a new form of window
guidance profiles and the decoupled suspension/drivetrain design results in the
Phaeton setting new standards for interior quietness.
Ride and handling of Volkswagen’s high performance prestige sedan is
startlingly good – a credit to the standard four-wheel air suspension which
combines with the four-link front suspension and independent rear suspension
with trapezoidal wishbones, best-in-segment bodyshell stiffness and
best-in-segment braking performance.
The air suspension has driver-selected ride heights (auto, high and low) and
four damper configurations (auto, comfort and two sport settings). The damper
control is based on the so-called ‘sky-hook’ principle which minimizes body
movements in all situations (such as anti-dive in braking and anti-squat in
acceleration).
Other safety/performance features standard on the Phaeton are: ESP
(electronic stability program), brake assist, ABS (anti-lock brakes), EBD
(electronic brake force distribution), TCS (traction control system), four
electronic differential locks and EBC (engine braking control).
Safety features include eight airbags and active head restraints.
Inside, the luxury and equipment of the Phaeton matches the elegance and
technological beauty of the bodyshell – the interior materials used, technical
solutions for driving performance and comfort, the gorgeous design and generous
dimensions deliver an exclusive ambience which is undeniably Phaeton.
Seats are finished in beautiful Vienna leather and the fronts feature 12-way
electric adjustment and massage function.
Wood trim in the interior is a light-coloured Chestnut and the premium
12-speaker audio system has 12 amplifiers and a Digital sound processor. There
is also a rear DVD player with large-size screen.
Everywhere you look, the Phaeton is a luxury/technological masterpiece...even
the boot which has beautifully machined aluminium hinges. Capacity is huge – 500
litres, enough to take the golf team and their clubs away for the weekend.
The Phaeton will be available in April 2005 from all Australian Volkswagen
passenger vehicle dealers. Two firm orders have been held for some time.
| Item |
Technical Specification |
| |
|
| Engine |
|
| |
4.2 V8 4Motion |
| |
5 Seater |
| |
6 Speed Automatic |
| |
(with paddle shifters behind steering wheel) |
| Body |
LWB |
| Entertainment |
Sat Nav |
| |
TV Reception |
| |
7 Inch Colour Screen |
| Wheels |
18 Inch |
| Seats |
12 Way Electric Adjustment with Memory Driver & Passenger |
| |
Leather, Vienna |
| |
Heated Front / Rear Outer Seats |
| |
Electric Lumbar Support Front |
| |
Seat Belts Electrically Height Adjustable |
| Suspension |
Air Suspension |
| Spare Wheel |
Full Size Alloy Spare |
| Steering |
Electrically Adjusted with Memory |
| |
Wood / Leather Steering Wheel Multi Function 4 Spoke |
| Cruise Control |
Standard Cruise Control with Steering Wheel Controls |
| Sun Blind |
Electrically Operated Roll Up Blind in Rear and |
| |
Manual Sunshade on each Rear Door |
| Starting |
Keyless Access with Starter Button |
| Mirror / Wiper |
Dimming Interior Mirror / Rain Sensor Wiper |
| Airbags |
Curtain, Driver and Passenger Front, |
| |
Side for Front and Rear Seats |
| Wood Trim |
Chestnut |
| Rear View Mirrors |
Electric, Foldable, Memory, Auto Dimming |
| Alarm |
Alarm, Tow Sensor, Interior Monitoring, Immobiliser |
| CD |
6 Disc Stacker in Glove Box |
| Tyre Pressure Monitoring |
Tyre Pressure Monitoring |
| PDC |
Park Distance Control |
| Headlights |
Bi-Xenon including Auto Height and Washing |
| |
Auto On Twilight Sensor |
| |
Front / Rear Fog Lights |
| Audio |
12 Speaker Premium Audio, |
| |
12 Amplifiers, Digital Sound Processor |
| Climate |
4 Zone Climate Control, Adjustable in Rear |
| Multi Function |
5 Inch Colour Display |
| Telephone |
Car Phone Installation, |
| |
Hands Free, Nokia 6310i with Bluetooth
Receiver |
|
