Your Phaeton

The Volkswagen Phaeton (pronounced "fey-ton") is a large luxury sedan manufactured by Volkswagen. It currently serves as the flagship of the Volkswagen line-up, competing with other high-end flagship sedans such as the Jaguar XJ, BMW 7 Series and Mercedes-Benz S-Class. It presumably takes its name from Phaëton, the son of Helios in Greek mythology, or harkens back to the early days of automobile production, in which phaetons were a recognized class of vehicles. The Phaeton was the brainchild of Volkswagen chairman Ferdinand Piëch, who perceived the addition of such a flagship as a means to burnish the Volkswagen brand. The Phaeton's platform, the D1 platform, is shared with Bentley Continental GT and Bentley Continental Flying Spur. D1 platform is constructed of steel, yet it utilizes 16 different metals, alloys and plastics. It has an impressive torsional rigidity of 37,000 Nm. The D1 platform is often confused with the D3 platform of the Audi A8. The D3 is an aluminium space frame and is not directly related to D1. The latter is substantially lighter yet the benefits of this are disputable. The current Bentley Continental series are still built on the D1. The Phaeton has the longest wheelbase in the passenger Volkswagen model line. In Dresden, Germany, the car is hand-assembled in a distinctive factory with a glass exterior, the Gläserne Manufaktur. In the US, the V8 model was priced at $66,700, including a $1,300 gas-guzzler tax. The W12 model started at $96,700, including a $3,000 gas-guzzler tax. In Germany, 2010 prices start at 66,500 EUR for a 5-seater V6 TDI diesel. The 100,000 EUR mark is exceeded easily once you start ticking the very extensive options list.