In Greek mythology, Phaeton was the son of Helios, the sun god. One day Phaeton begged his father to let him drive the chariot of…{"id":7141,"date":"2015-07-29T12:59:18","date_gmt":"2015-07-29T19:59:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/?p=7141"},"modified":"2015-07-29T12:59:18","modified_gmt":"2015-07-29T19:59:18","slug":"phaet-will-find-a-way-the-volkswagen-phaeton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/2015\/07\/29\/phaet-will-find-a-way-the-volkswagen-phaeton\/","title":{"rendered":"Phaet Will Find a Way: The Volkswagen Phaeton"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Greek mythology, Phaeton was the son of Helios, the sun god. One day Phaeton begged his father to let him drive the chariot of the sun. Helios reluctantly agreed and handed over the reins. But, the inexperienced\u00a0Phaeton was unable to control the horses, and the earth was set ablaze. Zeus, appalled by the destruction, struck the boy down with a vengeful lightning bolt.<\/span><\/p>\n

Maybe in not so dramatic fashion, Volkswagen removed their Phaeton full-size ultra-luxury sedan from the American market in 2006, after it failed to set the sales floor on fire. A decade later, Volkswagen is planning to bring\u00a0an all-new Phaeton back to the\u00a0United States.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a recent Bloomberg interview, VW CEO Martin Winterkorn stated that “a brand as large as Volkswagen needs a halo project in the upscale segment.”\u00a0<\/span>The<\/span> Volkswagen Phaeton<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0was originally designed to challenge German luxury sedans at a reasonable price. However, the Phaeton\u00a0never caught on in America, with only\u00a03,354 units purchased\u00a0over the course of three years. The Phaeton\u00a0was withdrawn from the American market, and it has been on an indefinite hiatus ever since. Now, a new generation of Phaetons are expected\u00a0to debut for the 2018 model year. That’s still a long way off, but\u00a0VW\u00a0is already\u00a0hoping that the new\u00a0model will be more popular with American drivers.<\/span><\/p>\n

The next\u00a0Phaeton\u00a0is expected to have a twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter W12 engine with over 600 horsepower and 663 pound-feet of torque. It will use the same rear wheel drive MLB platform as the<\/span> Audi A8<\/a><\/strong>. Extensive use of aluminum will reduce the mass of the car, which should improve gas mileage.<\/span><\/p>\n

There’s also talk about a gasoline-electric plug-in hybrid version of the Phaeton. The hybrid is rumored to have\u00a0a V6 engine and a compact electric motor, with\u00a0a lithium-ion battery pack. The motor is supposed to be able\u00a0to power the sedan on its own for short distances. How short? Volkswagen hasn’t said yet, but the V6 engine is supposed to kick in and send over 400 horsepower to the wheels when the electricity runs out.<\/span><\/p>\n