Volkswagen has revealed some more plans about the second generation Phaeton flagship. For one thing, it’ll be built off a new architecture being developed by Audi with extensive use of aluminum employed in the car’s body construction.
The platform, called VW631 will also result in a Phaeton with better weight distribution than the old and likely the provision for four and six-cylinder engines as well as the option of a plug-in hybrid drivetrain, so no V8s, V10s or W12s second time around.
Given how the original Phaeton spectacularly tanked in the marketplace, it begs the question, why should VW think about building another one? Well, sources inside the company say the next generation car will be far more contemporary in terms of styling and interior detailing and besides being considerably lighter and more efficient, less expensive too. Current estimates put pricing of the new model, when it does go on sale around 2015, between Audi’s A6 and A8 models. And although there hasn’t been any official confirmation yet, it’s probable the new Phaeton will make it stateside.
That said, priced between the A6 and A8 or not, it’ll still be one expensive people’s car and the question is, given that the US and European economies aren’t likely to have improved much by then, can the company from Wolfsburg really make it work this time out? It’ll be interesting to see.
