The German company has published new details and photos with the 2011 VW Phaeton over the weekend, with the facelift luxury saloon going on sale in Europe this month while the Chinese market will get it starting from August.
The 2011 VW Phaeton comes equipped with AWD, air suspension and four-zone climate control as standard and is available in two wheelbase versions and with two rear seat configurations (3-seat bench or two individual seats).
Powering options for the 2011 VW Phaeton include V6, V8 and W12 engines out of which one is diesel and three are petrol, and on the most powerful variant which will obviously be the W12 the German saloon will pack 450 PS (331 kW).
The 2011 VW Phaeton price should be announced soon as market launch is about to begin.
Volkswagen press release :
Wolfsburg / Sanya, 05 June 2010 – Volkswagen produces one of the world’s
highest quality and most exclusive automobiles at the German
Transparent Factory (Dresden): the Phaeton. The quality, style and
travelling comfort of this saloon (standard all-wheel drive, air
suspension and 4-zone automatic climate control) set their own
standards. The Phaeton is offered with two wheelbases as well as two
rear seating versions (three seat bench or two individual seats). Now
Volkswagen has further perfected the brand’s flagship.
The entire front end was redesigned, including the standard bi-xenon
headlights with LED cornering lights. Also tuned to match this look are
the new LED rear lights. In parallel, an abundance of new technical
features are making their way into the vehicle. They include a new brake
system, the Dynamic Light Assist (camera-based, dynamic main beam
control) system being introduced in a saloon for the first time, and a
navigation system, which can integrate online data in the map display
upon request. Moreover, thanks to an optional front camera the Phaeton
"sees" traffic signs; speed limit signs are visualized in the instrument
cluster (multifunction display) and the central touchscreen of the
centre console. The system will be the first in the world to recognize
and display no-passing zone markings. The latest generation of the
Phaeton will launch on the market in just a few weeks (Europe in June;
China in August).
V6, V8 and W12 engines: On the
drive side, four engines are available (one turbodiesel, three petrol).
The six, eight and twelve cylinder engines cover a power range extending
from 176 kW / 240 PS to 331 kW / 450 PS. The six-cylinder petrol engine
in the Phaeton is a V6 direct-injection engine (FSI with 206 kW / 280
PS). At the power levels above the V6 FSI, a V8 and a W12 petrol engine
are available (246 kW / 335 PS and 331 kW / 450 PS). In the diesel area,
Volkswagen offers an extremely fuel efficient and refined V6 TDI (174
kW / 240 PS) whose combined fuel consumption has been reduced from 9.0
to 8.5 l/100 km (equivalent to 224 g/km CO2).
Design
avant-garde: The Volkswagen Design-DNA developed by the Head of
Design for the Group, Walter de Silva, defines the car’s lines. In the
area of the new front end, in particular, the design team added a
measure of precision to the original, stylish and superlative image of
this model. This gave the timelessly elegant Phaeton a broader and more
powerful appearance: In keeping with the current Volkswagen Design-DNA,
horizontal lines dominate the geometry. Different than on any other
Volkswagen based on this new DNA so far, in the Phaeton the radiator
grille is not styled in glossy black; rather a completely new chrome
element is used. This radiator trim has a decisive impact on the styling
of the new Phaeton.
Joining the left and right sides of the
grille are the newly developed bi-xenon headlights with integrated LED
indicator lights and LED cornering lights. The new bumper design
complements the radiator grille and headlight styling. Here too,
horizontal lines are the virtual common thread linking their design.
Even the front fog lights now shine in LED technology. The rear section
of the car was also modified. In this area, the design team chose not to
change the classic, clear and powerful basic styling of the Phaeton;
instead it developed new smoked LED rear lights. Similar to the front
end, the rear bumper was also modified. In its side profile, the car’s
new side trim strips and narrow-styled LED indicator lights in the
outside mirrors stand out.
Interior artistry: The
interior of the Phaeton is one of the most elegant, high quality and
comfortable of the entire luxury class. The styling is linear and
timeless; the materials and quality of workmanship define the benchmark
worldwide. Unmatched in quality are its technological concepts such as a
draft-free 4-zone climate control system and 18-way seats with
award-winning ergonomics. As an alternative to the version with three
rear seats (5-seater), the saloon may be ordered with two electrically
adjustable individual seats as an option (4-seater). The Phaeton is also
available in an extended chauffeur version that is 120 millimetres
longer. The possibilities for customising the saloon are practically
limitless with numerous options from Volkswagen Exclusive covering a
broad range of leather, Alcantara trim, wood accents and such features
as a refrigerator and multimedia systems. This also applies to the new
styling of the multifunction steering wheel; it can be ordered in either
leather or a wood-leather combination that is coordinated with the
interior accents. Many customers in Europe – and those customers
travelling to Europe – take advantage of the opportunity to configure
their new Phaeton with original leathers, woods and paints right at the
Transparent Factory.
Infotainment systems: The
thoroughly intuitive operation of the Phaeton was transferred
unreservedly to the current generation radio/navigation system (RCD 810
as standard unit and RNS 810 as an option). The systems, whose features
include 8-inch touchscreen control, form one functional unit with the
climate control and multimedia controls. In the new Phaeton, Volkswagen
is offering – for the first time – an Internet-based Google function as a
supplement to the map display of the RNS 810 radio-navigation system
with 30 Gigabyte hard drive. The relevant data are loaded into the
system via mobile telephone using a specially set up Proxy Server.
Visualisation on the touchscreen display is the same as that of the
Google maps "Satellite" view or the Google "Hybrid" map on the iPhone,
which are familiar from the conventional Internet, and it includes
Points of Interest that can be called up. In the Phaeton, the satellite
images are of course supplemented by the selected route recommended by
the navigation system.
Ideally, the system loads the data over a
UMTS connection. The telephone itself is fully integrated in the system
via remote SIM Access Profile (rSAP). If a user wants to use a mobile
phone with Hands-Free Profile (HFP) as an alternative (e.g. the iPhone),
this is also possible in the new Phaeton (in this case, Google is not
activated). The infotainment system can do even more. Thanks to an
optional camera, it can now recognise traffic signs and show the
relevant information on the touchscreen and/or the display of the
multifunction display (located between the speedometer and tachometer).
By the way, this is the first vehicle in the world to indicate
no-passing zones to the driver.
Electronic assistance
systems: Assistance systems on the Phaeton include the new
Dynamic Light Assist (dynamic main beam control), ACC (adaptive cruise
control), Front Assist (surroundings monitoring system) and Side Assist
(lane-changing assistant) systems. A tyre pressure monitoring system
contributes to an even higher standard of safety. A completely new
development is the optional Dynamic Light Assist: In conjunction with a
camera integrated behind the front windscreen, the main beam modules of
the bi-xenon headlights remain continually active; they are only masked
in areas in which the system has analysed potential glare to other
traffic participants. As a result, the driver has considerably more
light to work with, and the system offers a clear gain in safety and
driving convenience.
