The Volkswagen Phaeton is a beautiful car, but unfortunately that didn’t stop it from being a miserable failure here in the U.S. Car buyers in this market simply couldn’t bring themselves to pony up $80K for a VW.
Although Volkswagen quickly pulled the Phaeton from the U.S. market, it continues to battle the likes of the BMW 7-Series and the Mercedes-Benz S-Class outside of North America. That’s also why the car was deemed worthy of an extensive mid-life refresh for 2011.
But reports suggest that Volkswagen is planning big changes for the next-generation Phaeton, as the automaker will tailor the luxury sedan specifically for consumers in the U.S. and China.
“There’s no doubt that the Phaeton absolutely has to go back to the US,” an insider told AutoCar. “This is being reflected in the next version. It will look much more like a car for America.”
Not only will the next-gen Phaeton get a new platform, but it will also become larger and its styling will become far less conservative than the current generation. A range of engine choices are also expected, including the possibility of a hybrid powertrain based on the same setup found within the Volkswagen Touareg Hybrid.
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