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2018 Volkswagen Phaeton Said to Use MLB Evo, Offer V8 TDI and V6 Hybrid Engines

The Phaeton belongs to a different, slightly more creative era in Volkswagen's history. For quite a few years now, we thought it was going to be canceled due to low demand, but the German company is committed to being a global leader and needs a flagship, one that's poised to get a stunning replacement three or four years from now.
2014 Phaeton V8 Long 1 photo
Photo: Volkswagen
One major role expected to be played by the Phaeton 2 is as a sort of "German luxury for less" full-size sedan in America. The local division's CEO Michael Horn recently spoke out about the sedan's return, hinting at an even more interesting machine than the current one.

Said to arrive in the US market as a 2018 or 2019 model, the all-new Phaeton is being engineered for a price bracket in the region of $70,000. That places it dangerously close to things like Audi A7, A6 or BMW 550i. We are rather surprised by this number, since rumors of this VW being a rival for the Chrysler 300 seemed to make a lot more sense.

But Horn says the new Phaeton is “virtually developed and finished" and based on the MLB Evo platform, the same as those new Audis that are coming out in the next couple of years (Q7, A4 and A8). However, Volkswagen will not launch it quite yet, since the older model is still selling well in China and the US market has been off the table since 2006.

Powertrain availability will border on the extremely advanced. According to Automotive News, a V8 diesel with 450 hp (probably twin-turbo) will be available, as will a TSI V6 plug-in hybrid pushing out 400 hp. W12 engines built by Bentley in Britain will also be available, most likely in naturally aspirated flavor, like on the A8.

Our say: Given how the Passat and CC are currently positioned, the 2018 Phaeton will probably be an sold as a cheaper alternative for A8, 7 Series and S-Class. How very bold of them!
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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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