If we were to point you towards a W12 saloon car made in the ‘00s, you’d normally rightly presume we’d be talking about a Bentley Flying Spur. Today is not the case, though, with that luxurious-sounding recipe coming from a rather more humble background under the Volkswagen Group umbrella. Well, Volkswagen itself, to be precise.
Yes, for sale is a W12 VW Phaeton, probably the best contender for the UK’s most unassuming second-hand buy and one that we can only describe as bloody rare.
Introduced in 2001, the Phaeton was a perplexing attempt at giving VW a car to rival the BMW 7 Series, Mercedes S-Class and, err, Audi A8. On paper, it was quite possibly the most interesting of the lot, too.
W12 Volkswagen Phaeton, rear
The brainchild of then-VW boss Ferdinand Piëch, the engineering requirements of the Phaeton were quite frankly bonkers, with reportedly 10 required parameters. Not all were made public, but we know for sure that Piëch demanded that the car be able to drive for 24 hours straight while maintaining a 22-degree cabin temperature. At 186mph (Despite a 155mph limiter on the final production version). In 50 degrees of heat.
No surprise that when it went into production, it was absolutely loaded with technology too. To name a few bits (and keep in mind this car went into production in 2002): Four-zone climate control, adaptive air suspension, adaptive cruise control, double-glazed windows, heated and cooled massaging seats, parking sensors… stuff BMW, Mercedes, Audi and Porsche would still charge you through the nose for optionally today.
It’s said the development budget for the car was around £1 billion, and that was almost 25 years ago. Account for inflation, and that’d be nearly doubled today.
W12 Volkswagen Phaeton, engine
So, to offset that, Volkswagen surely sold a million of them, right? Surely offering it with the choice of two VR6 engines, a 4.2-litre V8, a 3.0-litre V6 diesel, even a 5.0-litre oil-burning V10 and in short or long wheelbase forms meant customers took advantage of so much choice? Err, no. Over a 15-year production run, it’s believed around just 85,000 were built.
Rarest of the lot, though, particularly in the UK, is the version equipped with the 6.0-litre W12 engine designed for Bentley and dropped into the Phaeton. If HowManyLeft is to be believed, there are only 11 of those remaining here.
This 2006 car on Collecting Cars has only covered 19,673 miles across two owners, with the first none other than Volkswagen Group UK. It comes with a pretty comprehensive service history and all at main VW dealers too, with its last in July 2024, just over 1000 miles ago.
W12 Volkswagen Phaeton, interior
Issues? At the moment, the listing states a fault with the tyre pressure monitoring light always being on because of a sensor issue. Probably not the most problematic in the grand scheme of things, but still something to keep in mind ahead of its next MOT, due this December.
There is also a small crack in the driver’s side rear window, and some ‘minor corrosion spots’. We’ll leave it to you if those are a problem or not.
Of course, there is also the overlooming fear of this being a W12 Volkswagen Phaeton, which almost guarantees something will go spectacularly wrong at some stage. Worth the risk, though? Bidding has seven days to go at the time of writing, with a solitary £500 punt on there.
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