Volkswagen mulls new Phaeton for the US market

Volkswagen is giving some serious thought to bringing back the Phaeton sedan to the U.S., Automotive News reports. We haven't seen the Phaeton since 2006, when it was withdrawn from the North American market after lackluster sales.

Built at the same factory as the much more expensive Bentley Continental GT and sharing much of the underlying mechanicals, the Volkswagen Phaeton managed to be a slower seller in the U.S. than the upmarket Bentley. The Phaeton nevertheless stayed popular in other markets, especially Southeast Asia, and was even given two facelifts in 2007 and 2010.

The report cites VW CEO Martin Winterkorn making statements regarding the need for an upmarket offering in North America. "A brand as large as Volkswagen needs a halo project in the upscale segment,” he stated.

According to Automotive News, a new Phaeton model may be previewed at the 2014 Detroit auto show in January, and will likely be based on the current Audi A8 sedan.

There had been some talk three years ago about a possible return of the Phaeton, but with the economy the way it was, we weren't particularly surprised that nothing materialized. The concept of an $85,000 Volkswagen sedan has remained an easier sell in countries where executive sedans tend to be chauffeured, but at the same time we're not ruling out a successful return of this plush sedan to our shores.

By Jay Ramey