Your new daily driver is here: this 2005 Volkswagen Phaeton W12 2+2. If you have the guts, can handle uber-complicated automotive systems, and have $1,000,000 in specialized tools, this is the car for you. The seller has this Teutonic beauty posted here on craigslist in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, and they’re asking $22,500, which equates to $16,026 U.S. dollars. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Jack M. for the tip!
I’m kidding about having a million bucks’ worth of specialized tools, of course, but it wouldn’t hurt. We’ve only seen one VW Phaeton here on Barn Finds over the years, and Jack M. also sent in that tip. One of our German vehicle experts, Todd Fitch, wrote that up. He knows a thing or two about German cars with 12 cylinders, as he has a V12 BMW sedan. I have to say that I like this car much better than the previous Phaeton, I’m not a fan of the black wheels on the other car. This one appears to be all stock, which is a big win in my world. I’m boring that way.
Also, this car is a 2+2, as in two front seats and only two rear seats. That makes it very rare, so rare that the seller says it’s only 1 of 4 sold in that configuration in North America. The seller has owned two of these beautiful Bentleys-dressed-as-a-VW and they have owned this example for the last 15 years. Da, it’s been their daily driver, so it can be done, my friends. I wish I had the guts to own a car like this, I’m really missing out on life experience. Here’s what the trunk compartment looks like. This car is cleaner than our refrigerator, which is somewhat depressing.
The very expensive, very cool, and very see-through Transparent Factory in Dresden, Germany was where they made the Phaeton. That entire manufacturing facility was built just for these cars, which were made from 2001 for the 2002 model year until the end of 2006 for North America, but it soldiered on until 2016 in other countries. Only 21 cars were sold in Canada in 2005, and supposedly, only four of those got the 2+2 rear seating option. Here’s a reading assignment: a 2005 Phaeton brochure. It has my absolute favorite line of any vehicle brochure ever: “It’s the most Volkswagen you can get without a prescription.”
This is where you want to be when you get dropped off to enjoy a McChicken value meal! The Phaeton is much more than just a big Passat. The Phaeton was, for all intents and purposes, a Bentley Flying Spur without the Bentley cachet, and without the Bentley price. That isn’t to say that the Phaeton wasn’t expensive, and that was one of its issues: not many buyers outside of Germany thought that a Volkswagen (“Isn’t this the company that makes the Beetle?!”) should cost more than any other car. This one would have been over $100,000 new back in 2005, which is around $175,000 today. That’s a nice Chevy Cavalier and a s-ton of poutine and mustache wax. This car does have one significant upgrade: a modern touchscreen smartphone-friendly stereo and backup camera.
The interior is where it’s at here. If you thought they cut down a lot of trees to power data centers, check out how many trees were sacrificed for the wood trim inside a VW Phaeton. If it could be powered by a complicated electric motor, it was. This example appears to be an absolute jewel, too. The seller says all maintenance has been done by a Volkswagen Phaeton technician at their local Volkswagen dealership, and everything that needed to be done was done, including all recent maintenance. It’s said to be ready to go, ready to be used as a daily driver for those of you with enough guts and one of those giant foam core checks that the Publishers Clearing House used to hand out. Or maybe they still do. Is there still a Publishers Clearing House? Hey, there is! It looks like they did $841 million in business in 2013, but only $38 million in 2024. Nobody reads anymore, sadly.
The yellow headlights freak me out a bit; are they really yellow, or is that a Canadian or a European thing? Or maybe it’s a light temperature thing? I like my headlights to be crystal clear. In any case, the big deal here is Volkswagen’s legendary 48-valve, 6.0-liter W12 engine. I just heard a sigh because you’re all thinking, “For the love of… another typo from Scotty G.” No, it’s not a V12; it’s actually two VR6 engines grafted together, and it creates 420 horsepower and around 406 lb-ft of torque. Backed by a ZF 5HP24A five-speed automatic transmission, power is sent to all four wheels via Volkswagen’s 4Motion AWD system. As expected, everything works as it should, so you can just get in and drive, drive, drive. Have any of you owned or driven a Volkswagen Phaeton?
I remember when these came out. I posted an image of what the block looks like. My hats off to anyone who works on these. The engines are very uniquely engineered, basically a 12 cylinder that fits in the same space as a V6. These were, and actually are a very classy car that looks like it’s right up there with any Jaguar or Rolls Royce from the same time period. Just look at that interior. I don’t think you’d find a better kept one. I loved your line Scotty about using this to go get a Chicken Mc nugget meal, that would be hilarious. 2005 seems like it was just yesterday and yet at the same time, a long ways back. This is a nice car.
Good Grief Scotty!!! When you said that brochure was a reading assignment…….
You weren’t kidding!!! 😆 🤣 😂
I love the look of that engine block, not sure I’d want a vehicle running one.
You know, I assumed that the W12 would be even more imbalanced than a V6 – assumed it was two V6s combined into a single engine block – but Google’s AI claims that it’s actually a lot more balanced than a standard V6. The VR6 engines that it is based on are supposedly quite well balanced to being with, so it’s more like combing two straight sixes to make a V12, than combing two V6s to make a W12.
Still not convinced I’d want to try and repair one. I wonder if anyone’s used one in a hot rod?
“.. a Bentley Flying Spur without the Bentley cachet….” -nice play on words there Scotty G.!
A big Volkswagen-all the makings of an oxymoron yet these were that to which it worked against them IMO.
Fantastic write up. Well done.
You folks are way too kind, thanks! I’m glad nobody dared me to get this for my road trip vehicle; whew, that was close…
I Triple Dog Dare you!
Dang you! (Just kidding) Do you think this car would go 30,000+ miles a year around the U.S. without too much trouble?