The VW Phateon has to be one of my favorite cars of all time. It was the brainchild of Ferdinand Piech, an executive at Volkswagen who wanted to show the world what the little shop in Wolfsburg was capable of before retiring. He had a list of ten requirements for the car to meet, including driving at 180MPH in 122F temperatures for several hours while keeping the interior cabin of the car at 72F. The car was ahead of its time with nifty features and apparently drove like a cloud. Oh yeah, and it came with a monstrous W12 engine as an option. It was actually used as the basis for the Bentley Continental.
It retailed for as much as a new Audi A8 in the states, which is likely why it did not sell very well. The average consumer wants to feel fancy when they drop that much money on a car, and the Audi logo certainly pushes that more than the humble VW logo. Nevertheless, it has gained a cult following and is now pretty damn cheap to purchase.
So /r/cars, what are some modern equivalents of the VW Phaeton? Not to say that 2004 is ancient history, but what else have we seen in recent years?
The Hyundai Equus could be a contender, given that it has a fair amount of luxury features from a brand that most Americans associate with the deep discount rental car companies. But is it as over-engineered as the Phaeton? I don't think so.
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