Thursday, April 29, 2010

VW Phaeton with Bentley badge

I saw a strange thing yesterday.  I was walking through a parking lot and heard a loud growl behind me.  A car was passing me.  With my peripheral vision, I saw and recognized the front of a Phaeton.  The engine was louder than usual so I assumed it had a W12 engine.  (I don't think I've ever heard the sound of a W12 before.)

But as it passed me, I did a double take of the car's rear end.  It still said Phaeton on the back.  But instead of a VW logo dead center, there was a Bentley logo.  It looked almost exactly like this Photoshopped picture I found on the net.


Was this just a nod to the fact that Bentley Continental Flying Spurs and Phaetons were made at the same factory (until 2006)?  Or did this Phaeton actually have the twin turbocharged W12 of the Bentley?

3 comments:

  1. BenApril 30, 2010 at 7:36 AM

    Like the Blog! The range topping Phaeton uses the W12. The engine was designed by VW for it's Nardo concept car. It only found it's way into the Bentley because VW bought Bentley.

    ReplyDelete
  2. MaxichampApril 30, 2010 at 7:51 AM

    Thanks, Ben! I really wanted to talk to the owner about that badge.

    I'll have to look up this Nardo concept car. Maybe it'll be the subject of a future post. Cheers.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousMay 9, 2012 at 8:19 PM

    The Bentley W12 turbo sounds very different from the Phaeton W12. At idle, the Phaeton's outside noise is mostly the engine fans going. The Bentley at idle sounds loud and angry.

    From the inside, the only time one hears the W12 is at wide open throttle, with a very low, throaty sound

    ReplyDelete