Volkswagen’s Phideon is a big luxury sedan that you can’t have

While the luxury Volkswagen is a concept that still doesn’t quite wash with European buyers, Chinese customers lap it up, and the new VW Phideon is – if not quite engineered to Phaeton standards – the latest VW premium saloon to enter that market. Although the vehicle measures in at over 16.5 feet in length, it isn’t a replacement for VW’s Phaeton which bows out of production this year.

At a preview event in Geneva, Volkswagen unveiled this: it’s called the Phideon, it is a saloon, and it is heading for China. It sits above the Passat at the top of Volkswagen’s range. But Europe and the USA aren’t the only two players in the game – China is still making waves with its purchasing power, and Volkswagen’s rolling out a auto just for the Middle Kingdom.

Volkswagen has said the Phideon will have a Phaeton style chassis equipped with air suspension, similar to the systems used by the Bentley brand. “The progressive design corresponds to the high level of its technical innovations”, says Bischoff. The range-topping model will be powered by a 3.0-liter turbocharged V6 with 300 PS (296 horsepower) and 347 lb-ft of torque, delivered to all four wheels via VW’s 4Motion drivetrain.

The new Volkswagen rides on a chassis closely related to the Audi A6.

The VW PHIDEON is slated to go on sale in China in the third quarter of 2016 once production will kick off at the company’s Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation joint venture. As a finishing touch, the Phideon is also fitted with an electric soft-closing system for the doors. Other assistance systems include: adaptive cruise control; auto parking; lane-departure warning; lane-changing assistant; Light Assist (auto dips high beam) and a proactive occupant protection system which tensions the safety belts and closes the windows/sunroof. Despite competing in a class now unoccupied by any Volkswagen model in Australia, officials say there are no current plans to establish sales of the new luxury sedan here.