VW Phideon: a new Phaeton for China lands at Geneva motor show

On the eve of the Geneva Motor Show, Volkswagen has shown its China-only flagship called the PHIDEON. Designed specifically for China, the Phideon appears to take more than a bit of inspiration from the Phaeton.

Yup, the five-metre-long executive VW was built for China, and is the first Volkswagen to be based on the “Modular Longitudinal Matrix” platform.

Design boss Klaus Bischoff says the distinctive front-end treatment of the Phideon will heavily influence the look of VW’s future luxury models, including the second-generation Phaeton. It’s been created to slot well above the crisp Passat in Volkswagen’s product structure, but if you like it, there’s just one small detail…

The Phideon will be produced at Volkswagen’s Chinese market joint venture partner Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation’s manufacturing base in Shanghai, China.

Boasting a characteristically restrained but highly technical appearance similar to the latest European-market Passat, it was designed at VW’s main styling studio in Wolfsburg, Germany, expressly for the Chinese market. Its name – PHIDEON – is a construct standing for elegance and reliability, and phonetically and symbolically evokes Fides, the Roman goddess of fidelity.

The top-spec Phideon is powered by a 3.0-litre turbocharged direct-injection V6 petrol engine with 220kW of power and 440Nm of torque, with power sent to all four wheels. It will also be available as a 2.0 TSI four-cylinder with front-wheel drive, and a plug-in hybrid variant is being planned. The Phideon features LED lights both throughout the interior and also in the car’s headlights and taillights. The extremely short front and rear overhangs, combined with a wheelbase of more than three meters (118 inches), give the auto particularly sporty proportions.

Luxurious seats (in the front and rear passenger compartments) can be electrically adjusted in several directions, including individual settings for the ergonomically curved sides, and have integrated seat ventilation and heating as well as a massage function. The convenience features extend beyond soft closing doors to include self dipping headlamps, lane keeping assist and a camera-based night vision system that is new to Volkswagen.