[V8] Phaeton anyone?

[Roger Woodbury]

I was looking at eBay's auctions yesterday, and happened onto the VWs.
There was this VW Phaeton W-12 four seater that I thought looked pretty
neat.  

And no, I am not going to buy one, nor am I particularly interested, but I
must concede that I am curious about the car.  Like the V8 Quattro, in its
time and in its market, it was enormously expensive and a total sales and
marketing flop.  Still and all VW turned up the burners under this one, and
I suspect that mechanically and reliability wise they may be a very, very
good automobile.

I wonder if any lister has had one, or even driven one.  Although I have
looked, I have never seen one, not in anywhere in Maine that I have been,
nor anywhere else on the road when I have traveled.  

So, my observations:  first of all, the four seater is neat I suppose, but
all of those cars have enormous rear leg room. Very nice if you have someone
riding in back with enormous legs, but that makes the car rather long, I
would think.

Speaking of long, it seems that the car's platform is the opposite of the
V8:  it seems to be ALL wheelbase and not a lot else, whereas the V8 is a
pretty short wheelbase with overhangs. That makes the V8 nimble in tight
places, and I wonder if the Phaeton is a lumbering brute when taken off the
smooth boulevards of southern California?

Any comments?  

Roger