Lotus and Volkswagen working on Phaeton coupé
Posted by Lorenzo at 12:43 pm
Just a few days ago, spyshots of a blue Audi A8 surfaced on the Internet and was rumoured to be a test mule for a Phaeton coupé that would go against the Mercedes Benz SL. It now looks like that rumour just got a boost in credibility as Autocar is reporting today that Volkswagen is working with Lotus on a "large coupé" and said that they have spotted Wolfsburg-registered vehicles at Lotus' Hethel headquarters as evidence to the fact.
It's also being suggested that this Phaeton coupé, and therefore, the second generation Phaeton will be based upon the current generaion A8, which utilizes Audi's Aluminum Spaceframe chassis. This however is not confirmed (but then again, nothing in this report really is). If this was to happen, that would mean a much needed weight reduction for the Phaeton. The logic here is that Volkswagen would be on a level playing field with Mercedes Benz, who would also be using an aluminum chassis for the next SL.
An A8 based Phaeton 2 is rather curious, however, as previous reports indicated an A6 based Phaeton that would be cheaper and smaller than the current car.
Source: Autocar
It's also being suggested that this Phaeton coupé, and therefore, the second generation Phaeton will be based upon the current generaion A8, which utilizes Audi's Aluminum Spaceframe chassis. This however is not confirmed (but then again, nothing in this report really is). If this was to happen, that would mean a much needed weight reduction for the Phaeton. The logic here is that Volkswagen would be on a level playing field with Mercedes Benz, who would also be using an aluminum chassis for the next SL.
An A8 based Phaeton 2 is rather curious, however, as previous reports indicated an A6 based Phaeton that would be cheaper and smaller than the current car.
Source: Autocar
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