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2004 Bentley Continental GT

2004 Bentley Continental GT

Published February 12, 2021 by Carter

Okay, I know. A Bentley? Assembled in Crewe, England, this should not be appearing on these pages, no? Well, the truth is that you almost certainly already knew that under that slab of English exterior lies a mostly German heart. It was based on Volkswagen’s D platform, which gave us the outrageous Phaeton and was in part also based upon Audi’s D3 architecture. The engine was, of course, the twin-turbocharged version of the W12 motor, which saw its evolution from humble roots in the Passat W8. Beyond that, the resultant Bentleys – the Continental GT and its derivatives and the Continental Flying Spur sedan – employ Audi’s all-wheel drive system and share many components with the other two brands as well.

As you’d expect with the rundown of those models, plus the Bentley name, the price when new was expensive. But repair costs mean depreciation is pretty amazing on these, and you can now get one for a song. Let’s take a look at this particular GT, which is just the most awesome combination of colors!

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2004 Bentley Continental GT on eBay

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2005 Volkswagen Phaeton W12

2005 Volkswagen Phaeton W12

Published October 30, 2019 by Carter

Let me start by saying this: Are you really going to drop $15,000 on an about-to-be 15 year old needlessly complicated Volkswagen? Then you must be looking at a R32, because they’re simply no way you’re contemplating this car.

Volkswagen piggybacked on the success of its B5, C5 and D2 platforms with a decidedly upscale move in the late 1990s. The headlines seem preposterous, but then so was the result; Volkswagen Siamesed two 2.8 liter VR6s together on a common crank, then stuck them in the middle of an all-wheel drive supercar. Still utilizing the Syncro moniker, all four wheels were driven by the 414 horsepower W12 and with a body from Giugiaro’s ItalDesign, it looked poised to take on just about anything. Volkswagen wasn’t done, as they punched out the motor to 6.0 liters and raised the specific output to a shocking 591 horsepower. It was renamed the W12 Nardo, and it then went to its eponymous track and produced staggering results. It’s easy to overlook the achievement now, but in 2002 VW managed to lap a W12 Nardo at 200.6 mph…for 24 hours. That’s right, in 24 hours a Volkswagen became the fastest car in history over that distance, covering an amazing 4,815 miles. That’s one fifth of the world’s circumference, if you’re counting.

What VW did next was perhaps even more shocking. The world was used to upscale market brands of popular marques; after all, what were Lexus, Infinity, Acura…heck, you could even lump Audi into that group. But Piëch gambled that you’d pass over all those brands and…BMW…and Mercedes-Benz…to plunk down over $100,000 on a W12 Phaeton. Few did. Specifically, only 482 did, and it seems like more than half of those are black. Here’s one that’s not, for a change. And, it’s no reserve!

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2005 Volkswagen Phaeton on eBay

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Budget Bentley: 2004 Volkswagen Phaeton W12

Budget Bentley: 2004 Volkswagen Phaeton W12

Published May 18, 2019 by Carter

Walk into a Volkswagen dealership in the early 2000s, and it was clear that the brand had taken the people’s car upmarket. The Mk.4 Golf/Jetta looked decidedly more modern than the Mk.3 holdovers from 1998. The 2001 introduction of the B5.5 Passat splashed chrome, leather and wood all over the mid-range sedans and wagons and offered exotic-sounding performance from the wild optional W8. But it was this car that really signaled VW was operating on a different plane; not only did they bring over the D1 platform Phaeton, but with it they brought the monstrous 6.0 W12.

While to many the Phaeton looked like a reskin of the D3 Audi A8 and indeed the two did share some componentry, the D1 platform was actually shared with VAG’s other subsidiary Bentley. Both the Continental GT and later Flying Spur shared the infrastructure, meaning the Phaeton enjoyed extreme levels of refinement, ride quality and fit/finish that weren’t typically associated with “the people’s car”. While all the luxury added up to north of 5,000 lbs without passengers and it lacked the twin turbochargers the Bentley boys got, the Phaeton W12 was still the fastest car in the VW showroom in 2004. With 420 horsepower driving all four wheels, the Phaeton was capable of effortless and nearly silent 5.5 second 0-60 runs and could break 200 mph unrestricted.

While it sounds great, there were two drawbacks. One was that to nearly everyone your Phaeton looked just like my Passat. And while a loaded W8 4 Motion Variant Passat was really, really expensive, you and your significant other could drive out of your local dealer with not one, but TWO fully loaded Passats for the price of just one W12 Phaeton. It’s no surprise that the U.S. market wasn’t ready for a $90,000 Volkswagen, and a scant 482 were sold here before the model was yanked. But today, that means you can get these market-busting models for pennies on the dollar:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2004 Volkswagen Phaeton W12 on eBay

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2001 Audi A8L 6.0 W12

2001 Audi A8L 6.0 W12

Published March 31, 2016 by Paul

If it weren’t for its big splash in the movie Ronin, I tend to think that the first generation Audi A8 might be relegated to the dustbin of automotive history. This is quite a shame, because along with being the first Audi with an aluminum space frame, this über saloon also debuted the W12 engine. Don’t remember the A8 6.0 W12? Well, if you were a consumer in North America, this isn’t surprising, as these uncommon, twelve cylinder D2s were produced with Europe and Japan in mind. This example for sale in Germany is one of 750 D2 A8s produced with this revolutionary engine. Is the S8 a bit too mundane for you? This executive express should scratch that rare Audi itch.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2001 Audi A8L 6.0 W12 at Gina Classics

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Honorable Mention Roundup

Honorable Mention Roundup

Published November 1, 2015 by Carter

Time for another Honorable Mention Roundup of the cars we just didn’t have a chance to get to this week. We’ve got quite a few reader submissions in this edition, and by chance it ends up focusing on some super sedans which are all quite affordable in their own ways. Which is the one we should have spent more time on?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1993 Audi S4 on Denver Craigslist

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