The craziest Volkswagen in history is also the most discreet

To install a W8 in a competitor of the Renault Laguna, it was necessary to dare.

Volkswagen markets vehicles from very classic ranges, ranging from micro-city cars to large SUVs, including compacts and sedans. But sometimes, the manufacturer dares to experiment with a few more or less daring niches. No one has forgotten, for example, the Phaeton, this large limousine sold between 2002 and 2016. Cousin of the Audi A8, it has never really succeeded in convincing customers of Mercedes S-Class and other BMW 7 Series despite great qualities. objectives.

But in the genre of daring experiments, the Passat W8 has a special place in the history of the Wolfsburg brand. Offered between 2001 and 2004, at a time when the Volkswagen group was launching its luxury W engines (at Bugatti and Bentley), this variant was fitted with an eight-cylinder W engine with 4.0 liters of displacement. At the time, its direct competitors (Peugeot 407, Renault Laguna, Ford Mondeo, Opel Vectra, Citroën C5 …) were limited to V6s on the most upscale versions. This 275-horsepower Passat W8 therefore stood out completely in the category!

Cheap (but risky)

Discreet, expensive, efficient but not particularly fun to drive, this Passat W8 did not find its customers and Volkswagen quickly replaced it with a more powerful V6 version. Today, the Passat W8s are negotiated between 2000 and 15,000 € depending on their mileage. Be careful, repairs in the event of a breakdown can be very expensive …

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