# VW Individual Phaeton Interiors - some photos



## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

When I visited the factory in Dresden in late September, I saw a few cars that had custom interiors that had been specified by the owners through the VW Individual program. Normally, there are not very many cars with custom interiors at the factory in Dresden, because the cars are built to order, and either picked up by the owners when complete, or shipped out to the owners when complete.
Here are a few photos. Some interiors look nicer than others, I guess it's all a matter of personal preference.
PanEuropean
*Sun Beige with Teak Leather*
Teak is the darker colour used for the insert in the main part of the seat.
















*Sterling with Navy Blue*
Sterling is the lighter colour leather used for the main parts of the seat. The camera flash fired on one photo, but not the other - the top photo is a better representation of the actual colour.
















*Anthracite with Sun Beige Inserts*
This isn't really a 'VW Individual' order - it is available as a standard interior trim option. More or less, you order a standard sun beige interior (same as all the Introductory Edition W12's in North America), but specify that you want Anthracite instead of sun beige for the carpets and door trim - you still get sun beige on the door inserts and the seats themselves. You don't get the piping around the edges of the seats in the contrasting colour, but you don't have to pay the price for VW Individual customization, either (about a USD $1,500 service fee for custom seat colours, plus any additional leather costs). This car was in production on the assembly line when I took the photo, I didn't take any wider view shots because it is normally not allowed to take photos while on the assembly line. My guide figured a door panel was a door panel, assembly line or not...








*Dark ****ar Wood trim, Extended Leather Package*
Note the extended leather package on this car - the entire dashboard is finished in leather, as well as all parts of the door panels, and all parts of the back of the front seats.
VW Individual will provide considerable guidance to the purchaser about what colour combinations will look good and what won't, however, the buyer has final control over what is ordered.
http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/ae275/Paneuropean/Dark****arwoodextendedleatherpackage2.jpg
The DVD player for the screens embedded in the front seat headrests is located in the trunk.








It is possible to order the entire headliner, sunvisors, etc. finished in Alcantara leather - however, this is kind of pushing the limits of what works well and what doesn't work well - I sat in this car, and the overall effect of the suede headliner was that it made the cabin seem small and confined, as opposed to large and spacious. The Alcantara leather headliner option lists at € 2.740,-


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## MoreA4 (Mar 15, 2002)

*Re: VW Individual Phaeton Interiors - some photos (PanEuropean)*

Those are fantastic photos.







It is a blast to see those different configurations. Kind of sad that program is not available here in the US. Based on all of your posts, eems like you had run of the factory








Post all you can


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

*Re: VW Individual Phaeton Interiors - some photos (MoreA4)*

The VW Individual program *IS* available in North America - at least, it's available to Canadian buyers, that much I know.
If you want to order a car that is made to order - that is to say, with a custom interior - the easiest thing to do is to go over to Dresden in person and spend a day with the consultants there. They will be more than happy to help you spec out the car you want, and then they just fax all the information to your (pre-chosen) dealer back home, so the dealer can place the order. You can order a custom interior through your dealer, but the problem is that most of the North American dealers are not familiar with the program (it's not a program that VW pushes really hard). It would probably be best if your dealer made an appointment for you in advance to meet with someone in Dresden - though in my case, I didn't do that, I was talking to the dealer in Canada on a Friday, and showed up at the factory in Dresden the following Monday to spec the car. They phoned my dealer, who confirmed that I was a serious buyer (I've bought 7 VWs from the same dealer in a row), and from that point on, I was treated like royalty. I pretty much did have the run of the factory. The quality of the customer service in Dresden is beyond words - suffice to say that once you have experienced that level of skilled service and attention, and once you have seen how carefully the Phaeton is built, and met with and spoken to the craftspeople who assemble it on the factory floor, you'll never consider buying a different brand of car. Heck, I bought 6 aircraft earlier this year for about USD $20 million, and didn't get treated as well by the aircraft manufacturer as I was treated by the VW folks in Dresden.
You need to know ahead of time that it's not cheap to order a custom interior through VW Individual - the upcharges start at around USD 3,000.-, and that's on top of the normal charges for the premium interior (sensitive leather, etc.). There are certain things that we just cannot get in North America due to the regulations governing car construction in Canada and the USA (homogulation rules). For example, dual xenon headlights are not available, and the stand-alone winter heating system is also not available due to rather restrictive North American government regulations. Along the same line, you can't get the pop-up rear child seats in a Golf, either. But, simple stuff like a different colour of the same leather material, or different colour carpets, that we can get easily. Note I said 'a different colour of the same leather material' - you can't get a different leather material, because the coefficient of friction of the leather against your ass is part of the calculation of safety approval for the driver and passenger anti-submarineing crash test. Don't laugh - this is the truth - I tried to get a different leather material on a Golf I ordered 3 years ago, and the request was denied for this reason - the car had not been crash-tested in North America with this particular seat covering.
There are also some options we can't get in North America because VW of North America does not stock the parts needed to service a car equipped with that particular option. For example, the sunroof with the solar panels in it, to keep the car cool when it is parked on a sunny day. Or, the automatic distance control (radar function) of the cruise control, although I have been told that will be available later on for the 2005 models, and I saw a North American 2006 model that was equipped with that particular option.
Anyway -I went over to Dresden planning to get the info I needed to place a custom order for a V8 with my dealer in Canada. I got all the info, made all the decisions, and had the VW consultant in Dresden fax the specs, codes, etc. to my dealer in Canada. My dealer called me back and offered me a very nice black W12 with a sun beige interior that he had in his own stock (new, unused) for a lower price than what my custom order would have cost. It wasn't a tough decision to make - I told him I'd buy his W12. So now we are both happy, the dealer because he has moved a car out of his stock, and me because I get a car right away, not in 12 to 14 weeks time.
Regards, PanEuropean


_Modified by PanEuropean at 6:07 PM 10-5-2004_


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

*Re: VW Individual Phaeton Interiors - some photos (PanEuropean)*

There is a website for VW Individual - it is only in German, but worth browsing even if you are not competent in that language. You can download a PDF specific to "Phaeton Individual" and look at additional photos. The URL is http://www.volkswagen-individual.de/
PanEuropean


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## golf2pointslow (Feb 15, 2004)

If I am understanding this correctly, some of the options aren't illegal to have on a car, it is just illegal for VW to sell a new car with these options. Could someone order the items that aren't legal, such as the winter heating system or different leather, and have them installed by a professional?


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

*Re: (golf2pointslow)*

I think it would be very difficult to give a precise and accurate answer to that question.
Any vehicle sold in the USA or Canada must meet the appropriate specifications set out by either the NHTSB (in the USA) or Transport Canada (in Canada). This is no different than just about any other developed country, however, the specifications in Europe (meaning, the EC and neighboring countries) tend to be very similar, and the specifications in the USA and Canada also tend to be very similar, but there is a very big difference between the USA/Canada specs and the European specs.
Also adding to the confusion is the matter of what options are not offered here because they do not meet the safety specification (e.g. double xenon headlights at this time), what options are not offered here because it would be too expensive to go through the approval process (e.g. the V10 TDI in the Phaeton - it's the same engine as you can buy in a USA Touareg, but it would cost too much for VW to go through the process of certifying it in the Phaeton, considering the low sales volume of that car), and what options are not offered because, although they are perfectly 'legal' so far as safety standards and homogulation rules go, they expose VW to excessive liability from American tort lawyers (e.g. keyless start).
My own guess is that if you apply a healthy dose of common sense to the question, you can figure out on an option by option basis what you can legally add, and what you cannot legally add. By example:
You could probably retrofit the solar powered sunroof (assuming the safety glass it is made of meets North American specs), and thus have a car that ventilates itself automatically on hot sunny days, without violating any rule at all.
You obviously can not refit the double xenon headlights, because they don't meet the North American specification for headlight beam pattern.
It would be kind of difficult to say if, for example, you could legally refit your Phaeton with the Vienna leather (the lower grade leather upholstery) or not. In theory, because the airbag and occupant protection system was not evaluated with the Vienna leather, the car would not fully conform to the standard that it was approved on - that being measurement and testing with the Sensitive Classic leather. In reality, though, if everything worked as it should after you did the refit, who the heck would ever know? You could drive the car through the strictest motor vehicle safety lane you could find in the USA, when it was staffed with the crankiest inspector known to man, and the car would likely pass. But strictly, strictly speaking, would it be legal? Who knows.
The problem you have in the United States (and, sadly, the effects of this spill over into Canada) is that your government and legal system has totally abandoned the idea that adults both have the right and the obligation to take responsibility for their own actions. The result of this is highly restrictive legislation that removes a great deal of freedom of choice. What little freedom of choice remains is often further restricted by a well-justified fear on the part of the manufacturers that they will be sued for the most unjustifiable, idiotic reasons. Have you seen those "Caution, contents are hot" messages on coffee cups in the USA? I think you get my point.
I can't offer an answer to your question - only the above points to give you food for thought. It's up to your government to make the decisions for you, they have long since taken away most of your legal right to make decisions on your own.
PanEuropean


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

*Re: (PanEuropean)*

Here are some additional photos of a very nice custom interior from VW Individual. I'm not entirely sure what this colour is - it actually looks a bit too white to be Snowbeige or Magnolia, which are the two lightest custom leather colours listed in the VW Individual catalog. It is possible that it was a colour from a sample provided by the customer - a 'one of a kind'.
Perhaps not the best choice for people with preschool kids, or those who live in areas that get a lot of snow and slush.
*Volkswagen Individual Interior*


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## shadowblue (Dec 22, 2004)

*Re: (PanEuropean)*

PanEuropean,
That is indeed a beautiful color for an interior, though your warning about climates with slush and snow is certainly understood.
Nice write-up, by the way, about your trip to the factory in Dresden.


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## Highline (Mar 13, 2003)

*Re: (PanEuropean)*


_Quote, originally posted by *PanEuropean* »_Here are some additional photos of a very nice custom interior from VW Individual.

Those pictures are part of VW's official Phaeton full press release (unveiling) back in early 2002.
Check out this article on March 5th, 2002. http://news.kak.net/modules.ph...id=75 










_Modified by PanEuropean at 12:23 PM 2-23-2005_


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

*Re: VW Individual Phaeton Interiors - some photos (PanEuropean)*

Here is a link to a post with more information about the VW Individual Atelier at the Transparent Factory in Dresden.
For more general information about the Transparent Factory itself, click here: A photo tour of the Transparent Factory in Dresden.
To view a complete list of all Phaeton options offered in Europe (some of which may be available to North American purchasers, by special order), click here: European Options List, VW Individual Offerings List.
Michael


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

*Re: VW Individual Phaeton Interiors - some photos (PanEuropean)*

I got off the plane in Zurich this morning, walked outside to catch the Hilton shuttle bus, and saw a beautiful long wheelbase Phaeton (very rare in Europe) pull up at the curb to wait for a passenger. I had the honour of meeting the driver, Herr Bruno Werner of Best-Link Transportation in Zurich, who kindly allowed me to take some pictures.
This limousine was ordered through the VW Individual program, and is configured with Piano Black wood and Teak leather inserts in an Anthracite interior. The pictures, which were taken under very dim lighting conditions, don't really do it justice. The whole combination - Klavierlack Black paint on the outside, and the Anthracite interior with the Teak inserts, looks just great. There are some additional pictures of the Teak hides on display in the Atelier in Dresden (and installed in the Bentley version of the Phaeton) at this link: Bentley Flying Spur Interior Pictures. Personally, I think an all-Teak interior is a bit overwhelming, but Teak inserts look great on an Anthracite background.
Best of all - Herr Werner's car was equipped with a Dresden-installed refrigerator, so finally we have some pictures of a real OEM refrigerator installation. I have posted those photos at this link: Phaeton OEM Refrigerator. I added them to the very first post of that thread.
*Anthracite with Teak Leather Inserts*


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

*Re: VW Individual Phaeton Interiors - some photos (PanEuropean)*

Here's some pictures of a very nice Campanella White Phaeton that was produced by VW Individual. It seems that White is coming back into fashion as a car colour.
The rocker panels & valences are white as well, rather than the usual dark charcoal colour. The interior is Anthracite with a very pale leather (the name of which I don't recall - it's from the VW Individual palette), and the object of the design was to provide the look of a 4 seater with the practicality of a 5 seater. This is the same car as the one with the photos of the 5 seater fridge installation - see this thread: OEM Refrigerator for 5 seater Phaeton.
The colour balance might look a bit off between some of the photos - sorry about that, it is the result of the flash on my digital camera firing on some photos, but not on others.
Michael
*Campanella White by VW Individual*


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## OEMplus.com (May 27, 2003)

Beautiful photos of the Campanella White, thank you Michael!
Two questions:
1 - In the first shot, there is a wheel in the background that I do not recognize. Do you have more information on this?
2 - In the last photo, the dead pedal is visible. Is this new or has that been around always?
Thanks!


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

*Re: (OEMpl.us)*

*1)* Details of the wheel, which was introduced this spring for the 2007 models, can be found on the Phaeton Wheel Photos thread. It is called 'Spirit'.
*2)* The dead pedal has always been there.
Michael


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## phaeton (Nov 30, 2002)

*Re: VW Individual Phaeton Interiors - some photos (PanEuropean)*


_Quote, originally posted by *PanEuropean* »_Here's some pictures of a very nice Campanella White Phaeton that was produced by VW Individual....

My Dream Phaeton














now is it a V10 TDI ?










_Modified by PanEuropean at 2:43 AM 9-17-2006_


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## OEMplus.com (May 27, 2003)

*Re: (PanEuropean)*

Thanks Michael. I knew I'd regret asking that question...


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## sirAQUAMAN64 (Oct 25, 2004)

*Re: (OEMpl.us)*

That's a HOT white Phaeton. I like the white seats and piping (same with the blue/white interior initially posted). LOVE the way they branded Phaeton on the floor mats like a ribbon.


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

*Re: VW Individual Phaeton Interiors - some photos (phaeton)*

Here are some pictures of another VW Individual Phaeton, this one with a two-tone brown leather interior and Alcantara headliner. There are some additional close-up photos of the inlaid wood marquetry on this car at this thread: Wood Inlays from VW Individual.
Michael
*VW Individual*


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## phaeton (Nov 30, 2002)

*Re: VW Individual Phaeton Interiors - some photos (PanEuropean)*


_Quote, originally posted by *PanEuropean* »_Here are some pictures of another VW Individual Phaeton, this one with a two-tone brown leather interior and Alcantara headliner. There are some additional close-up photos of the inlaid wood marquetry on this car at this thread: Wood Inlays from VW Individual.
Michael


So Beautiful








I feel like eating it as it reminds me of chocolate










_Modified by phaeton at 7:47 PM 9-17-2006_


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## paddyh (Mar 14, 2008)

*Re: VW Individual Phaeton Interiors - some photos (phaeton)*

Any chance of getting these photos re-hosted someplace?


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

*Re: VW Individual Phaeton Interiors - some photos (paddyh)*

Photos re-hosted.


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## culverwood (May 20, 2005)

*Re: VW Individual Phaeton Interiors - some photos (PanEuropean)*

Michael
I think you will find that the first two photos in this thread are of Cinnamon leather. Here are two photos Dresden have just sent me as they do not do Teak with Sunny Beige


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## trev0006vw (Jun 30, 2008)

VW should never have stopped making this car, I think the Audi A8 and this car are competing with each other eventough they are the same company and almost te same car. 


_Modified by jebglx at 8:54 AM 5-29-2009_


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## maverixz (Feb 16, 2005)

*Re: (trev0006vw)*


_Quote, originally posted by *trev0006vw* »_VW should never have stopped making this car, I think the Audi A8 and this car are competing with each other eventough they are the same company and almost te same car.

Sorry trev0006vw, VW NEVER stopped making the car, they just stopped shipping it into North America and the car is definitely not the same as a Audi A8. It is like comparing an apple to an orange.


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## SEO123 (May 14, 2009)

*Re: VW Individual Phaeton Interiors - some photos (PanEuropean)*

Development of the vehicle led to over 100 individual patents specific to the Phaeton. Distinctive features include a draftless four-zone climate system, air compressor suspension system, standard 4motion four wheel drive, and the ability to select a preferred ride type from comfort to sport.


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## jaqes1 (Jun 3, 2009)

*Re: VW Individual Phaeton Interiors - some photos (PanEuropean)*

How Nice car its looking beautiful i was think about it its my dream car but i can't paid for it please post other cool images i liked it.


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

Photos re-hosted.

Michael


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## bjoroy (Mar 2, 2016)

Somebody needs to save these parts....: http://allegro.pl/vw-phaeton-boczek-tapicerka-prawa-lewa-przod-tyl-i6792314901.html


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## keith252 (Jun 25, 2013)

bjoroy said:


> Somebody needs to save these parts....: http://allegro.pl/vw-phaeton-boczek-tapicerka-prawa-lewa-przod-tyl-i6792314901.html


I agree. I've just bought a pair of front door cards and a steering whell for the wood trim (my P is SWB and the rears wont fit), My car has an anthacite so I'm just fitting the wood effect trim and fitting an accent panel like the examples in the individulal Phaeton thread. I'll post some pictures when I've finished.

Keith


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