Tuesday 7th August 2012

Spotted: Volkswagen Passat W8 4Motion

Put the 'dubya' into VW with this mega rare W8-powered Passat sleeper

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Riggers has just bought a Passat estate. Unfortunately he bought the wrong one, because, turbo or not, it’s not this W8-engined beauty that someone, somewhere deserves huge plaudits for speccing as a manual. We don’t know who you were but we tip our collective hats to you!

Non-standard 18s diminish stealth factor

The W8 is a rare beast anyway but this six-speed manual makes it even more unusual, this car catching the eagle-eyed classifieds browsing skills of our own Mr Garlick. OK, the Audi alloys do diminish the stealth factor somewhat. But this small garnish of bling aside, this Passat is a masterpiece of understated intrigue and yours for an astonishingly low price. Maybe we do have something to thank fuel prices for after all!

This car won’t appeal to brand snobs because it’s not a BMW, Audi or Merc. The back catalogues of all of the above contain faster, more glitzy equivalents. Nor will it really attract anyone looking for a truly exciting steer.

For all that quirky W8 ‘like a Veyron engine, minus turbos and half the cylinders’ technology, you see, with only 275hp available most modern diesels would leave it gasping and the nose-heavy four-wheel-drive chassis isn’t going to be the last word in sparkling dynamics. Having said that, the manual is significantly more sprightly than the more common five-speed auto, hitting 0-62mph in 6.8 seconds against the auto’s leisurely 8.1.

It's super rare too. VW only sold 246 W8s in the UK in total and of that number just 20 were manual estates.

Optional Recaros among desirable spec

And for those of us bloody-minded enough to champion a car ‘just because’ this is the very beacon of understated, under-appreciated cool. A very cheap and appealing way to sneak eight cylinders into your family wagon without anyone necessarily noticing too.

It’s a fascinating folly, brimming with the kind of overblown engineering that made no business or market sense at the time and only marginally does now, even at £2,600. But PH salutes the blokes who came up with it, the blokes who sneaked it past the board, the bloke (we’re making assumptions here, but probably safe ones) who bought it new and, continuing the tradition, whoever takes the plunge now. That’s a lot of saluting. But a car that merits it.

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VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT W8 4MOTION
Engine: 3,999cc W8
Transmission: 6-speed manual, four-wheel drive
Power (hp): 275@6,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 273@2,750rpm
MPG: 21.2mpg (NEDC combined)
CO2: 319g/km
First registered: 2002
Recorded mileage: 84,000
Price new: c. £38,000
Yours for: £2,600

See the original advert here.

 

[MagicalTrevor]

Please delete this article... too much temptation. the W8 Passat has been on my radar for ages but didn't realise they did a manual version!

Very tempting!

[crostonian]

Must be a candidate for most pointless car ever built - love to know the unit cost of these. If I remember rightly they had problems with coil packs, surprise surprise, but they cost a fortune and were a nightmare to fit.

[Triumph Man]

I think there's a manual saloon on ebay at the moment, MagicalTrevor

[vixen1700]

Oh, I like that a lot. If only I had a spare £2500.

Calls missus to cancel the holiday

[Dan_1981]

How much is a new gearbox then?

[BorkFactor]

That is just fantastic, I don't think I have ever seen a manual one before!

Want.

[StottyZr]

That is absolutely bloody brilliant. And a bargain!

Is this registered before the tax band changes? Or is this a flat £220p.a?

[Dan_1981]

StottyZr said:

That is absolutely bloody brilliant. And a bargain!

Is this registered before the tax band changes? Or is this a flat £220p.a?

Should be the £220, i'm running a 53 plate that still gets into the flat banding.

[bmthnick1981]

Nice, I like these, but the duff gearbox rules this one out I think.

[Dangermouse58]

Alot of car for the money, the w8 is a great lump but I prefer the w12 personally.

[MagicalTrevor]

Triumph Man said:

I think there's a manual saloon on ebay at the moment, MagicalTrevor

Oh don't do that!

Phew, it's not an estate!

Edited by MagicalTrevor on Tuesday 7th August 13:47

[P-Jay]

I'd love that! (if only I didn't do 20k miles a year)

I had a similar V6 Tdi version, only a saloon, same colour / interior the carpet was murder to keep clean, but other than that it went from 0 to 120k miles and only failed once due to a dead alternator.

Gearbox could be a huge expense to put right though, when I sourced the alternator for mine I was told as it was a 'non standard' Passat and any model specific parts were about double the cost of that for of a 4 pot petrol or diesel, and that was a completely normal 2wd Passat with a rare-ish engine spec, lord only knows what the bits for that would be.

[treetops]

No thanks! A dragging clutch, gearbox out job. The cars a breaker in reality. Very poor 'spotted'. We need working cars!

[pringle18]

Seen one up the M9 to Stirling the other week, saloon version though!

[CAPP0]

What would that be worth if it was fixed? I'm ever so slightly tempted to "wade in with my size 10s and bid 'im".

[eliotrw]

That gearbox issue sounds not as bad as you might think imo.

[DavidTillyer]

I don't think I've ever wanted a Passat more!! In fact I don't think I've ever wanted a Passat!

[Hugo a Gogo]

lovely

in the ad it says "two V4s joined together" something wikipedia also repeats, but it isn't really

[WreckedGecko]

Gearbox or no, very, very tempted...

[zedx19]

Need engine pics, must be a tight squeeze in the front of a Passat, epic car though!