Luxury Lovesong - Volkswagen Passat W8

If you ever wanted a strong contender for the best sounding estate/ saloon car ever but had a strict budget for secondhand cars, here’s your best bet. The B5 VW Passat was praised by journalists, saying things such as ‘respectable performance for not unreasonable money’, so when news arose that the already- capable -enough big VW was to get an 8-cylinder engine option, excitement started to flow freely.

When the time came and it was released to the willing, cash-strapped buyers, it was a handsome thing as ever. A set of BBS-esque alloys was standard on the W8, with this high-spec, relatively high performance model being offered as an estate or saloon. Four lovely, shiny exhaust tips poked out the back of the car, releasing the car’s sweet, sweet growl to the rest of the world.

So it had understated yet classy looks, good press and willing buyers. What was the special Passat’s partypiece?
Well, as you probably guessed from its name, that was to be found under the bonnet. Two V4 engines were mated in such a way that only one crankshaft was required, giving the 8-banger four cylinder banks. The all-aluminium construction kept the powerplant’s weight to a minimum whilst retaining strength, though balance shafts had to be implemented to keep the engine stable.

The high displacement meant the engine could provide plenty of power without being damage prone, so was tuned to 270HP and 273 lb/ft of torque, more than enough to propel the vehicle. Power was put through a 5-speed automatic and a 6-speed manual which came later in the production run (and is the one to get as the autos are renowned for poor reliability), and to the tyres by a fulltime 4MOTION AWD system. 0-60 took approximately 6.5 seconds.

Whilst the W8 had the poised handling of its lesser variants (if slightly more cumbersome due to the extra load of the engine), not many were sold as the running costs were sky high. In the UK, as of now, 77 Tiptronic models remain with just 27 manuals in all of the land. I’m unable to provide information for elsewhere, but rest assured; this is a rare car.
(And an ungodly sounding one, at that)