The exotic 8-cylinder, at a bargain price today, with which Volkswagen managed to challenge the premium ones

Going from a generalist manufacturer to a premium firm is the wet dream of many automotive brands, and that is why in the history of the automobile we find many projects in which attempts have been made, although with very few cases of success. He Volkswagen Passat W8 It was one of those attempts, a delusion of grandeur that gave rise to what for many has been the best Passat that has been manufactured to this day.

A unique and unrepeatable engine that wanted to reinvent the V8

To understand the Passat W8, the first thing we must do is understand its peculiar W engine. This mechanical configuration has managed to become a symbol of the Volkswagen group, a display of power and pride in engineering that has allowed the legend of the modern Bugatti to be created. But until we reached the almighty W16 Quad Turbo of the Veyron and Chiron, first we had to experiment and the naturally aspirated 4.0 W8 of the Passat was in charge of assuming that role.

The W8 was born from joining two narrow 4-cylinder Vs at 15º through the crankshaft, giving life to a W with an angle of 72º between each 4-cylinder block. Despite such a peculiar configuration, each V had a single cylinder head with 4 valves per cylinder.

There have been variants of the peculiar W engine with 8, 12 and 16 cylinders

This propellant offered a maximum power of 275 hp at 6,000 rpm and a maximum torque of 370 Nm at 2,750 rpm. They were not very buoyant figures, but the W8 had as its strengths a very compact design – much more than any V8 -, a content development cost based on the group’s VR architecture and was also a really smooth engine in its operation thanks to a very flat torque curve. Volkswagen’s objective was to compete with premium sedans powered by V8 mechanics, turning the Passat W8 into an exotic alternative in its class since it was also mandatory available together with 4Motion all-wheel drive with Torsen center differential.

The only mechanical option was the transmission, which could either be a 6-speed manual transmission or a 5-speed Tiptronic automatic transmission. Although in the manual version he signed a 0-100 km/h in 6.5 secondsIn the case of the automatic version, this registration was carried out in 7.8 seconds. The maximum speed in both cases was 250 km/h.

The recipe for this Volkswagen Passat with an 8-cylinder engine, the first in its history, promised on paper. However The market did not quite fit such an exotic bet for three main reasons.: first of all the Passat W8 price was as high as that of its theoretical rivals from Audi, Mercedes, BMW or Jaguar, secondly because W8 consumption was quite high (seeing it below 12 l/100 km was difficult) and third, and perhaps most important, fighting in brand image It is a long-distance race that requires much more than bigger engines.

With smooth operation and suggestive sound, the consumption of the W8 is not suitable for all budgets

Despite this, those responsible for Volkswagen were aware that this bet was not going to translate into commercial success, Selling very few units of the two bodies in which it was available (saloon and station wagon).. But the real objective had been achieved, because thanks to the W8 the Volkswagen Passat managed to distance itself from its generalist alternatives, hitting the table by taking advantage of the update of the Passat B5 and inaugurating the saga of W12 engines that would later allow the creation of the most exclusive from brands such as Audi, Bentley or even Volkswagen itself.

Currently it is possible to find second-hand units of the Passat W8, being a quite exotic car due to its engine and the few units that were sold. Furthermore, this model can be found by prices less than 6,000-7,000 eurosalthough we are talking about a car that is around 20 years old, with an engine not suitable for mechanical beginners and with a voracious appetite for gasoline.