2004 Volkswagen Passat B5 W8 – Today’s Oddball Tempter

By: James Robinson, Unique Cars magazine

Date: 30.08.2017

Don’t see many of these

The B5 Volkswagen Passat is a mid-sized family sedan or wagon that was built between 1996 and 2005, and replaced the outgoing B4 Passat.

The facelifted Passat, referred to as the ‘B5.5’, was introduced in 2001, and while most of the range was just the normal run-of-the-mill offering, the Passat B5.5 also saw the introduction of the W8.

The W8 was not your average Passat, and as the name suggests, under the bonnet was not a middling inline four-cylinder or V6 like most of the range, but rather a 4.0lt, all aluminium, eight-cylinder donk with the cylinders forming the shape of a W.

The benefits of this design were many, but one of its biggest strong points was that because of the cylinders lay-out, the motor was about the same size as a V6, which in-turn meant that packaging such a large motor in a smaller cars engine bay wasn’t an issue.

The W8 also scored ‘4motion’ all-wheel drive, which was paired with a five-speed automatic transmission.

All this meant that the luxury focussed sedan was no slouch, with 0-100km/h taking just 7.2 seconds, a respectable time for a car of its size.

This particular W8 is a 2004 model and, according to the seller, the vehicle has travelled a mere 52,800 kilometres from new.

The seller adds that this W8 is one of just 28 that were ever registered in Australia, making it a very rare car indeed.

The W8 is $7,999 and anyone interested in this eight-cylinder oddity can view the full listing here.

Unique Cars magazine Value Guides

Sell your car for free right here