Low-key launch with icon thrown in

The VW Phaeton

The arrival of the Volkswagen Phaeton in New Zealand won't be accompanied by the advertising hoopla surrounding the carmaker's latest hot hatchback, the fifth-generation Golf GTi.

The first of the luxury saloons landed here last week and was used to ferry British Prime Minister's wife Cherie Blair to charity functions in Auckland.

VW importers European Motor Distributors will unveil the Phaeton to motoring writers next Monday, along with the new Golf GTi.

Two Phaeton models will be available, one powered by a 5-litre V10 turbodiesel - the international engine of the year in 2004 - and costing upwards of $190,000 and the other by a 4.2-litre V8 with a price tag of around $170,000 plus.

Both sit on the standard Phaeton platform, which is also used for the Bentley Continental GT. The long wheelbase variant is not expected to be available in New Zealand.

The Phaeton is VW's first entry into the luxury sector and can be tailored to buyers' tastes. Options of interior trim, leather, and exterior colours are contained in a suitcase of samples. The waiting list will be about four months.

Not so for the Golf GTi, which has been launched overseas with an advertising campaign described by one critic as the "most stunning advert ever."

It recreates the Gene Kelly dance scene from the 1952 film Singing in the Rain. Like the original, it starts with Kelly walking through the rain, spinning his umbrella.

But instead of the original dance sequence, Kelly suddenly flips into outrageous break-dance moves. Three break dancers were used, each one sporting Kelly's digitised face and suit. The idea of the ad was to present the Golf GTi as a timeless classic, like the dance sequence.

Said Martin Loraine, creative director for agency DDB: "We looked for things which were icons. We thought about the Golf GTI when it came out. There are not many cars that invent a genre, which is what we thought was the most prominent thing about the GTI. It wasnt just a fast car or a nice car, it was an original, which is rare.

"Kelly was a true original, who developed his own style. In using him we could demonstrate a lot of the spirit of the car."