Barouche Barouche A barouche is a large, open, four-wheeled carriage, both heavy and luxurious, drawn by two horses. It was fashionable throughout the 19th century. Its body provides seats for four passengers, two back-seat passengers vis-à-vis two behind the coachman's high box-seat. A leather roof can be raised to give back-seat passengers some protection from the weather. "Barouche" is an anglicisation of the German word "barutsche", via the Italian "baroccio" or "biroccio" and ultimately from the ancient Roman Empire's Latin "birotus", "two-wheeled". The name thus became a misnomer, as the later form of the carriage had four wheels. This is an
Volkswagen Phaeton of whilst maintaining the interior temperature at . Piëch requested this even though the Phaeton's top speed was electronically limited to . Another requirement was that the car should possess torsional rigidity of 37,000 N·m/degree. At the 1999 International Motor Show Germany, Volkswagen presented the Concept D, which was essentially a hatchback prototype of the Phaeton, with very similar design, V10 TDI engine, air suspension and all wheel drive. The Phaeton's platform, the Volkswagen Group D1 platform, was shared with the Bentley Continental GT and Bentley Continental Flying Spur. Certain systems, such as the automatic transmission and some engines, are