Volkswagen XL1

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Grand Master

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Arriving in Geneva

Volkswagen has released technical details about the ultra-frugal XL1 scheduled to arrive at Geneva Motor Show in production form.

The Volkswagen XL1 features a two-cylinder 800cc TDI engine producing 47 hp (35 kW) which is backed by an electric motor developing 27 hp (20 kW), while the necessary juice is provided by a 5.5 kWh battery pack. VW says the car has a fuel consumption of only 0.9 liters / 100 km (261 mpg US or 313 mpg UK) with CO2 emissions of just 21 g/km.

With a drag coefficient of 0.189 and a 2224mm wheelbase, the XL1 is 3.888mm long and 1665mm wide, and tips the scales at 795 kg (1752 lbs) thanks to its carbon fiber body. The German company says the plug-in hybrid will need 12.7 seconds to hit 62 mph (100 km/h) and has a limited top speed of 99.4 mph (160 km/h).

The front features a double wishbone suspension, while the back gains a semi-trailing link setup. Other highlights include ceramic brake discs and carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) anti-roll bars. It can travel on electricity for 31 miles (50 km) but the range can be expanded to 310 miles (499 km) if the small 10-liter fuel tank is filled.

The first batch of XL1s will consist of 50 cars and after that Volkswagen will build it on demand. No details for the moment about price.

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Grand Master

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Since the dawn of the combustion age, true car nuts have disdained gas mileage as the obsession of the weak-minded and unskilled; there?s no bigger punchline in the business than the Toyota Prius. The success of the Tesla Model S has begun to change the culture, but when it comes to supercars, faster and more powerful roughly equals better, while efficiency gets dismissed with prejudice.

Well, the Volkswagen XL1 may be the transformative alternative-energy vehicle, the one that finally arouses the car fiend from his gas-hungry stupor. The XL1 is a different conception of a car, a German engineer?s dream of hyper-miling. It contains no driving joy or spirit, just lots of cool, stripped-down design details, an anschulss of movement and MPG that gets an average of 262 mpg. This is ze car we?ve been waiting for.

The XL1 represents the car as blue-ribbon science fair project. But unlike other megacars, which are built to maximize speed and power, this one, more than ten years and upward of a billion dollars in the designing, contains not one centimeter of wasted space or poundage. The engineers eliminated power steering because it would have added 10 kilograms. For maximum lightness, the core of its body and chassis is comprised of a one-piece molded carbon-fiber monocoque. The magnesium wheels get wrapped in custom-light Michelin rubber. The windows lower with hand cranks. There?s no radio ? the sound system wraps through the Garmin GPS ? and no place to plug in your smartphone, because Bluetooth is lighter.

All of this results in a car that weighs 1,753 lbs. Under its rear hatch lies a two-cylinder diesel that generates 47 hp.

 The XL1 has a 27-hp electric battery, which can propel it about 31 miles on its own, up to 62 mph. It can fully recharge, Volkswagen says, in an hour and a half. The maximum speed overall, using the full hybrid drivetrain, is 94 mph.

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