Volkswagen XL1... Winter vid post #121

[RocZX]

It sounds like a regular car, nothing special.

It looks faster then I thought it would be.

 

[Grayfox]

It would have to be hybrid or have a good turbo cause their is only so much power a 1000cc engine can make.

It will also most likely have a super close gear setup to keep the car in the powerband.

 

[Omnis]

10 speed gearbox? lol.

 

[homeforsummer]

It would have to be hybrid or have a good turbo cause their is only so much power a 1000cc engine can make.

It will also most likely have a super close gear setup to keep the car in the powerband.

Bit of all of those, I think. The concept was a plug-in hybrid, with a small turbodiesel.

Remember that light weight offsets some of the need for power - this is an economy machine, rather than a sports car. The slowest car that VW currently sells (the up!) is only 60bhp for the base model, gets to 60mph in ~14 seconds which isn't quick, but it's also no quicker than an economical city car needs to be (and it's still one of the most fun cars I've driven this year).

VW's current 1.2 3-cylinder TDI makes around 74bhp I think - again, cars with that engine aren't quick, but then they do 60-70mpg so it depends where your priorities lie.

I think the concept had a six or seven speed DSG, but I could be mistaken.

Here was the original article on the XL1 again, for reference: http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1054260_volkswagen-xl1-high-tech-super-efficient-261-mpg

1,700 lbs, 74bhp from a diesel/electric powerplant, ~12 second 0-60, 22 miles on battery alone.

 

[Griffith500]

How can you hear its sound? All I can hear is tyre and aerodynamic noise. I don't know that it should sound all that abnormal anyway. Maybe a bit like the new Fiat Twinair engines, just a bit less peppy and more Diesel-y (/ Massey-Ferguson-y)

 

[RocZX]

How can you hear its sound?

At :40 sec, you can hear it accelerate.

 

[Griffith500]

At :40 sec, you can hear it accelerate.

Hmmm, I ignored that since it sounds nothing like a twin (more like a six), although it might not have been the engine's sound at all. It's possible there might have been another car there. The sound did have the distinctive slur of a DSG-style 'box, though, so who knows.

 

[RocZX]

A painted and unpainted XL1 spied....
Car Scoop

 

[homeforsummer]

Still think it's awesome.

Sounds daft saying this too, but makes me think of what a 911 will look like in 50 years time. Wide, flat front, narrow glasshouse that tapers towards the rear, wide rear haunches, emphasis on compactness...

Obviously the production XL1 will have covered rear arches.

 

[Nessy]

You're not alone, i think it's awesome too.
I did a few concepty sketches a few years ago, of how i'd think a Porsche 911 would look like in the future, they weren't that good, but i may have another attempt i think.

 

[Beeblebrox237]

Very cool looking car, just not sure about the rear lights.

 

[ExigeEvan]

They'd better not be losing the rear wheel covers!

 

[Pupik]

And how about that rear window?

 

[niky]

They've lost it, already.

I wish this thing would go into production. Because that would mean that someday, I might actually get to drive it.

Hypermiling is addicting. Even more so if the car uses next to nothing in gas.

 

[homeforsummer]

And how about that rear window?

Didn't even notice it didn't have one! Hmm. Wondering how much of an issue it'd really be in something fairly narrow. I tend to default to the door mirrors if I'm driving something with poor rear visibility - last one was a DeLorean, before that it was a Renault Twizy, which is too narrow to have space for a rear window.

The production one is supposed to have rear-view cameras so perhaps there's a central one too... though I notice a few of the spy shots feature regular door mirrors.

 

[RocZX]

And how about that rear window?

Didn't even notice it didn't have one! Hmm. Wondering how much of an issue it'd really be in something fairly narrow.

The car is a rear engine, and the engine is right under the vents on the back. There is no place they can put a rear window on the car.

 

[RocZX]

XL1 confirmed production and will debut at Geneva

It's the physical representation of the benefits of reducing weight and improving aerodynamics. The small body may only take two people, but it's allowed for an incredibly streamlined body with a drag coefficient of only 0.189.

Low weight--only 1,752 lbs--means only a small engine and electric motor is needed to deliver respectable performance. Much of the car is constructed from carbon fiber, aluminium and titanium.

VW says the car will do 261 mpg, though the real figure will be lower than that should it ever be tested under EPA guidelines. Even so, it'll still use comfortably less fuel than any vehicle currently on sale.

A diesel engine of only 0.8 liters and 2 cylinders capacity produces 47 horsepower, with a further 27 horses delivered by the electric motor. Power reache the wheels via a 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox.

Those figures sound miniscule by modern standards, but the XL1 should reach 62 mph in12.7 seconds. Top speed is 98 mph.

Operating alone, the small battery can deliver up to 31 miles of range, and can be charged via plug or regenerative effect.

The negative aspect to all this is cost. The XL1 is unlikely to be built in large numbers, and What Car estimates a cost as high as $100,000 or more.

Green Car Reports

 

[kikie]

$100,000?
There goes my dream.............

 

[homeforsummer]

I recognise that text... ah, wait...

Still love it. Don't love the possible price. Think a drive in one is as much as I can hope here, rather than ownership.

 

[Beeblebrox237]

I really like it, it would be a great commuter car. If anyone wants to spend that much on a commuter car.

 

[YSSMAN]

Only a 100 examples in Europe, only available as a lease. Might expand to other markets afterward, none of which include the US.

Great. A truly forward-thinking, fuel-efficient automobile and it's coming nowhere near here. I'll happily take something like this as a stopgap between where we are and the electric future.

 

[niky]

I recognise that text... ah, wait...

Still love it. Don't love the possible price. Think a drive in one is as much as I can hope here, rather than ownership.

I don't doubt they'll sell quite a few of them. Probably some to celebrities. But $100k seems pretty damn steep.

If this car were in the $40-$50k range, that would be more plausible. Perhaps if VW gave it a more conventional high-strength steel body... or something. Maybe a steel-bodied non-hybrid variant of this would still hit 100+++ MPG on the EPA highway cycle. And a lot of people would be willing to settle for that.

 

[Pupik]

Only a 100 examples in Europe, only available as a lease. Might expand to other markets afterward, none of which include the US.

That's because they know that it would make the Phaeton look like a sales success by comparison. 100-large? Only the biggest VW fanboy would jump on that, but he's too busy lowering a Tiguan instead of enjoying a perfectly good GTi.