VW to roll out 313mpg car in Germany and UK

Last week at the Qatar Motor Show saw the world debut of Volkswagen’s XL1, a diesel-electric hybrid two-seater that can do 313mpg (0.9 l/100 km) and an announcement that the vehicle will enter limited production for the UK and German markets in 2013. If it proves popular, VW says it plans to increase production and sell in other countries.
May 18, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
Last week at the Qatar Motor Show saw the world debut of 994 Volkswagen’s XL1, a diesel-electric hybrid two-seater that can do 313mpg (0.9 l/100 km) and an announcement that the vehicle will enter limited production for the UK and German markets in 2013. If it proves popular, VW says it plans to increase production and sell in other countries.

Conceptually, the XL1 represents the third evolutionary stage of Volkswagen’s 1-litre car strategy first unveiled 10 years ago. When the new millennium was ushered in, Prof. Dr. Ferdinand Piëch, who is now Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG, formulated the visionary goal of bringing to the market a production car that was practical for everyday use with a fuel consumption of 1.0 litre per 100 km.

The latest version of the car, which has staggered side-by-side seating for two adults and is capable of a top speed of 160 km/h (99mph), attains a CO2 emissions value of just 24 g/km, thanks to a combination of lightweight construction (monocoque and add-on parts made of carbon fibre), very low aerodynamic drag (Cd 0.186) and a plug-in hybrid system - consisting of a two cylinder TDI engine (35 kW / 48 PS), E-motor (20 kW / 27 PS), 7-speed dual-clutch transmission (DSG) and lithium-ion battery.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Car emissions campaigners turn sights on Renault
    November 27, 2015
    Renault's flagship Espace minivan released toxic diesel emissions 25 times over legal limits in a Swiss study, despite complying with EU tests carried out at unrealistically low engine temperatures, a German environmental group said this week. According to Reuters, the tests commissioned by the DUH group, which have not been independently verified, follow Volkswagen's admission that it used illegal ‘defeat devices’ to cheat diesel emission regulations. In a statement, Renault said it contested the fin
    Read More
  • Battery vehicle ‘now viable for very long distances’
    June 23, 2016
    The Tesla 3 gets nearly double the range of the Nissan Leaf by using nearly double the amount of battery but engineers are using a multitude of work rounds to do better: aerodynamics, light-weighting even including structural electronics where dumb structure is replaced by supercapacitors or solid state batteries. Add more efficient motors and powertrain, says Dr Peter Harrop, chairman of IDTechEx Research in its report Industrial and Commercial Electric Vehicles on Land 2016-2026. He goes on to say that
    Read More
  • Elimination of electric vehicle systems
    June 24, 2016
    According to IDTechEx Research reports, Power Electronics for Electric Vehicles 2016-2026, Mild Hybrid 48V Vehicles 2016-2031 and Structural Electronics 2015-2025: Applications, Technologies, Forecasts”, el4ctric vehicles (EVs)have a cost challenge: hybrids have complexity problems meaning reliability and space issues. Extra power electronic units arrive for tasks such as a vehicle-to-grid, vehicle-to-house and inductive charging. Many more will be added in future such as regeneration modules - thermoelect
    Read More
  • New York mayor to reduce city’s vehicle fleet
    April 11, 2019
    New York’s mayor Bill de Blasio has signed an executive order to reduce the city’s on-road public sector vehicle fleet. The move is part of a commitment to reduce emissions by 80% by 2050. The city will remove 1,000 vehicles from its fleet by June 2021 and reduce the number of take-home vehicles by at least 500. Additionally, it will replace at least 350 SUVs with electric plug-in sedans and promote greater vehicle efficiency by using advanced data collection. “Eliminating unnecessary vehicles fro
    Read More

Highlighted Content