Volkswagen XL1

[LDB]

That is really cool. Thanks for all the photos. I've never seen one and probably never will in real life.

[luv2spd]

Thanks for the answers.

LDB, the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville, Tennessee has one. Hopefully I will see one after the 15 year import ban is up in Canada. The US has a 25 year import ban.

[Draigflag]

Originally Posted by VW_XL1

If I'm not mistaken, the one you went to see was (at the time) owned by Swansway Garages in Crewe (a VW dealer). They actually offered for sale at £129,990 for a time. It later went to auction at the NEC Classic Car Show on 9th Nov 2018 (the auctioneers were Silverstone Auctions), and it sold for £103,167 including premium. I'm now in contact with the buyer (a great guy!) who like me does get out and use the car a lot, even including trips to Italy.

I agree with you that it's a great pity the XL1 was not mass produced. I wish they had made a new, much less expensive version that looked the same but without the expensive efficiency features like carbon fibre and magnesium and made it pure electric. With aluminium or steel body and bigger battery it would have been a lot heavier but I bet the mpg would still have been quite impressive. Even then though, I fear the look of the car is too extreme for most buyers - people generally don't like to be stared at all the time on the road. Personally it doesn't bother me at all - after all it's the car they are interested in, not the driver!

Yes you would be correct, 3 years ago when I bought my 308 Gti, I just happened to drive by the said VW dealer and by chance, caught a glimpse of the XL1 in the showroom. Knowing I'd never see one again, I just had to go in and see it and make a short video. I'd never afford one, it reminds alot of a modern take on the gen 1 Honda insight of which I have owned, similar aero shape, lightweight body, similar engine set up too, although VW went to the extreme in every aspect.

Without sounding disrespectful, I'm trying to figure out the reasons people buy these, obviously it's not to save money on fuel on a car so expensive. Is it purely the pleasure of owning such a rare and quirky car? Or are you predicting its rarity alone will prove a worthy investment in the future? Not sure where you're from, but would be worth knowing if you're ever visiting Mid Wales, I'd love to see another one, perhaps make another video. You could get some awesome regen on these hills, I would deplete my battery entirely on the way up, but have it full again at the bottom in my Honda.

[LDB]

Cool. If I ever get to Nashville again I'll have to check it out.

[Draigflag]

According to "how many left" there are 24 on UK roads (more than I thought considering the limited production) 10 of which are not taxed, probably in private collections. Very rare little car indeed!

[VW_XL1]

Originally Posted by Draigflag

Yes you would be correct, 3 years ago when I bought my 308 Gti, I just happened to drive by the said VW dealer and by chance, caught a glimpse of the XL1 in the showroom. Knowing I'd never see one again, I just had to go in and see it and make a short video. I'd never afford one, it reminds alot of a modern take on the gen 1 Honda insight of which I have owned, similar aero shape, lightweight body, similar engine set up too, although VW went to the extreme in every aspect.

Without sounding disrespectful, I'm trying to figure out the reasons people buy these, obviously it's not to save money on fuel on a car so expensive. Is it purely the pleasure of owning such a rare and quirky car? Or are you predicting its rarity alone will prove a worthy investment in the future? Not sure where you're from, but would be worth knowing if you're ever visiting Mid Wales, I'd love to see another one, perhaps make another video. You could get some awesome regen on these hills, I would deplete my battery entirely on the way up, but have it full again at the bottom in my Honda.

I bought an XL1 because (a) I love futuristic design, (b) I thought it was one of the most beautiful car designs I had ever seen, (c) I wanted to own a new car that was very rare and exclusive, (d) I greatly admired it for being an engineering masterpiece, and (e) I thought that it could possibly eventually go up in value (though I never banked on this! And anyway I always knew I would never sell it!

Sorry but I don't tend to venture into Wales and mostly only take the XL1 to car events down in the West Country.

[VW_XL1]

Originally Posted by Draigflag

According to "how many left" there are 24 on UK roads (more than I thought considering the limited production) 10 of which are not taxed, probably in private collections. Very rare little car indeed!

In fact 28 cars came to the UK, one of which was exported to Hong Kong not long after it was delivered. Two are still owned by VW UK as press/PR cars. Yes there are at least 10 cars that are not taxed and not used - these are either in private collections or belong to the owners of VW dealerships who I believe bought them as showpieces doubling as investments.

[VW_XL1]

Originally Posted by luv2spd

Thanks for the answers.

LDB, the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville, Tennessee has one. Hopefully I will see one after the 15 year import ban is up in Canada. The US has a 25 year import ban.

Yes the one at the Lane Motor Museum is the only one in the Americas. They paid a car journalist in Northern Ireland to go to Germany and buy one for them. He drove it all the way back to Northern Ireland, did some car shows in it, then shipped it out to the US and flew out himself and drove it to the museum. He posted about every step of the process on Twitter which is how I know this!

[Draigflag]

All very interesting, thanks for the replies! Just a shame you won't be able to log your fuel consumption here, as fuelly has a limit of around 200 MPG, which is outdated now considering the amount of plug in hybrids that are flooding the market. I guess they'll adapt eventually, but exactly when is anyone's guess. I presume you keep your own records, what kind of figures have you averaged for the 8000 ish miles? Do you always start with a full battery or let the car do the charging?

[VW_XL1]

Originally Posted by Draigflag

All very interesting, thanks for the replies! Just a shame you won't be able to log your fuel consumption here, as fuelly has a limit of around 200 MPG, which is outdated now considering the amount of plug in hybrids that are flooding the market. I guess they'll adapt eventually, but exactly when is anyone's guess. I presume you keep your own records, what kind of figures have you averaged for the 8000 ish miles? Do you always start with a full battery or let the car do the charging?

Ironic as it may seem, I have never kept any log of my fuel consumption. I seem to get around about 300 miles on one tank of fuel (10 litres). Yes I always start with a fully charged battery, and find that I still tend to have over 80% charge when I get home regardless of how far I've driven (due to automatic use of diesel engine when appropriate, and recuperation).