VW xl1

[Draigflag]

I thought the mighty VW XL1 deserved another mention, the ultimate hyper miler has finally made it into production after a long 10 years in development! I'm excited to say a local dealer some 66 miles away has one is stock, priced at an eye watering £105,995 or $130,000 US dollars roughly! Despite it's ridiculous price, I'm sure the amount of time and capital VW have invested in the beautiful XL1, they are no doubt loosing money, like they did with the Veyron, which coincidentally, VW claim that the XL1 is the biggest thing they've developed since then. You see pushing the boundaries of efficiency and aerodynamics, as well as general design probably takes just as much time and money and skill as that for performance, as per the Veyron.

The XL1 is for me personally, what a hybrid should be. The perfect hybrid. A super light carbon fibre body/chassis, aerodynamic shape (the most aerodynamic car ever produced, with a remarkable coefficient of drag figure of 0.186, rear engine, rear wheel drive, electric and, more importantly DIESEL! A diesel engine is already 35-45% more efficient than a similar sized petrol, so it makes perfect sense to combine it with an electric motor. The 0.8 litre engine apparently makes a distinctive clatter, like diesels do, but the clever balancing means there's actually no vibration. Clever use of materials such as magnesium (wheels), ceramics (brake discs) and aluminium (dampers, steering system, brake callipers) save huge amounts of weight. The electric motor can do between 20-30 miles on pure electric, lithium-ion batteries charged by the engine when necessary. It's claimed average MPG rating is over an astonishing 300 UK MPG, however I've watched a few reviews, and some auto journalists managed over 400 MPG.

For anyone into technical cars, you can't help but appreciate the staggering effort that's been put into the XL1 with genuinely amazing results. This might be the most cleverly efficient, well built, aerodynamic car ever produced. It's as beautiful as it is clever. A feat of engineering, and in my opinion, a masterpiece of automotive design. If I were a millionaire, I'd actually buy one just to show my appreciation, even if the price is north of stupid. I'm hoping to plan a trip to see the XL1 and hopefully shoot a few pictures/videos.

[OliverGT]

Paul,

For me the xl1 is the spiritual successor to the mk1 Insight.

I remember taking a look at them about 5 years ago, when they where just prototypes.

It would be amazing if they could reduce the production costs or change the materials slightly and get it down to a more affordable price, even if that increase the MPG.

Just some quick sums and it would knock my fuel costs down to about €250(300mpg) a year from €1500 a year (at 50mpg)

Looking forward to seeing your pictures if you get them and maybe one day they will bring one over to Ireland for me to take a look at.

Oliver.

[trollbait]

Much of what VW learned from the XL1's development is going into their other hybrids, plugins, and even ICE cars. So the return goes beyond whatever profit each car sold makes.

Kinda wished they kept the tandem seating.

[Draigflag]

I think every car designer/manufacture could and should learn from the XL1, it's so aerodynamic, I read somewhere that it tales just 8 HP to maintain 60 MPH on a flat surface 8! That's puts big stupid cars to shame. The passenger seat is slightly behind the drivers, they fixed it to save weight be deleting seat rail runners.

They are only making 200, so it's not an ongoing production model that will eventually be affordable for everyone, it will be super rare, super exclusive, and probably only bought by big corporations wanting to project an ECO Conscious image, or celebrities/private collectors. No doubt Jay Leno will get his fat hands on one somehow.

[luv2spd]

I didn't think Volkswagen was going to make this, but I'm glad they did. Even if the price is too high, just wait a few years and buy one used. I always wondered how a start/stop system would work on a diesel engine as opposed to a gas engine. Does anyone here know?

[Draigflag]

How do you mean? Most cars have stop/start regardless of fuel type, my Clio does. It just uses the starter motor.

[luv2spd]

I didn't know that diesels have start/stop. With the gas engines it is tied in with the spark plugs and I think the piston stops at top dead center that re-starts the whole engine. Diesels don't have spark plugs, so that's why I was wondering.

[Draigflag]

Not sure if the system in the XL1 is independent, but in some hybrids, the electric motor is attached to the engine, so it just spins up to start the engine. It's a lot quicker and quieter than using a starter motor. The motor replaces the alternator, and the 12V battery is charged with a DC converter, that's how it works in my Honda anyhow, and I believe with the new generation of mild hybrids coming to the market, it's the same system.

[trollbait]

Originally Posted by luv2spd

I didn't know that diesels have start/stop. With the gas engines it is tied in with the spark plugs and I think the piston stops at top dead center that re-starts the whole engine. Diesels don't have spark plugs, so that's why I was wondering.

You are thinking of Mazda's start/stop. It keeps precise track of piston position with fine spark control to restart the engine. Before they developed that, and what everybody else uses, is just a heavy duty starter and battery.

[luv2spd]

trollbait, how do you know so much about cars?