Photo: VW UK
Volkswagen has just announced its XL1 fuel sipper, the most efficient production car on earth at the moment, will arrive in Britain at a starting price of £98,515. The VW factory in Germany is planning to make only 200 examples and of those about 30 are coming to the UK.
Official economy numbers for this market have also been announced. Thanks to a combination of electric motor and two-cylinder turbo diesel, the XL1 will sip fuel at the rate of 313 mpg and emits just 21g/km of CO2 – making it the world’s most efficient liquid-quelled production car.
This comes thanks to a powertrain consisting of a 47 hp 0.8 TDI and a 20 kW (27 hp) electric motor, juiced by a 5.5 kWh lithium-ion battery pack.
The XL1 plays a number of tricks in order to become more efficient. For example, it only weighs 785 kg (1,753 lbs), thanks to carbon fiber construction. The drag coefficient is only 0.159, about half that of a regular street cars. There are no wing mirrors and because the passenger sits a bit further back than the driver, they can get away with not using a second airbag.
Deliveries began early last month in Europe, with a businessman from Berlin taking the first XL1 home. Of course, this is a car that appeals to a select few people. BMW offers its i8 plug-in sportscar for roughly the same amount of money (£99,845) and of course it's much faster. The XL1 takes 12 seconds to reach 62 mph (100 km/h), while the Bimmer takes less than 5.
And there's another problem. You can't just walk into your local Volkswagen UK dealer and ask for the XL1. You have to be compatible with the car and its ownership experience. Because there are only going to be a couple of hundred examples, customers are being screened.
This comes thanks to a powertrain consisting of a 47 hp 0.8 TDI and a 20 kW (27 hp) electric motor, juiced by a 5.5 kWh lithium-ion battery pack.
The XL1 plays a number of tricks in order to become more efficient. For example, it only weighs 785 kg (1,753 lbs), thanks to carbon fiber construction. The drag coefficient is only 0.159, about half that of a regular street cars. There are no wing mirrors and because the passenger sits a bit further back than the driver, they can get away with not using a second airbag.
Deliveries began early last month in Europe, with a businessman from Berlin taking the first XL1 home. Of course, this is a car that appeals to a select few people. BMW offers its i8 plug-in sportscar for roughly the same amount of money (£99,845) and of course it's much faster. The XL1 takes 12 seconds to reach 62 mph (100 km/h), while the Bimmer takes less than 5.
And there's another problem. You can't just walk into your local Volkswagen UK dealer and ask for the XL1. You have to be compatible with the car and its ownership experience. Because there are only going to be a couple of hundred examples, customers are being screened.
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