VW xl1
 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

https://www.fuelly.com/attachments/fo...d4e5ab8a4a.jpg

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

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.

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.

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.

trollbait, how do you know so much about cars?

I've been visiting Priuschat and CleanMPG since 2005, and there is a lot of posting and discussion about alt-fuel cars and technologies at those sites.

VW announced that they where eliminating 30,000 jobs because of their last fiasco.

Cool, I usually get my car kick from reading Car And Driver. I know previously we talked about the BMW i3, this was the update for the 2017 model year from the magazine. We live in a strange World.

"The lithium-ion battery pack in BMW’s funky EV runabout grows from 22 kWh to 33, which means an increase in rated range from 81 miles to 114. And because qualifying as a zero-emissions vehicle in California requires that a car such as the i3—which offers an optional range-extending gas engine—have greater range on electric power than it has on gas, the larger battery means the BMW can now offer buyers opting for the range extender an extra half-gallon of fuel capacity. Actually, BMW previously “limited” the tank amount by shutting off the fuel pump after 1.9 of the tank’s 2.4 gallons were gone. So the fuel tank remains the same, but the pump now gives you all of it. Seriously, we are not making this up"

Hey Paul, if you are still planning on going to the dealer to take some pictures, I wouldn't mind seeing what kind of tires are on the thing if it's not too much to ask. I got the size below from the internet, but not sure if this is the production or the prototype size. I also listed the BMW i3, Prius and Elio's tire size for comparison. I like seeing skinny tires on fuel efficient cars.

2017 Volkswagen XL1
Front wheel and tire: 3.5" x 16" 115/80-16
Rear wheel and tire: 4" x 17" 135/50-17
Lug Nuts: 4x100
Tire manufacturer: ?

2017 BMW i3
Front wheel and tire: 5" x 19" 155/70-19
Rear wheel and tire: 5" x 19" 155/70-19
Lug Nuts: 5x112
Tire manufacturer: Bridgestone

2017 Toyota Prius Two Eco
Front wheel and tire: 6.5" x 15" 195/65-15
Rear wheel and tire: 6.5" x 15" 195/65-15
Lug Nuts: 5x112
Tire manufacturer: Dunlop Enasave 01 A/S

201? Elio E1c
Front tire (two): 135/80-15
Rear tire (one): 175/65-15

Of course, I might have a chance this weekend, there are two cars I'd like to view in the same region. I think the XL1 is very close to the prototype, I mean look at it, it looks like a concept car. Yes skinny tyres are great, the Bridgestone Ecopias on the Insight are epic. I've had some pretty narrow tyres in the past, 145's on a 12" rim and 155's on a 13" rim, great for cutting through snow too.

Volkswagen XL1 front tires:

https://www.fuelly.com/attachments/fo...979392074b.jpg

BMW i3 rear tire (the Bimmer's rear wheel and tire is actually 5.5" x 19" 175/60-19:

https://www.fuelly.com/attachments/fo...52faa8b3bd.jpg

BMW i3 front tire:

https://www.fuelly.com/attachments/fo...bee548d064.jpg

There's someone with an i3 in my town. The wheels are a bit of an illusion on the XL1 as they have a large diameter, they fill the arches quite well, presumably because the car is low to create less drag, but it also means you cant really see how wide the tyres are unless the front wheels are turned slightly.

So I went to see the XL1 today, it's a crazy little thing, although it doesn't look very unconventional sitting in a pristine showroom, it would no doubt stand out on the open road. It's tiny, and not as long as I thought it would be. Love the design, it's really quite a beautiful little thing, didn't see the lambo doors open as it was locked. As always, I seemed to know more about it than the salesman lol. The front tyres were 115/80 on a 15" rim, couldn't see the rears. They really are just glorified bicycle tyres, so thin you can pinch then with your finger and thumb. Pics and vids to follow.

Video with picture slideshow at the end as promised.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cDOwdbo7EQ

Paul,

The XL1 looks amazing. Not a bad price considering there are only 250 of them.

You would think there would be some middle ground where they could get a 100 MPG version for a third of the price?

Oliver.

Thanks for uploading this. I like the staggered seating, looks very cool.

Yea the staggered seating is so they save weight on fitting seat rails, instead the passenger seat is fixed.

Oli, their original brief was to design a car that was super efficient and affordable for everyone. I read at one point it was supposed to cost around £4000! But VW being VW, they've obviously got carried away with the R&D and put way too much money into it, like they did with the Veyron, even at £1,000,000 they were loosing some £800,000 per car for the first few years apparently.

I think a less complex, non hybrid version with the 0.8 litre diesel would still do well over 100 MPG without EV capabilities, but they've already invested too much in it. They salesman told me VW are very fussy who buys the XL1, they want them to go to private collectors.

Hello. I am new to this forum but I am a huge XL1 fan. There are some differences between the first 50 produced XL1 (made for demo and test runs) and the final 200 pieces. One of the differences is, that the rear wheels were made of magnesium in the first 50 cars. The current 200 cars however have alu wheels and I can attach some pictures of them if you want. You can find different numbers on the different pages regarding the current number of cars. It is correct, that a total of 250 cars were produced but only 200 cars were sold to public. I was told that VW had to destroy the other 50 (demo cars). It was not only private car collectors that have received one but also car lovers that wanted to use the car more frequently or even as a daily driver. I have found owners with about 50'000km on the car which gives approx 25'000km a year. On the other hand, I have seen one with 200km. Many people have told me, that they dont like the appearance of the XL1. It is physics and the technical engineering that made the car to look as it does. On pictures, it seems to be a normal (sized) car but the first contact lets you realize, that this little car is different and a masterpiece of engineering.

Hello welcome, I am a big fan of the XL1 too.

Yes some people are only concerned about styling, for others though, they appreciate and understand why certain cars look the way they do. I had it all the time in my Honda Insight, some people just hated the way it looked and despite all the technical clever engineering behind it, they couldn't appreciate any of it because of the aesthetics. Shame.

And then there are people like me, for whom styling is important, but not the only criteria. There are a lot of people like that! Most consumers like pretty, and aren't willing to sacrifice that to be practical, or because the salesman tells them about the buckets of tech.

Similarly, there are some people who are enamored with tech. It's a bragging right, like those who are enamored with the most horsepower, or getting that specific motorcycle that wins the races.

"Beautiful" (to my eyes) is one of the big reasons I'm driving my 2015 Audi Q5 and not a Lexus SUV. It's also one of the reasons I'm not in the least bit interested in the (not attractive to me, yet tech-laden, and 10% more expensive) 2017 Audi Q5. I'm also the guy who says "If I became a millionaire, there's nothing Ferrari or Lamborghini makes that's pleasing to my eyes, so I wouldn't get one."

Each person values different things in different proportions.

(BTW, no offense taken. I'm just presenting an alternative perspective on the importance of beauty to many.)