# The Volkswagen XL1 Concept



## JackDanielsMotors (Mar 22, 2010)

Volkswagen is moving one-step closer to a production version of their "1-liter" car - a vehicle that can consume 1 liter of fuel per 100 km (235mpg) - with the debut of the XL1 at the Qatar Motor Show. The XL1 represents the third version of VW's ongoing goal to build a 1-liter consumption vehicle and is approaching near-production level fit, trim and finish. With gull-wing doors, Lamborghini height and Polo length and width, this eco-vehicle has a bit more "attitude" than you would expect from something that gets 235mpg+. 

The XL1 is a plug-in hybrid consisting of a two-cyliner TDI engine (48 horsepower) and a 20kw electric motor providing an additional 27 horsepower. The 103 lb-ft of combined torque of both motors can accelerate the XL1 from 0-62mph (0-100km) in 11.9 seconds. Electricity is stored in a lithium-ion battery pack and power is routed through a 7-speed DSG transmission. Volkswagen claims they are able to achieve fuel consumption of only 0.9l per 100km (261 mpg) while only emitting 24 g/km of CO2. The XL1 can travel up to 21 miles in full electric zero emissions mode. 

*VWvortex Article and Photos* 





























Do you think it will ever make it to production? 

- Phillip @ Jack Daniels Motors


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## VWRedux (Jun 3, 2009)

JackDanielsMotors said:


> Volkswagen has revised the 1L concept and created the XL1! This looks so nice in the renderings and has a greater mpg than the 1L (238 mpg vs 261 mpg). Check out this article from Wired.com!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 Sadly no.  This car is old news. The car was developed to explore extreme mileage tests only.


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## Simmsled (May 3, 2007)

Is that Dubai in the background, or somewhere in China?


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## jvonn (Nov 24, 2010)

that car will never get made


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## shark (Jan 24, 2000)

VW and VWOA you spend MILLONS on developing these concepts, and here is an answer to the proposed $5.00/gallon issue. BUILD it!


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## feels_road (Jan 27, 2005)

VWRedux said:


> Sadly no.  This car is old news. The car was developed to explore extreme mileage tests only.


 How is this car old news, exactly?  

Sure, it will only be sold in limited numbers - but that is true of every single EV or RE-EV, today.


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## MeineFolks'wagen (May 8, 2002)

Maybe I missed it in the article, but will this be available in the U.S. and anyone have any price guesstimates?


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## JackDanielsMotors (Mar 22, 2010)

MeineFolks'wagen said:


> Maybe I missed it in the article, but will this be available in the U.S. and anyone have any price guesstimates?


 This is a revision of the 1L concept that VW made a few years ago, this is a slightly bigger (since it is a 2 seater) and sightly more efficient concept car called the XL1, so the news is it looks better and saves more, but i don't think it is close to becoming a production vehicle. 

What do you guys think of the styling?


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

JackDanielsMotors said:


> .....but i don't think it is close to becoming a production vehicle....


 http://www.autoweek.com/article/20110126/CARNEWS/110129912


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## MattRabbit (Mar 16, 2000)

This car would be the ultimate commuter, though I'd worry about safety on the roads with all the SUVs and people in a hurry. 

Since this is a highly efficient car that actually makes sense to build, it will never see the light of day.


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## JackDanielsMotors (Mar 22, 2010)

GTINC said:


> http://www.autoweek.com/article/20110126/CARNEWS/110129912


 I hope they carry out this plan, and hopefully they will keep roughly that timetable. That is very good news.


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## Yorch (Sep 19, 2001)

I think that Volkswagen AG found the correct path to realize that kind of car. 
The only problem is that car is oriented to a particular and exclusive market 
when the real problem is with the daily cars, not a fancy sport car.


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## TWinbrook46636 (Apr 18, 2003)

jvonn said:


> that car will never get made


 "_VW CEO Martin Winterkorn identified the XL1's first markets in an interview at the same event. "We will bring out the XL1 in Europe first, initially Germany. The U.S. and China will follow at a later date," he said. 

Winterkorn said there were plans are initially for a "small production run,” while VW development chief Ulrich Hackenberg said up to 100 XL1 cars_" 



How is it they can make a limited run of 100 of these yet we can't get the Golf TDI Twin Drive?


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## fancyTHIS (Sep 30, 2007)

F%#K YES!


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## 30th_edition (Jan 29, 2011)

*Hope Not.*

I hope they do not produce this with that sheet metal.Remember this!! 











Lets try to be a tad more original VW.


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## Back2Dubs (Apr 15, 2004)

VW has been playing around with this concept for a long time, but I can see why they hadn't brought it to production. With the improved Tech that is currently available they can now create a bit more of a traditional car with more width allowing side-by-side seating while still achieving their efficiency goals. 

At 100 units I see this as a publicity stunt to say "Ja, vee can do zis and sell it" to the rest of world, but I wouldn't be surprised if they up that number substantially as higher fuel prices in the years ahead spur interest in such vehicles.


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## randomkoreanguy (Jul 20, 2002)

I suspect that this is a car that VW is smartly using as a testbed to showcase all of their various fuel saving technologies with the goal of eventually integrating parts of it into their mainstream cars (or all the technologies in one package as a separate model like a Prius) at some point in the future once costs come down enough to make it viable (and not insanely expensive). As it stands, I'm sure the limited production run thing is because all of the cutting edge fuel saving tech they're cramming into this car doesn't come cheaply. 

After a certain point (in price), the media loves to point out that you're spending more money on the car than you would save over the car's expected lifespan on gas, which kind of defeats the whole purpose of the car to begin with. I feel like that's probably why VW has stayed away from hybrids until recently (and probably only caved in because hybrids are so darn popular). I mean, look at the price of a Touareg Hybrid ($60k), it costs $12k more than the TDI model ($48k) and gets 2 mpg better city and 3 mpg worse highway. I think most of us would rather just own the TDI. 

I have no problem with VW deciding to wait to release a mainstream XL1 until the materials and production methods are cheap enough to justify an affordable price, because really who among us would buy this thing if it costs two to three times the price of a Passat? (Maybe famous people looking to up their eco-credentials, which would actually be kind of entertaining to see VW beat Toyota's Prius at its own "green image" game.) I think they've been taking their time developing this concept for a good reason. It might be a while before they produce something like this concept in significant numbers (like their standard models), but I bet it'll be worth the wait if it can perform even half as well as the concept does for a competitive entry price the normal consumer can afford.


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## Ericc. (Sep 29, 2010)

30th_edition said:


> I hope they do not produce this with that sheet metal.Remember this!!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 probably one of the ugliest cars ever produced


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## euromaxituning (May 30, 2004)

This thing is beautiful, straight out of a sci-fi movie...I'm such a geek


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## CA Solt (Feb 23, 2003)

*Backround*



Simmsled said:


> Is that Dubai in the background, or somewhere in China?



The skyline is actually the capital of Qatar: *Doha*.
Pretty cool, eh....lots of Mid-East cities look that futuristic now _(they thank you for buying their oil)._
Here is Dubai for comparison:


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## nomad1721 (Apr 4, 2005)

I like the look of this one much better than the L1. Don't get me wrong, the mpg is amazing, but I really don't care, since a car like this will only see the light of day when Jay Leno opens his garage. I'd still rather have the GX3 over this thing.


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## Boogety Boogety (Jun 22, 2003)

Mac n Cheez said:


> probably one of the ugliest cars ever produced


Eye-of-the-beholder stuff. :sly:

Respectfully disagree, as I've owned one for ten years, and in the flesh (I meant, in the aluminum alloy metal) it's much more handsome than in pictures. People come up to me often, or pull up while driving and roll their windows down, and compliment me on the looks (there's not that many of them out there, so even after almost twelve years, they're incredibly rare) and invariably ask about the gas mileage. When they learn I can easily commute at 70+ mpg, with the acceleration of a Civic, it becomes even more beautiful... :laugh:

Which brings up another point: The XL1 _will _mostly "copy" the Insight design, not as a tribute or homage, but simply following by aerodynamic principles: A passenger cabin designed ergonomically (e.g., people sitting reclining or upright instead of prone, face first), with storage room and some accommodation for an engine and for wheels, will by necessity emphasize a smooth, reasonably-pointy front end to funnel the airstream around, under, and over the car; a smooth profile on the sides, with cut lines sealed or narrowed; covered wheel openings, at least in back; and a kammback tail to eliminate mileage-robbing buffeting when the separated airstreams rejoin behind the vehicle. The Insight is so cleverly smoothed, I can drive at 70mph with the windows down, and there is no buffeting inside the cockpit... and where on my other vehicles rain drops _fly _off the windshield at that speed (I'm a huge Rain-X fan), on the Insight, the water rolls off slowly even at high speeds, leading me to believe the airstream is better directed around the car than in other designs. One thing on the concept I don't see in a production version: It may or may not have a glass cockpit, but for sure it'll have a glass back window. There's just _no _way a production automobile will have that huge a blindspot behind it, not as long as liability lawyers draw breath...


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## feels_road (Jan 27, 2005)

randomkoreanguy said:


> I feel like that's probably why VW has stayed away from hybrids until recently (and probably only caved in because *hybrids are so darn popular*).


Popular - in the press, or in real life? VW TDIs sell at twice the rate than Honda hybrids, and are slowly getting almost comparable in magnitude to Prius sales. But besides the Prius, no hybrids sell, and the only ones manufacturers are making a profit on are hybrid SUVs.

Many of these cars, including EVs and RE-EVs are still not only subsidized by governments (mainly the US and Japan), but also by the manufacturers. Batteries are still really, really expensive - of course much more so for EVs than hybrids. The Leaf and Volt are basically unavailable because the manufacturers are delaying production and lowering output because of expenses. Sure, things will change, but at a snails pace. As much as I like the Volt, a $45,000 compact 4-seater with very little cargo space is not really in my budget. :beer:


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## randomkoreanguy (Jul 20, 2002)

feels_road said:


> Popular - in the press, or in real life? VW TDIs sell at twice the rate than Honda hybrids, and are slowly getting almost comparable in magnitude to Prius sales. But besides the Prius, no hybrids sell, and the only ones manufacturers are making a profit on are hybrid SUVs.
> 
> Many of these cars, including EVs and RE-EVs are still not only subsidized by governments (mainly the US and Japan), but also by the manufacturers. Batteries are still really, really expensive - of course much more so for EVs than hybrids. The Leaf and Volt are basically unavailable because the manufacturers are delaying production and lowering output because of expenses. Sure, things will change, but at a snails pace. As much as I like the Volt, a $45,000 compact 4-seater with very little cargo space is not really in my budget. :beer:


In the press mostly and in public perception. I don't think they sell very well either and to be honest, I personally agree with you and don't see them as very practical, but c'est la vie. I think VW's research dollars would be better spent on producing more TDI's instead of caving in to peer pressure and offering slow selling hybrids (because all the other automakers are doing it). Prior to now, VW's old policy was that diesel was the smart way to go and to heck with hybrids. Not sure why that's changed.


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## Back2Dubs (Apr 15, 2004)

In a world of $3.50/gal. gas hybids will be somewhat popular along with diesel, but consider a $5 or $6/gal price. In the last few years, diesel has tended to climb in price along with gas. If you can go 30 or 40 miles on electricity before you need to burn expensive liquid fuels, such as with a plug-in hybrid, then you have a product that many people could run with little or no expensive liquid fuel. Another benefit to electric only propultion is the decreased dependence on foreign oil products.

For this car, a 35-40 mile electric range would be preferable for the US since we tend to drive farther. In a few years a 8 or 9 kw battery pack could cost the same as the 5 kw pack that they are proposing today and may actually be of similar or lighter weight as power densities per a given size/weight increase.

As I see it, all major auto makers are hedging their bets against an unpredictable future by having various technological solutions either available or ready to go into production on short notice.


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## RIP-335 (Nov 26, 2009)

Kind of reminds me of GMs disaster electric car from the 90's


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## fancyTHIS (Sep 30, 2007)

Back2Dubs said:


> In a world of $3.50/gal. gas hybids will be somewhat popular along with diesel, but consider a $5 or $6/gal price. In the last few years, diesel has tended to climb in price along with gas. If you can go 30 or 40 miles on electricity before you need to burn expensive liquid fuels, such as with a plug-in hybrid, then you have a product that many people could run with little or no expensive liquid fuel. Another benefit to electric only propultion is the decreased dependence on foreign oil products.
> 
> For this car, a 35-40 mile electric range would be preferable for the US since we tend to drive farther. In a few years a 8 or 9 kw battery pack could cost the same as the 5 kw pack that they are proposing today and may actually be of similar or lighter weight as power densities per a given size/weight increase.
> 
> As I see it, all major auto makers are hedging their bets against an unpredictable future by having various technological solutions either available or ready to go into production on short notice.


But still the cost of replacing the batteries every few years really hits on the amount that you are saving in gas.


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

randomkoreanguy said:


> .....Prior to now, VW's old policy was that diesel was the smart way to go and to heck with hybrids. Not sure why that's changed.....


Well, like every other manufacturer planning to continue selling cars in the USA market, they will need to meet the corporate fuel use average. They have to play the Fed's rating game, just like everyone else. They can't afford to ignore any branch of technology that may get them there. All while catching the USA public's attention with the latest fad.


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## Back2Dubs (Apr 15, 2004)

Eurotuner. said:


> But still the cost of replacing the batteries every few years really hits on the amount that you are saving in gas.


Replacing batteries due to deteriorating charge holding capacity is more of an an issue with pure EVs because of the already limited range. In a hybrid such as this, decreased battery range wouldn't be much of an issue since it just means that the range extender would start up a bit sooner.

Toyota Prius batteries are still functioning well with over 200K so the potential to have a really long lasting batery is there. Depends on battery management, quality and chemistry of the batteries used.


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## Ewinkdub04 (Oct 5, 2010)

yikes


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