Volkswagen Launches 261 mpg XL1 Plug-in Hybrid, World’s Most Efficient Production Car

Very cool. They showed the car before, but its great they are going to put it into production. They won't sell many but it could help car makers make other cars more efficient. This is about as good as it gets for efficiency and still being safety and pollution legal.

VW putting XL1 plug-in hybrid car into production - chicagotribune.com

Volkswagen XL1 Concept: Volkswagen 1-Liter News – Car and Driver

And from another source 5.5 kwh battery, 1752lbs empty weight.

 

IMO, this is all hype and fairy tales. I'll believe it when I see it.

 

They actually have the prototypes running. These are euro figures not epa, but it is very efficient. The problem for sales is cost and size. If it really is $40K after tax credits, and you can get a tesla S for $53K after tax credits that's much more comfortable, faster, safer, less expensive to insure, it will never be profitable.

What they can do is put some of the technology into the 2014 golf phev. It won't be carbon fiber, and will gas instead of diesel, and it will be bigger and have higher drag. But it should be much more efficient than the diesel golf, but much less than this engineering marvel.

 

And people call the Prius "Ugly".

 

It's semantics, and I know I am wrong.
But in the limited numbers the XL1 is being produced, and the limited area inwhich it will be available, even though it technically fits the definition of "Production Vehicle" I have a hard time applying that definition.

Factor in cost, and 2 seater limited utility, and even though it is being "produced" it still is a very limited, unique "niche" product.

I'm glad Volkswagen is doing it, I'm glad it exists. But when I read the words "Worlds Most Efficient Production Car"....I'd like to think I could actually go down to a dealerhip and buy one.

Which I think is all the more testament to Toyota and Prius. None of the "Prius Family" may approach 261 mpg, but I have a choice of 3 different types of Prius, that can actually be purchased at countless dealerships across the nation and world. Mass Produced, and Sold in Mass.

I look forward to reading more about the XL1, and I'd hope for success and it's growth as a product. But right now it still sounds like a very limited "niche" vehicle experiment.

 

1.0 liter per 100 kilometers is one heck of a goal. Realizing 0.91 l/100 km is quite an accomplishment. Setting aside practicality for a moment, the concepts employed raise the bar for everyone, as all vehicles and technologies were once just a concept. This is competition at its best!

 

Well, trust me Electric Me, this vehicle won't approach 261 mpg's either.

 

Sounds underpowered.

 

I wonder if this means they are looking at diesel hybrids for higher volume cars.

 

Sounds like the world's best car for these guys:
Growing number of people become 'super-commuters' - WTOP.com

 

It claims 8.3 kw of power is needed at 100 kph (62 mph) on a flat road, IIRC the peak efficiency of the 4 cyl version of that ice is 42% and it runs diesel which has 10% more energy. The 261 is on a European test cycle, but keep the car under 70 mph on cruise and it should do well over 100 mpg. Use the 5.5 kwh battery for your city driving portion and you will be able to go long distances on 2 gallons of gas. Remember YMMV but its hard to think of a scenario where you would not get crazy great mileage unless you are going over 80 mph or its really cold and you need the engine to be less efficient to warm the cabin.

 

It is under powered. This has more than the previous car though, kind of a compromise. When batteries improve they will be able to add more power without hurting efficiency. They had a goal to get extremely high city mileage and the only way was the tiny engine. It doesn't make it easy to sell in an expensive car. Say you increased it to 100 hp 3cyl, and 40 kw electric, it would have good power(much better power to weight than prius), and highway mpg would likely stay where it is, but city mileage would likely fall under 100 mpg.

 

VW has said the economics don't make sense right now over gasoline for hybrids. A diesel because of its emissions control system adds about $2K to the cost of a car. Add in the hybrid cost and it makes it a hard sell. When you do want maximum mpg and can pass along the extra $2K diesel makes sense. Since this is only a 2 cylinder engine and isn't required to meet US emissions requirements only euro 6, the premium should be less, and the mileage gain more important.

 

Whats the Top speed 75 MPH?
How fast to do a 1/4 Mile ? 1 week

 

I think it looks good, and is essentially a diesel Volt with half the seating, german build, and diesel plagued problems.

I would rather have one of these than a Volt, but I would rather have a Prius than either.

I am curious how efficient it really is. Slapping a bigger battery makes it more efficient if you compute all miles over gasoline, but I want to know how many Wh/mi it takes too...

 

My Grandmama can run faster than that and she has a wodden leg and a alzeimers drug habit...

 

"But its Lamborghini Gallardo–like height (just 45.5 inches) helps create a slippery drag coefficient of 0.19."

ARG!

 

Or you could just read the post: "...a governed top speed of 99 mph."

Missed seeing her on the Olympics.

It can exceed the speed limit in any state in the US. We really need to get away from the idea that that is not sufficient.

 

top speed is 99 mph electroically governored. It probably has to do with the engine choice. 0-60 is just a little slower than the prius. Hyper milers won't notice a difference, but this is a expensive car that looks fast. It is about being the ultimate in fuel efficient though, and many sacrifices were made.

The question is do you have to do 4 times better in the city than the prius c? If you only have to be twice as efficient you can use some ideas from this car but add some hp. The battery is 5.5 kwh, and if we scale it to the one in the ford energy, it should be able to supply 66 hp, go 3 cyl and you get 70 hp, or a total of 136. The diesel would end up needing to do kind of a electronic pulse and glide charging the battery then going electric in the city, but I would not think that would be much heavier or less efficient. Take 20% for charging losses worse, but you could keep the diesel in its efficient range.