VW XL1 - 314mpg

W

Will

A2OC Donor
http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/geneva-motor-show-2013/radical-314mpg-vw-xl1-revealed

This is VW’s radical, lightweight, VW XL1 which promises an EU-certified economy of 314mpg and 21g/km CO2 emissions when it goes into limited production later this year follow its Geneva motor show reveal next month.

Powered by a 47bhp two-cylinder 800cc TDI engine backed up by a 27bhp electric motor and 5.5kWh battery pack, the two-seat car is claimed to have a Cd rating of just 0.189.
The upshot is that the plug-in hybrid XL1 is probably the most economical and most aerodynamically efficient production car of all time.
First shown as a running concept two years ago, the carbonfibre-bodied XL1 is being built at the VW-owned Karmann factory in Osnabrück, alongside the VW Golf cabriolet and the new Porsche Boxster.
Weighing just 795kg, the XL1 is some 3.8m long and 1.66m wide, which means it is only marginally smaller than a VW Polo supermini. However, it is only 1.15m high, some 129mm lower than a Boxster. VW says the XL1 has its top speed limited to 99.4mph, but that it can hit 62mph in just 12.7sec. It uses aluminium double wishbone front suspension, a semi-trailing link suspension at the rear, carbonfibre reinforced plastic anti-roll bars and ceramic brake discs.
The XL1 can travel for 31 miles just on battery power alone and has a claimed range of 310 miles on diesel and battery power combined, despite having a tiny 10-litre fuel tank.
Rough calculations suggest that the XL1 is capable of a real-world 127mpg in ideal conditions, a product of the car’s 795kg kerb weight, its very slippery body and wind-cheating and low resistance narrow tyres on magnesium wheels, which measure just 115/80 at the front and 145/55 at the rear. A guide to the XL1’s efficiency is that VW claims it requires just 8.3bhp to be able to maintain a steady 62mpg cruise.
The hybrid system’s electric motor and its dedicated clutch are fitted between the 800cc two-cylinder diesel engine and the XL1’s seven-speed DSG gearbox. The lithium-ion battery is mounted in the nose of the car and can be recharged when the car is braking and coasting.
In pure electric mode, the engine’s clutch disengages and the motor shuts down. The engine is brought back to life via what VW calls ‘pulse starting’, where the electric motor spins up to high speed and is coupled back to the engine, accelerating the idled engine to the revolving speed required for smooth starting.
The extreme weight-saving measures include using carbonfibre reinforced plastic for the body, the skin of which is just 1.2mm thick. Aluminium crash structures are used front and rear and as crash beams in the doors, to absorb impact forces.
The windscreen is just 3.2mm thick. VW says the XL1’s construction breaks down into a 227kg drivetrain (including the battery), 153kg running gear, 105kg electrical system, 80kg of on-board equipment, such as seats and instruments, and a body that weighs 230kg. Even the dashboard is made from a lightweight wood fibre material that’s just 1.4mm thick.
The first production run will be of 50 cars, which are fully homologated for sale in Europe. After that, sources say the XL1 will be built to meet demand, though VW has yet to give any clue about the likely price
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I think what's new in that press-release is a) I think that the electrical-only range is slightly longer than before, and b) that they're only making 50 of them? Pretty stingy for a homologated production car!

The claimed 314mpg is an artifact of the NEDC test's treatment of plug-ins, rather than a realistic figure (100-150-ish is more realistic, but it mostly depends on how frequently you recharge it).


http://www.a2oc.net/forum/showthread.php?10238-ECO-cars-2010-and-beyond/page3
http://www.a2oc.net/forum/showthread.php?21437-Audi-A2-1-2-TDi-3L&p=164522#post164522
 
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50 in the initial run, then they'll build them to order - price is going to be astronomical then I'm sure.
 
For what will be an expensive car, the range is very poor, about 45% of a Lupo 3L/A2 1.2. For me the upcoming Up! diesel (same 0.8 engine) would be a much better choice (and much cheaper) and it's 3L!

RAB
 
Something doesn't add up either - if it's jam-packed with so much weight-saving material, and it's only a two-seater, why does it still weigh as much as the 3L A2 did with it's capacity to seat 5/4 people? And with such a low drag coefficient, surely it should be able to do better than the A2 3L running in diesel mode?

The battery-hybrid part of the car much really cost it in terms of sheer weight and packaging/ complexity? If they just took out the batteries/hybrid, plus a slightly bigger diesel engine and a bigger tank in, I bet it would be a genuine MPG Monster.
 
Yeah, it's the weight of the batteries. The original 1L prototype was much better - it could do a genuine 300ish mpg using diesel alone. I think it really went downhill once they turned it into a plugin.

The diesel-only mpg is about a third better than the Up!'s diesel-only mpg according to an earlier autocar story (last paragraph):
http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/vw-launch-95mpg
... When the XL1 is being powered purely by this hybrid diesel engine, it returns 141mpg on the EU test cycle. However, the Up will be at least 300kg heavier than the carbonfibre-bodied XL1 and will have more aerodynamic drag, due to its bigger cabin and much greater frontal area, which means fuel economy will be reduced by about a third when compared with the concept.
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An Up! diesel or even hybrid could be tempting as an eventual A2 successor for me..... wonder if the same tech will migrate to Audi and the A1....?
 
Adrian888 said:
An Up! diesel or even hybrid could be tempting as an eventual A2 successor for me..... wonder if the same tech will migrate to Audi and the A1....?
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Certainly seems to be at the cutting edge of VW's fuel efficiency drive much like the A2/Lupo were yesterday. Let's not forget that an increasing number of their cars are already on a par with the A2 - looked at the new Golf yesterday - mightily impressive bit of kit - with 68mpg out of the 2.0TDI!
 
Most people are just looking at the headline mpg number, which is fair enough if you drive to work in reasonable distance. But for my use, a plugin hybrid is the much better answer and the internal combustion engine becomes more of a 'dead weight'. I only use the car in the weekend and mostly short trips < 30mins. My wife takes the little one to nursery and that is only 10 miles round trip. An electric drive is more than enough and regenerative braking will be used often too. The fossil fuel engine is only for the occasional long journey! And before the gov finds a way to tax electricity like petrol, it should cost very very little to run (especially with night time electricity tariff) and some ridiculous miles per £ number.
 
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shreddedmeat said:
...- with 68mpg out of the 2.0TDI!
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The NEDC numbers for recent cars can be misleading - it excludes things like DPF regeneration and DRLs. As a result it is easier to achieve the NEDC figures with cars from the A2 generation than with current cars. And since we're on the subject of DPFs, they are a nightmare for anyone who has to do either short trips or city driving.
 
Only 50 cars!!! and a Diesel 2 cylinder... That will be a little on the harsh side for NVH...

Although with hypermiling the Honda Insight G1 won't get 300 mpg.. It will be a lot more fun to drive..
It will get over 100 mpg from petrol in Std form... 106mpg is the best I've got.
http://www.insightcentral.net/

This is a Video of Peter Perkin's modified G1 135mpg who I'll be seeing next week to check over my Insight :)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iF-bNTBLc7Y

Mk1 Insight's launched in '99 and sold globally in much greater numbers than 50.
 
littlefoot said:
...
Mk1 Insight's launched in '99 and sold globally in much greater numbers than 50.
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Mk 1 insight was a pretty interesting car (unlike the later models). In some ways it is a bit like the '3L' (95mpg) version of the A2, i.e., both were trying to make the most fuel efficient production car possible, albeit using different approaches.
 
Christian, aka MPGLOVER, formerly of this parish, sold his A2 for a Mk1 Insight. I know he was modding it to improve the battery pack and increase the power output from the electric motor
 
I am personally looking forward to this set up appearing in the Up! and how it works in real-world use. Personally I think it will be better significantly than the small petrol turbo engines from the likes of Ford and Fiats twin-air. Audi are also trialling some A1 e-trons with range extender with a tiny wan kel engine powered generator on board
 
Adrian888 said:
I am personally looking forward to this set up appearing in the Up!
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Just been to the local VW agent and it looks as though the Up! diesel will be LHD only. Not a big suprise after the Lupo 3L and the Fox Tdi (did you know that there was a Fox Tdi?).

RAB
 
dan_b said:
Christian, aka MPGLOVER, formerly of this parish, sold his A2 for a Mk1 Insight. I know he was modding it to improve the battery pack and increase the power output from the electric motor
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Hi Dan, only just spotted your post - I am still around and have kept my Insight. It is a great car and I will not be selling it anytime soon (unless VW sell me an XL1 for £10K...) :D

Best wishes
Christian
 
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