VW's latest ultra fuel-efficient concept car

VW's latest ultra fuel-efficient concept car

Ever since Volkswagen first showed off their L1 concept car, which was capable of close to 230 miles per gallon in 2002, the firm has been slowly perfecting their design making it a more viable road car for people to use. With reducing costs of materials and refinement of the design VW is looking to put the car into production within the next few years.

The latest iteration of the car was shown off at the Frankfurt motor show in September earlier this year, with updated looks and additional engine refinements from the original. The extremely streamlined design enables the car to slice through the air, reducing drag and increasing fuel efficiency, but means that only 2 passengers get to sit in tandem inside the ‘cockpit’.

The car itself is made of extremely strong and lightweight materials (Carbon-Fibre Reinforced Plastic), meaning the car itself only weighs 380 Kg by itself yet still is rigid enough to pass through European safety testing. The car is powered by a 0.8 litre variation of Volkswagen’s 1.6 litre Bluemotion turbo diesel engine (which can be found within our car hire fleet), which drops the CO2 emissions to below 40 g/Km. Even with such a small engine, the car is capable of a fairly respectable 100mph although it does take a while for it to biuld up to it’s top speed.

The VW L1: Streamlined for fuel efficiency

The VW L1: Streamlined for fuel efficiency

The Hybrid module, which is made up of a 10 kW electric motor and a clutch, integrates into the system between the 7 speed DSG and the TDi engine, adding to the fuel efficiency of the car. Even with the car’s 10 Litre fuel tank, the range is over 400 miles. All in all it seems to be a very impressive car, apart from that rear wheel which must be fairly hard to clean.

For more shots and a description of the L1 then visit VW’s site and take a look at their Volkswagen L1 concept car page.

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