XL1–The “1-liter” fuel economy car from VW

MANILA, Philippines - In America, it’s miles per gallon. In the Philippines and in other parts of the world, it’s kilometers per liter. But in Europe, the benchmark unit of measurement has always been liters of fuel consumed per 100 kilometers. (You might notice it when you drive a European car with a trip computer.) 

And now, there is a new record-holder in the liters/100 km. yardstick. It’s from Volkswagen and it’s called the XL1. The XL1 is now the most fuel-efficient production car in the world, with a fuel consumption value of 0.9 l/100 km. Thanks to its plug-in hybrid system, the two-seat XL1 can also cover a distance of up to 50 km in all-electric mode and therefore with zero local emissions.

The XL1 is an automotive technological tour de force that follows pure sports car design principles—light weight (795 kg), streamlined aerodynamics (a drag coefficient of 0.189) and a low center of gravity (just 1,153 mm high). This gives the XL1 the ability to cruise at a constant speed of 100 km/h using just 8.4ps. In all-electric mode, the XL1 requires less than 0.1 kWh to cover a driving distance of over one kilometer.

High-tech lightweight design, perfect aerodynamics and a plug-in hybrid system—consisting of a two-cylinder 48ps TDI (common-rail direct-injection turbo-diesel) engine,  27ps E-motor, a 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox (DSG), and lithium-ion battery—all make it possible for the Volkswagen XL1 to emit just 21 g/km of CO2. At full throttle, the XL1, with a top speed of 160 km/h, can accelerate to 100 km/h in just 12.7 seconds. Clearly, 0.9 l/100 km fuel consumption is a record figure that has not been achieved by any other vehicle to date, and it illustrates how Volkswagen is redefining what is technically feasible in car-making.

Conceptually, the XL1 represents the third evolutionary stage of Volkswagen’s “1-liter” car strategy. When the new millennium was ushered in, Prof. Dr. Ferdinand Piëch, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG, formulated the visionary goal of bringing to market a production car that was practical in everyday use with fuel consumption of one liter per 100 km. In the two-seat XL1, this vision has become reality.

Despite the tremendous efficiency of the XL1, developers successfully came up with a body concept, which delivers more everyday utility than in the two previous prototypes. While the driver and passenger sat in a tandem arrangement for optimal aerodynamics in the L1, the 1-liter car presented in 2002 and in 2009, in the XL1 two occupants sit slightly offset, side by side, nearly as in a conventional vehicle.

The XL1 is 3,888mm long, 1,665mm wide and just 1,153 mm tall. By usual automotive standards, these are extreme dimensions. For comparison a Honda Jazz is just over an inch longer (3,920mm) and wider (1,695 mm) but is significantly taller (1,525 mm). Even a purebred sports car like a Porsche Boxster is almost five inches taller (1,282 mm). Needless to say, the XL1 will make a spectacular appearance—a true car of the future, (hand)built for today.

There is no word on pricing yet; it could probably be spectacularly expensive—and it would certainly be easier to import into the Philippines any exotic supercar than this sleek VW. But the fact that mankind has created such an astonishingly fuel-efficient machine—and will be making it available for sale—is reason enough to celebrate. st car? It’s now easy!