VW Confirms 1L Concept Will Become Reality in 2010
Image source: Wikipedia
There’s been talk about the VW 1L concept for years. Since VW built the original, fuel economy, safety, price, and release date has been speculated upon and argued about, and I’d finally stopped thinking it was ever going to happen. However, according to VW’s CEO, it should hit the market in 2010.
The VW 1L is so named because, in theory, it only consumes one liter of fuel per 100 kilometers traveled. For those of us in the US, this translates into about 235 MPG. Definitely far and above anything on the market currently. The concept, developed in 2002, actually got better fuel economy, scoring a sweet .89L/100km in VW testing. It’s likely to use more fuel in real world use, but with that kind of mileage in testing it’s unlikely that anyone would complain about an “unsatisfactory 200 MPG.”
The thing is, that kinda of fuel economy comes at the price of riding in an extremely small two seater, with the two seats being one in front of the other, a la jet plane, rather than a standard side by side. The 1L also looks frighteningly close to the ground, which is part of how it pulls off a drag coefficient of .159, much better than any current production vehicle. While the final design isn’t done, VW will probably power the car with a 1 cyclinder diesel engine of displacement lower the .5 L, meaning the car’s speed will top out at 120 km/h.
The other obvious issue is the one I’m sure you’re all wondering about too. How safe is this thing? While I’m not usually one to complain about small cars, the 1L is extremely light and low to the ground. If it were released in the US I could easily see it being run over by any old F150 or Hummer. Nothing is out right now about safety, but as the production date nears, I’m sure VW will be doing lots of testing to reassure the public.
2010 isn’t that far off, in fact, it’s about the same time the Volt is supposed to be hitting the streets, so you’ll likely hear a lot more good and bad about this car in the coming months.
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Source: Motorauthority
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No one will buy it. Here’s one for the car companies:
- Just create a gas/electric plug-in hybrid.
- Make it look somewhat like a normal car but with a lower drag co-efficient.
- Stop shooting for numbers like 235mpg, and more like 120mpg.
- Ship it in 2009, not a decade from now!
2010 is only one year later then 2009. Check your math.
I’ll probably be looking to buy a new car in 2010-2012. My car is the car that I use for getting to work. We have a different car we use when hauling the kids around.
If this car was available at that time period for the price that the Civics and Corollas are going for, I would definitely consider buying one. I could care less about whether it looks like a normal car. I just want it to get me to and from work and get decent (or amazing) gas mileage.
Also Aptera has a 300 mpg vehicle coming this winter 2008:
http://Apteraforum.com
[...] in a couple years perhaps there really will be this option: VW Confirms 1L Concept Will Become Reality in 2010 : Gas 2.0 235 miles gallon should be acceptable. __________________ "Starshield" Group Buy: [...]
Awsome. Speaking just for myself, anything that lessens the need for OIL the better. This car is not for everyone, but it would fit my commuting needs just fine providing it’s not in the Telsla price range. What is the proposed price?
Agreed, it will not sell in the US in any mass numbers unless they adopt a more traditional & bigger styling. They obviously have some engine technology tricks up their sleeve to achieve this. I can’t believe the drag is the main contributing factor to the mileage. I say create a regular bug that gets 100mpg and they will sell like crazy…
Super Mike:
- Gas/Electric plug-in hybrids continue to tax our already overloaded power grids.
- It can either look like a “normal” car or have a lower drage co-efficient.
- Shoot for 235, settle for 120
- 2010 is not a decade from now, it’s only 2 years (calendar) or 1 model year away.
It’s probably true that noone would want to buy it as a main car but it would make a handy second-car for the shorter rides. It does not look so freakishly outlandish as some other concept-cars I’ve seen and it might have a chance.
As for your other complaints:
- Gas/electric is nice….but too heavy for that small a car.
- Normal car…Yeah, of course, it would look nicer, but it could also be that in 15 years every car looks like this. Remember the first cars? Also, most conceptcars look even more outlandish. This one looks reasonably normal.
- Always shoot for higher stakes. The problem with current cars is that people often think “oh….30-40-50 mpg is already good” whereas it can be much much better.
- 2010 - 2008 = 2 years. Decade? Not even close.
Some single people will buy this car. Although it doesn’t look like much, green cars are a status symbol in some circles.