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.”
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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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What are you talking about? I’d buy that in a heartbeat. If it gets the mileage they’re talking about then I’d be more than willing to buy that.
@Super Mike:
Keep thinking that way, as technology and society speed past you and you wonder what happened.
Probably appealing to the super-greenies, motorcyclers, and folks who are looking for an all weather alternative to a motorcycle… But it’s not going to have the appeal of a smart car. Echoing “Super Mike’s” comments, quit striving for 120 MPG years out in the future and start delivering something like 50 MPG today!!!
Super Mike, you’re wrong. I would absolutely buy this car. I think it’s a game-changer, and bravo to VW if they get it on the market.
People will buy it especially as gas prices increase. The problem is we are stuck in 1950s thinking but we don’t live in that world anymore. The smaller size won’t matter because no one will be able to afford to drive a Hummer or a pick up truck and they will start to vanish from the roads. Resale on a Hummer will be zilch. VW would be crazy not to advertise 235mph. I see every car commuting into the city having only one person so why do we need such big cars anyway?
Maybe it’s not SO interesting in the US, but there will be a lot of Europeans that will eventually buy such kind of car. That’s an ideal city-car.
Besides, 2010 is in 1.5 years not a decade!
Mark, the high mpg numbers for this are a result of low drag, very low weight (less than 700, iirc), and a very small, efficient, low rev’ing diesel engine. And if it was priced in the 15-17k range, I would be all over it. I don’t consider myself a tree hugger type, but for my 20 mile commute to work, this would be perfect. If they can make a profit on say 30k units a year at an affordable price, I think it would do well for VW.
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If a single 1-cylinder engine gets 235 MPG in a tiny car, wouldn’t the same sort of engine in a 4-cylinder model get ~60 MPG? I’d settle for 60 MPG in a normal size sub-compact car.
I think cars like this will be a hit in Europe. In the Netherlands for example cars are generally smaller than in North America, and gas costs TWICE as much at the moment.
Since most people there ride a bike as a primary or secondary transportation, they won’t be too worried about how the car looks.