We bring you countless futuristic concept cars and mysterious spy shots from the motor industry, but the Volkswagen XL1 really is a little something special and might very well be one of the most important ever. The XL1 is one of Volkswagen’s game changers; one of those paradigm shifting vehicles. It is one of those rare projects that is pushing the motoring industry forward. Think of it a bit like the Bugatti Veyron but for fuel economy and CO2 emissions.
The XL1 debuted at the 2011 Qatar Motor Show and should be production-ready by Frankfurt 2013. It is a plug-in hybrid that is said to average less than 1.0 L/100km and produce just 24 g/km of CO2. Pictured here is the first road-going prototype version of the hyper frugal two-seater.
As the spy shots suggest, the XL1 looks almost identical to the last years concept car. This includes the skinny front wheels, streamlined shape, LED details and scissor doors. The prototype does appear to be missing the closed rear wheel wells and we think that is a good styling decision. We love the look of this futuristic design, complete with its long tail and its low, road-hugging stance, which helps the XL1 achieve a drag coefficient of 0.186.
Although it’s impossible to tell what powertrain the XL1 is running, we can safely assume it isn’t far off the 800 cc, twin-cylinder, TDI engine and 20 kW electric motor (giving the XL1 a total power output of 54 kW) that Volkswagen debuted last year. Volkswagen officially announced that they would produce a limited run (rumoured at 100 units) of the XL1.
The Volkswagen XL1 may not be the type of car people will be clamouring to buy next year when it goes on sale in late 2013 or early 2014, but it is the type of car lighting the way forward for all other clean and green models.
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