Volkswagen hasn't yet unveiled the L1 Concept to the Frankfurt crowd, but the company released details and photos on the car today. "L1" stands for 1-liter car, as in 1 liter of fuel consumed per 100 km on the European test cycle.
It's still a work in progress, though, as VW says this particular car consumes 1.38 liters of diesel per 100 km. This works out to about 170 mpg, albeit on the Euro test cycle.
At the same time, the company says the L1 would hit 60 mph in the low-14-second range on its (leisurely) way to a top speed of 99 mph -- about as quick and fast as a Smart Fortwo.
Motivation comes from an 800cc two-cylinder TDI engine (it's VW's 1.6 TDI halved) rated at 27 horsepower at 4,000 rpm (or 39 in "Sport" mode) and 74 lb-ft of torque. It joins forces with a 13-hp electric motor built into its seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox (DSG). All this stuff is mounted in the back of the Volkswagen L1, and a lithium-ion battery pack resides up front. Like a Prius, the L1 could apparently go all-electric for short periods, but mostly, it would use a combination of the two power sources.
More details after the jump.
Green Car Advisor: VW's L1 Diesel Hybrid Concept Gets a Claimed 170 MPG
The main reason the L1 is so efficient is its light, aerodynamic body. It has a carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) body. It weighs only 838 pounds and it has a ridiculous 0.19 coefficient of drag. Note the full spats over the rear wheels. Channels within the car's body provide air cooling for the 0.8-liter diesel engine.
Seating within the two-seat L1 is tandem-style, as the passenger sits behind the driver. The car is 150 inches long -- about the length of a normal subcompact. However, the L1 is only 45 inches tall, so it would be like getting into a Lamborghini Murcielago.
"2013 is the target year for this future dream to become a reality," says VW, but the company hasn't offered hard details on what this might mean -- as in, are we talking about mass production or a Mini-E-style test program. We'd guess the latter is more likely.
lenoroc says:
05:37 PM, 09/14/09
That 3/4 view is painful to look at. I'd rather have the original Insight which gets 70MPG and hits 60 in 10.5.
lenoroc says:
05:46 PM, 09/14/09
Woops, read 100km, not 170MPG. Disregard my second sentence.
estreka says:
06:03 PM, 09/14/09
"2013 is the target year for this future dream to become a reality"
Yeah, good luck with that one. Whatever happened to that diesel hybrid Golf VW was working on? That seemed quite plausable.
tryan says:
03:43 AM, 09/15/09
That's odd, this is like Deja Vu all over again from 2002. Anyway, just a few years ago VW approved limited production of the car in 2010. I guess it got pushed back for some reason...
It's worth noting that the original 1L car achieved over 300MPG during Piech's drive to the Shareholder's meeting. Most impressive, although I'd be interested to see how badly this car weathervanes when subjected to a strong midwestern US crosswind.
zoomzoomn says:
07:22 AM, 09/15/09
That's crazy. It's been awhile since we have seen this type of concept.
rick8365 says:
11:26 AM, 09/15/09
I think it's great - I don't usually care for this type of thing either.
billt9 says:
12:10 PM, 09/15/09
is the future of transportation so ugly?