This is a bit old, but 1L/100km is an insane FE rating. Too bad it's basically a 4 wheel covered motorcycle.
http://www.spiegel.de/auto/werkstatt...191965,00.html

 

Kinda reminds one of the Messerschmitt 'Kabinenroller', see: http://www.pcsystems.com/messerschmitt/mess.html
it was availabel as single and two seater (same config as the VW, one behind the other), and in 3 or 4-wheel config. The 4 wheeler was the Tiger 500.
Didn't quite get the mileage of the new VW.

 

It's great that VW did this, although I doubt too many would actually consider buying it. Think it takes 20 seconds to go from 0 to 60mph - a hybrid engine would be handy.

One of the nicest things about this car is you could almost drive under a tractor-trailer.

 

I wouldnt mind having something LIKE this as a second car. Really, w/ a small spaceframe and a plastic bodywork like what is used in bumpers it wouldnt be too expensive, and using a small but refined motorcycle engine it could still achieve remarkable FE.

 

Yeah, this would be great for commuting as a single driver. Certainly wouldn't be able to do much else, so if it was around $10,000 then it would be reasonable as a second vehicle. Hybrid version would be a good idea, but I suppose getting it as light as possible is also in the plans, maybe using Lithium they could do it, but then the price is inflated by a magnitude.

 

Hi All:

___You will not be seeing this VW on the road any time soon I am afraid.

Honda to produce 1-liter-car from 2008?!
later on in the same thread …
___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net

 

Never had thought of that wayne, thanks for pointing that out, very observant of # 166 to see that. I still wouldnt mind a spaceframe single seater as a second car though.

 

well, #166's response is a bit of a joke, I think:
Wolfsburg is at an elevation of 55m above MSL, and Hamburg at 10m. That's a gradient 45 metres over 170 km, and it's really quite ridiculous to argue that such a gradient contributed to the extraordinary mileage. Plus, the argument about empty highways on sundays is refuted by the very picture shown, with quite a few vehicles on the road. The VW 1L was always a technology demonstration project, and never intended for production in that particular form. VW was considering a 1L car, but not based on this concept. The 1L was quite an amazing concept, but everyone knew from the start it wasn't practical. Still, cool to see what extreme engineering can accomplish.
M

 

Hi MGBGT:

___Thanks for the heads up. I will PM 166 over at Insight Central with your take on the elevation delta and a link to this thread.

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net