Great spy shots, 2014 VW XL1

[botsapper]

The concept car that drew plenty of attention and discussion here, has been caught in the wild. Look at its delicious body and promising prototype going on its winter testing. Latest internet rumor is that it has an ambitious efficiency target, 235 MPG city/highway mix! The long gestation program should come to fruition in the next few years. Scrutinize the pics and share your observations.
2014 Volkswagen XL1 Caught Testing - First VW XL1 Production Mule Photos - RoadandTrack.com

[2000mc]

"0-50mph in 32seconds" wont be a car for the masses though... maybe they could give us a 100mpg gas hog that people would buy

[botsapper]

VW will probably be more pragmatic, lowering the mpg and quickening the on-ramp acceleration. Safety factors and consumers' performance expectations will make sure of that.
Some serious hyper-milers have those acceleration numbers.

[NeilBlanchard]

That's a rumor -- I can't imagine that with both a small diesel and an electric motor, that it won't be normal. The Edison2 VLC with the 1-cylinder 250cc engine managed 0-60mph in about 15 seconds.

Also, it looks like the rear wheel track is narrowed relative to the front, but the fenders are not tapered as much in plan as they could.

[MetroMPG]

Look at the skinny tires on that puppy! (Also, love the power sliding shot.)

[NeilBlanchard]

I am disappointed that the mule has optical side view mirrors, in addition to the video mirrors. One would think that the laws could be modified to allow for video mirrors? When you are talking about a 200MPG vehicle, it seems like a important enough goal to make this effort.

[jakobnev]

With ~107hp/ton it should be much faster than 0-50mph in 32s.

[PaleMelanesian]

Originally Posted by jakobnev

With ~107hp/ton it should be much faster than 0-50mph in 32s.

Yes. My 107hp/2300lb civic does 60 in about 11 seconds.

Are those rear wheels normally skirted? They look funny sitting so far in from the bodywork.

[botsapper]

Cynical mind...just as long it is not a heavily govn'ment subsidized project, the shareholders of this huge & conservative corporation will ONLY allow & produce a viable consumer product.

The mule body looks very good and faithful to the previous concept, similar details & gullwing'd. The wheel covers & rear wheel well covers are missing but will probably be there. Darn those jurisdictions the require regulated-size side mirrors. Great, the first real-world tests are in winter temp conditions & limited traction road testing. Carefully studying the ramifications of snow accumulation in the rear wells, since they will be aero-enclosing them. This may explain the engineering requirement to have such huge clearances around the narrower rear track. And spec the inside liners with hydrophobic materials and/or possibly utilize resultant exhaust heat.

[NachtRitter]

This site puts the acceleration at a more reasonable 0 - 62 mph at 11.9s : Volkswagen XL1 Prototype Revealed by Naked Spyshots - autoevolution