VW XL1 production version gallery
 

The vital stats are
0.9L diesel/100km
50km EV only range
160kph top speed
0.189 CD
0-100kph in 12.7 sec


http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog....swagen-xl1.jpg

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog....swagen-xl1.jpg

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog....swagen-xl1.jpg

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog....swagen-xl1.jpg

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Volkswagen XL1 Photo Gallery - Autoblog

I love everything about this car. The only ? I have is how the narrowed rear track would do in snow/ slush conditions. It looks incredible, and I love the performance of it.

Finally a sucessor for the Karmann-Ghia?

I will do fine. I had a citroen ID 19 for some year, which has the same features, and it did great in snow, sluch etc.

I love that VW - I want one. How many seats? 2 or 3? Only need two

It's a two-seater. And I love this car too, just unsure about the funky door/roof. I see why it's necessary, but it's just goofy looking.

If we sat down and thought things out, what would Ecomodder come up with? It would likely resemble a first-generation Insight body, with a 1L Metro mill, and some form of electric drive. Almost as if VW was reading our minds!

I volontere as a testdriver :)

...do I detect different size tyres front (narrow) & rear (wider)?

260 Mpg
 

First drive:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4tMIvou-Ds

(235 MPG US)

That 260 and 235 MPG figure are based on the carbon fiber concept version, right?

So we can expect that to drop..

Most likely yes. But maby not much if they use aluminium as they've done before...

Still - they employed just about every trick and tweak in the book to get there.

Nice to see, and nice to see that reviewers are positive of the design. Stille they talt about acceleration and high speed cornering, and havnet grasped its a ECO car - build soly for milage - not speed or acceleration - dumb journalists...

The car we see in these images is probably the production version - it will have a fair bit of carbon fiber. here's a labeled version of the transparent body:

http://www.newsauto.gr/wp-content/ga...roduction8.jpg

It has just a 10L fuel tank, but at 0.9L/100km that still is almost 900km/559m range! Do we know the battery pack capacity, and/or the all-electric range? [Edit: the MT video sez 22 miles...]

Here's the staggered seats - so they can narrow the car a bit to reduce the frontal area; and they're thin mesh seats, lighter and smaller and cooler:

http://www.auto-types.com/images/_au...nterior_31.jpg

It's got side video mirrors! The screen in in the shade on the door(s):

http://static.nextwallpapers.com/192..._1920x1200.jpg

And the exhaust pipe exits into the right rear wheel well. I love the underside...

NO
This is the production car as you see it here. Its being hand built out of carbon fiber by VW with bodies assembled by a sub contractor in Austria. Its not going to be cheap.
http://jalopnik.com/this-is-volkswag...-car-328215660http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18fc.../ku-xlarge.jpg

This type of car although expensive is needed to get the carbon fiber systems market up and running. Realistically we don't have anybody doing true carbon fiber in low cost mass production mode. There are many startups with the claim carbon fiber will reduce the cost over steel in the future. But none with the capital to find out for real.

Without this test by VW no one will get the ball rolling as it were on true carbon fiber, lets hope their test bears fruit into a true mass production option after the intitial offering is proven.

Scarab doors...

http://img2.avtolog.com/g5/volkswagen/xl1-2013.jpghttp://www.autozeeland.nl/dbfotos/aw...7261_image.jpg

Yeah... taller... in front?

According to my math, they're very close to the same but the rear ends up being slightly taller.

And wider.

exactly!

reviewers never complain when a compact car can't tow a boat
or a large minivan has slow 0-60 speed

The pic in Neil's post #11 SHOWS the tire sizes...

Then the net provides easy calculatorless analysis: http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/tir...115x80xR15.png

Seems to me they could have run all four the same size at some miniscule fe/aero/handling hit.

According to Car and Driver, it's a 5-kWh Lithium Ion battery pack. Lithium Ion batteries are the ones that caught fire in the Boeing 787 and has the fleet grounded. They also say it's not likely to make it to the US market, and will cost $50,000. I love the car, but that would be a monthly payment I could not stomach!

LiCo? LiMn? LiFe? There are many Lithium battery chemistries available now. It doesn't have to be dangerous technology any more.

Interesting comments about no one taking the plunge to see if CF mass production is practical.

I am not for government throwing money down various green rat holes as they have been doing, but, in the case of CF it might almost make sense.

Sure would be a shame if this thing doesn't come stateside.

Would love to see that drivetrain in the VLC. I think they could top the VW numbers.

Still trying to wrap my head around the possibilities of a 2-cylinder TDI...

The reverse trike world would be jumping for joy if it was somewhat easily attainable at a reasonable cost.

R&T spy shots of the production car during winter testing.

2014 Volkswagen XL1 Caught Testing - First VW XL1 Production Mule Photos - Road & Track

From an MSN Autos article:

"A production version of the Volkswagen XL1 plug-in hybrid, which the German automaker says can get up to 270 mpg, will debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March. VW will put the high-mileage two-seater into production later this year but has not disclosed a price.

The production XL1 closely resembles the concept VW unveiled in early 2011. The aerodynamically shaped body, which includes fully covered rear wheels and rearview mirrors integrated into the door skin, cuts through the wind with a low 0.189 coefficient of drag.



VW says it will hand-build the XL1 at is plant in Osnabrück, Germany, which also builds the Porsche Boxster and VW Golf convertible. The XL1 will initially be produced in a run of just 50 cars. After that, Volkswagen says production will be altered to meet demand.

The XL1 makes extensive use of carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic for the body panels and aluminum for the frame structures. VW says the car has a curb weight of 1,753 pounds.

The plug-in hybrid powertrain combines an 800-cc two-cylinder diesel engine, rated at 47 hp, with an electric motor rated at 27 hp. Power flows through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. The XL1 carries a lithium-ion battery pack under the hood. The car can travel up to 31 miles on electric power.


VW says the XL1 needs just 8.3 hp to cruise steadily at 62 mph. The two-seater can accelerate from 0 to 62 mph in 12.7 seconds, and top speed is limited to 99 mph. A 2.6-gallon fuel tank gives the XL1 a theoretical range of 700 miles.

The XL1 measures 153 inches long, 65.6 inches wide and stands 45.4 inches tall. That makes the XL1 as long as a Toyota Yaris and 1 inch narrower, but the Yaris stands 14 inches taller than the Volkswagen."

8.3HP for steady 62MPH?! SLEEEEK

Lithium Ion batteries are also in your cell phone and your lap top. Aren't you afraid your cell phone might catch fire?

Lithium ion batteries are in almost every cell phone in existence, and most laptops, too. There are probably dozens if not hundreds of different types of lithium ion cells. Don't think that the difficulties of one type apply to all other types...

Thanks for the info on the pack capacity - I was vaguely remembering a 4kWh size a while back, so 5kWh is probably correct.

By the way, the Edison2 VLC requires a bit over 5HP to go 60MPH, if I'm remembering correctly.

Osnabruck? Hey, that's the old Karmann works! :)

BTW, the battery fire in the 787 was evidently because of incorrect wiring. I've seen conventional lead-acid batteries cause fires from a misplaced wire, so...

-soD

The Lithium compound used in cellphones and laptops is known commercially as "Lithium polymer". I don't remember what's its difference to the Lithium-ion compounds used in newer electric and hybrid car batteries, but the cellphone and laptop batteries were considered less safe for automobile usage, altough they have a higher energy density.

Your cell phone has a single battery cell. This means extremely low risk of fire.

Bigger things require several cells being wired together. If they are not very well balanced in terms of charge, they will tend to grow fibers between cells. The Li-Ion liquids used are highly flammable. When the fibers reach from one cell to another, they short the system generating large amounts of heat. The same fibers will grow if the wiring is done incorrectly. There are many variables and I won't claim to know them all. Many have used or planned to use Li-Ion and abandoned it due to the complexities.

As far as laptops are concerned, do a Google search for Laptop Battery Fires. There have been a few recalls for these batteries over the years. I remember at least a few people being very badly burned. Am I worried? No.

I am not saying that the XL1 is unsafe, but I am saying we have to understand that there may be a risk associated with that particular battery choice.

But my laptop has an 8 cell lithium ion battery. Should I be worried its going to catch fire like a Boeing 787?

From rmay635703
Not to hi-jack this thread, but I assume you all have seen this info from last year

Ford working on mass-market carbon fiber components to save weight, improve efficiency

IIRC all major manufacturers are working on something similar and while many have just survived bankruptcy they still have some pretty deep pockets.

JJ

Early LiCo laptop and hobby batteries were very light weight but were dangerous. The 787 early system designs were certified 5 years ago before the adoption of newer, safer battery chemistries. The new LiFePO4 cells such as the A123 Amp20 cells or the large cells from GBS or Calb are very safe for automotive use. Of course, any 3-400 volt battery capable of 1000 amps can weld metal and light carpeting and upholstery on fire if the electronics get shorted from salt water or a collision. It's not the battery on fire as much as the wiring and materials inside the car. I'm sure the battery in the Volkswagon will be one of the more modern and safer types.
.
Here is a video from an Ebike builder trying to destroy an Amp20 cell including shooting a hole through it and chopping it with a hatchet.
.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKTJ-1ZJegw
.

The XL1 is rated at 261MPG in the European test cycle. [This is a conversion of 0.9L/100km into US MPG.] And since diesel contains about 20% more energy per gallon than gasoline (E10?), if it burned gasoline that would be [~208MPG]. Still, very impressive!

I'll take the ~31 miles of all-electric range - the total battery pack size is reported to be 5kWh and assuming (never a good thing?) that they are using 90-92% of that, that means the XL1 is about 145-150Wh/mile. Which not surprisingly is a little bit better than the EV1 - and almost entirely proportional to the Cd's of each car. The EV1 in production had a Cd of ~0.20 and the Cd of the XL1 is just under 0.19.

There is at least one report that VW will be using (a front wheel drive version of) the XL1 drivetrain in the Up! This would be a lot less expensive, and much more practical, and the Up! is only 300 pounds heavier than the XL1. The Cd would be the biggest change - the Up! is probably 50% higher Cd and probably close to 100% higher CdA.

I thought they said 22 miles electric.

No, I am not worried about yours or mine catching fire. Even if it does, you will notice it getting hot and smoking before anything happens. I think the people that got burned didn't back away when their laptop started smoking.

It's probably not such a big deal on a car, where if it catches fire, you can pull off the road, stop, and get out (no matter the cause of the fire, this is why there is a firewall in a car after all...), but on an airplane, a spacecraft, a boat, or in a submarine, fire is a HUGE deal.

I had heard 22 miles as well, but I think that was information from a long time ago? All the articles I have seen recently have the 31-33 miles EV range.

hahahaha!

Funny you should mention the Ghia;
Check out the March 2013 issue of hotVWs magazine

cover banner: 156 MPH GHIA AT BONNEVILLE!

There's a write up on the VW's at last year's World of Speed event and my 150mph club accomplishment, the only aircooled VW in the 150club to date. I drove for car owner Brit Grannis... in fact, we had the fastest VW at the meet :D

I hope this is referring to the Up! Lite, which is lighter and much more aerodynamic than the standard Up!

VW Up hybrid to use XL1 tech | Autocar

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...-us-11257.html

VW Up! Lite pictures

It always makes me laugh when people worry about batteries catching on fire in an EV or hybrid. Can it happen? Certainly. How often? Remains to be seen. Lithium and most other hi output battery technology is still in it's infancy. There are going to be mistakes made during the learning curve. However when considering the number of years gasoline powered cars have been on the road and the number of fires they have had, and the energy density available in gasoline compared to batteries(what is it 100 to 1?), I would much rather take my chances in an electric car with batteries. I have personally extinguished at least three gasoline vehicle fuel related fires(not my vehicles). In each case the fire was caused by a leaky fuel line under the hood.
Nothing is 100% safe.
JJ