Posted on 09/17/2009 9:11:20 PM PDT by bruinbirdman
The L1 concept is shorter than a VW Fox and lower than a Lamborghini. When it goes into production in 2013, it will be the most aerodynamic car in the world and, at just 840lb, the lightest.
It is built of the most exotic materials, with slippery carbon-fibre coachwork, a fighter aircraft’s cockpit canopy and rear-view television cameras instead of wing mirrors.
Its tiny, 800cc engine is one half of a VW 1.6-litre TDI turbodiesel unit, which delivers maximum power of 29 brake horsepower together with a 14 horse power electric motor to provide extra oomph for overtaking.
Free road tax
The L1 is capable of 99mph and 0-62mph acceleration in just 14.3sec and emits carbon dioxide at the parsimonious rate of just 39g/km, meaning free road tax in the UK.
In fact if the average British motorist swapped his 35mpg hatchback for an L1, he would reduce his annual fuel bill from about £1,430 to about £277.
No prices have been mentioned, but the sheer knowhow involved in the L1 as well as the exotic materials used in its construction means this new generation of super car might save money at the pumps but is unlikely to be very cheap to buy.
Green power
The Frankfurt motor show has opened into the worst sales slump the industry has seen for decades. Europe’s car markets were over 14pc down in the first six months of this year and mass-market car makers are having their sales artificially buoyed up by scrappage schemes.
However, despite ecology, frugality and the environment receiving more than lip service, with lots of hybrids and tiny electric prototypes, it was the big, heavy and fast cars that captured the headlines.
So Volkswagen’s hybrid L1 concept marks a refreshing change from the normal.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
Ain’t gonna need it. BO and the commie ‘RATS will be long gone in 2013. They’ll all be laying on the beach in Havana counting OUR MONEY.
Yeah, I want to get into that death trap. NOT!
Reminds me of the freaky deaky Dutchman’s car in Goldmember.
Looks interesting. I would not want to ride in one, or own one.
Good luck surviving even a fender bender. But then people aren’t important to these eco-freaks.
Not very impressed. In 1972 I bought a Honda 600 Coupe for under US$2000. 42 MPG reliably, round-town and highway ( my driving patterns, okay?). 36 HP as I recall, though maybe not as "clean" as this car.
No hybrid games of running it off the wall-charger. You got what you got. No fancy expensive-to-replace battery.
Agile! Avoided several major accidents (including a couple of CA freeway pileups) by skirting them in ways larger cars couldn't have.
Reliable -- stolen at 170k miles, original engine.
It looks like a suppository.
Hmm...29 horses with an extra 14 for passing? Should blow Porsche right off the Autobahn.
Looks just the right size for me to flip over with my bare hands in the middle of the night...
NAH...Obomba better be in Africa!
I could take it out of commission if I ran into it with my mountain bike, for crying out loud. And I could just imagine taking it over the Mackinac Bridge.
So, who wants to test that joke in Tucson’s summer heat?
I’ll bet the carbon fiber coachwork stands up pretty well in a crash, but the resulting costs for repair mean that even minor accidents are going to result in totaling out the car.
The tragedy here, tho, is that using nothing fancier than a computer-controlled diesel engine coupled to a 10 to 13 speed transmission and some of the exterior aerodynamics of this car, we could easily have 50MPG cars right now, they’d have a conventional passenger cabin and be able to accelerate up to speed in such a fashion that you wouldn’t be dead for entering a LA freeway.
The story may be wrong. It actually gets 270 mpg and it goes down to about 180 mpg at a steady 100 mph. I did not see 0-60 time.
If it screws Obama’s bosses the Saudis then I am all for it. It is essentially a turbo diesel hybrid motorcyle. I think it is pretty cool. Not for everyone but some people might like it.
That will slide under a truck so smooth that emergency services won’t even know it’s there.
I once slipped past a 40+ car California freeway pileup in a small car, with not so much as a scratch on the car. The "compact" car behind me that tried to duplicate the move only plugged the hole and became the recipient of subsequent pile-ins.
This was not the only accident I've avoided in this way.
If you're not a quick and agile driver I definitely recommend that you drive "armor." You have no other choice, and I'm not down on you one bit for it.
Whether this VW L1 would meet *my* requirements is another matter. I enjoy light, agile and responsive and I'm not yet persuaded that the hybrids meet my particular requirements.
Gee, looks like it would be really great in the snow. Especially those icy storms where the precipitation just sticks to everything...
LOL. Not until they peeled the semi’s body from above it.
Looks like a vacuum cleaner!
Please tell me this is a prop for a Woody Allen movie.
Must be little fellers drive them things.
Another nice money saving advantage to this car, is that it will no longer be necessary to send ambulances to the scene of a collision.
It won’t take much to clean up the remains, just hose down the road.
There won’t even be enough left of the car to justify a tow truck. What’s left could probably fit into a small shopping bag.
ER doctors will have more time to serve the illegals because, well, non survivors don’t need doctors.
I see benefits here.
I’m surprised they went with an 800cc engine. Heck, if they only needed 29HP, they probably could’ve gotten away with 100cc! Or 200cc. Definitely don’t need 800. (’Course, I don’t know what 200cc would do to gas mileage, or emissions.)
It needs bigger tail lights.
I’ll take $44,300 in the price pool.
That thing wouldn’t make it up my driveway without hanging up!
“I’m surprised they went with an 800cc engine. Heck, if they only needed 29HP, they probably could’ve gotten away with 100cc!”
Yeah, 800cc these days usually means about 110 horses.
Probably a long stroke, looking for torque to get the 0-35mph time down to something reasonable.
Bagpipe send-off not included.
In case anyone is interested, I believe that my 1980 desiel VW Rabbit was rated for only 46hp when it was brand new. Unfortuanately when I bought it (the odometer had stopped at 287k miles before I ever owned it), it had so much blow-by that it had significantly less power than that anemic 46hp rating. I once measured it taking over 70 seconds to get it to 60 mph. However, given enough time, a tail wind, and a downhill road grade, it would get up well over 90 mph. I honestly do not believe that I was ever able to get less than 40 mpg. All in all it was still quite a car for $200.
Don’t bother locking it.... a few guys could just pick it up and walk away with it....:^)
What, you don’t want to ride in a cellophane wrapped tinkertoy costing $40,000? You could at least buy one to carry as a spare vehicle in the back of your Expedition.
Nope - Durango. I don’t think this thing would fit in the back of my vehicle. Perhaps on the roof rack?
Bring a hanky for the nosebleed.
Yeah, I'd buy one. No different than a motorcycle with a body and sure to turn more heads.
“Yeah, 800cc these days usually means about 110 horses.”
The current VW 2.0 TDI has about 141 hp, but about 240 ft. lbs. of torque.
Check the web for these figures on Audi, VW and BMW turbodiesels.
It is torque that makes them perform well.
I doubt they have the US in mind for this vehicle.
The VW 2.0 TDI Jetta gets about 29 mpg city and 40 mpg highway in US configuration, with very good acceleration.
And it is selling well. The wagon especially so; it is a very efficent and capable vehicle.
Currently nothing comparable from the Detroit 3. They are still offering Chevys badged as GMCs and Cadillacs. But no turbodiesel small vehicles, which make up over half passenger vehicle sales in Europe.
Well, those are designed for low resistance too!
If it could fly and fold up into a brief case, it might be OK, otherwise it’s a death trap.
Trucks will just drive over this thing like a speed bump.
LOL! “Riding lawnmowers of the Rich and Famous”.
And special carbon fiber! Well, we all need our fiber.
...we could easily have 50MPG cars right now...My dad's diesel Rabbit ROUTINELY got 50 MPG and that was in 1982. My '91 diesel Jetta just turned 280,000 miles and routinely gets 42MPG.
It doesn’t look to me like it could clear a speed bump and I hate to think what a pothole might do to it........
Or, 1984 Mercedes Benz 190D. Four cylinder diesel, 46 MPG consistently, 42 HP, 540+K miles, original owner.
I may only get 5 miles per gallon, but I will RULE the road!
Yes, have you seen how fast that thing is?
Wow... In 1972, I bought a Honda 600N Coupe right off the showroom floor for $1650 plus tax and title. It was a blast to drive. Little 10” Bridgestone radial tires, a two cylinder transverse mounted, air cooled motor, front wheel drive, and a gearshift that hung off the dash and ran out through the firewall to the transaxle. I needed some extra room for ‘stuff’, so I took the back seat out of it, tied it up with string and MAILED it home.
It was a deathtrap on wheels in an accident. The doors were about 2” thick and the sheet metal was ‘flimsy’, to say the least. But it was fun to drive...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.