Volkswagen’s diesel-electric plug-in hybrid has started its run on the streets of New York. This mostly carbon-fibre built hybrid has the lowest drag coefficient of any production vehicle.
XL1 was an attempt to showcase the company’s technological advancement of the time and it has only built 250 of them. It is expected that Volkswagen has not made a profit, they were not expecting any. The vehicle’s performance is measured more in terms of economy than power by the company. And it is to be said that XL1 has done a wonderful job in this regard.
Made of lightweight materials and apt use of aerodynamics, XL1 can cover up to 50km in an all-electric mode which is a good figure. The 0.8l diesel engine gives out 48 horsepower and the electric motor gives out a 27horsepower. The seven-speed DSG gearbox enables a super-fast dual-clutch automatic gear. The battery is made up of 5.5kWh lithium-ion.
The speed of the vehicle amounts to 99mph with an official fuel economy rating of 0.91/100km (261mpg).
The vehicle weighs only 795kg and has a price tag of around $150,000.
