Slashdot Mirror
Volkswagen Unveils 313 MPG XL1, Slates Production For 2013
An anonymous reader writes "Volkswagen just unveiled a new car at the Qatar Motor Show that gets an astounding 100km for less than a liter of diesel fuel – that's the equivalent of 313 miles per gallon! The XL1 concept car is an upgraded version of the VW L1 vehicle, and it features an ultra-efficient diesel engine in addition to an electric motor that is powered by a lithium-ion battery. The vehicle is currently slated to enter production in 2013 and is expected to cost approximately $29,500." Autoblog calls it 261 mpg, which isn't too shabby, either. At less than a thousand pounds empty, I hope this comes with a really good bike lock.
This seems to be a better article. It mentions that the weight of the vehicle is around 1,750 pounds. Not sure where TFS got their figure of less than a thousand pounds from. They are also speculating that the 261 mpg figure does not count the contribution of the batteries.
261*1.2 = 313
Because it allows to to convince the SO you share the car with who just cannot stand reasonably powered cars that on Tuesday's when s/he drives it to the mall s/he can hit the "sport" button and won't have to "sacrifice" his/her ability to cut off trash trucks from the right-turn-only lane at stoplights.
For the first few years I owned a Prius, I considered it my environmental duty to drive like an ass, because the hybrids would never have caught on unless Americans saw that you could, indeed, drive like an ass in them.
Someone had to do it.
the light weight is actually kind of worrisome too. Around here crosswinds are nasty for the current crop of small cars when running on the highway, this thing barely weighs as much as my motorcycle and has a much larger cross section. I could see it being kind of scary to drive on the highway unless its got some serious aerodynamic down force.
"In America, first you get the sugar, then you get the power, then you get the women..." -H. Simpson
At 1000 lbs 40hp actually is very sporty. In fact, most Formula Vee race cars will reach 120mph and post lap times comparable to a Z06 Corvette.
The ratio of 313:261 is the same as for Imperial:US gallon. The 313 claim was reported by Timon Singh who is apparently a resident of the UK, and thus likely more familiar with Imperial than US gallons.
the difference in the MPG will be cause by the difference in gallon sizes between USA and the rest of the world. US Gallon approx 3.78 litres Imperial Gallons: approx 4.54 Litres. so - and imperial gallon is 1.2 the size of US gallon. 313MPG/1.2 = 261MPG. And this is why the US should move to the damn metric system, or at least use the same size gallon as the rest of the world.
Nope.
Film at 11: Crash.
One word: Rollover. Sadly, many places in the US still have decreasing radius turns (cloverleaf off-ramp), and this, combined with the dangerously high center-of-gravity of the average SUV results in statistically abnormal rollover rates. In fact, driving an SUV is not only more dangerous for the SUV driver, but everyone else around.
Make sure everyone's vote counts: Verified Voting
FWIW, the two stated mileages in the summry are effectively the same, but they are stating it in two units of measure. The 313MPG figure is miles per imperial gallon, which is 261MPG by US units. That being said, I have no idea how to get that to 235MPG unless Qatar has invented their own mile or gallon.
It makes some comparisons a little easier. The distance you want to go is, in a sense, constant, while the amount of gas you use (aka the money you have to spend) is the variable. Some Duke researchers even got a journal paper out of it:
http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/2008/06/gpmfuqua.html
(That's a popular account; the original article is in Science, behind a paywall.)
The key comparison: going from 18 mpg to 28 mpg saves 198 gallons of gas over 10k miles, but going from 34 to 54 mpg (again, 14 mpg) saves only half as much (94 gallons).
Slashdotters are used to doing the math in their heads and probably don't much care, but for the less math-aware, having the constant of the distance they want to go in the denominator makes the math more intuitive.
Most people who want to have fun with their car would rather a "traction control off" button over a "sport" button.... I know I made sure that my new car has that button before I bought it.... :)
Just like the "1 Liter" car or the "3 Liter" Lupo, you won't be able to buy it outside Germany. Which is sad. Best you could find in the United States is the 70mpg Honda insight, but it was discontinued due to lack of interest. :-(
All I need is a commuter car. That's it, and any these high MPG units from Volkswagen would be more than adequate. I don't require a Ford Living Room SUV.
My AC stalker: " I personally agree with your posts most of the time, but that won't keep me from modding you troll"
99 mile An Hour is too slow??
That's near enough to 160 K/hr!
I think it would be safe to say that in most parts of the world that speed is going to get you walking home after the authorities take your licence.
NZ Electronics Enthusiasts: Check out my Trade Me Listings
This VW is carbon fibre, something which there are questions about safety for commercial airplanes like the B-787 and A-350
I heard that Boeing tried developing a plane made entirely out of mild steel, but it was so heavy and weak that it couldn't safely take off. To make matters worse, it rusted out after a few years. That's why I refuse to ride in most any car on the road today.