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May 28, 2008

235 mpg VW: Your own private bubble

235 mpg: VW 1L
My first car was a college graduation gift from my parents, a VW Beetle. They were cheap to run, and, except for trouble starting in the rain, great transportation. Their air-cooled engines didn't overheat in the traffic jams to Woodstock.

It looks like "the people's car" is about to be back, but only for small people. The L1 is a two-seater with the passenger in the back. It's almost 12 feet long, 4 feet wide and 3.6 feet tall. Oneighturbo recently published the specs -- "all the details from exterior design/engineering to engine, lighting and cockpit details."

The car's moniker comes from its using one liter of gasoline to go 100 km. (.26 gallon or 33.792 oz to go 62.137 miles).

from Inhabitat:

...The 1L is a lightweight two person vehicle made out of a magnesium frame covered by an unpainted carbon fiber skin. Every component of the vehicle is intended to reduce the vehicles weight. Aluminum brakes, carbon fiber wheels, titanium hubs, and ceramic bearings all contribute to the vehicle’s light weight of a mere 290 kg. To reduce the weight even further, and to increase the aerodynamics of the vehicle, there are no rear view mirrors. Instead, the car is equipped with cameras that display visual information to the driver via the internal LCD screen.

The car is extremely fuel efficient, each gallon of fuel will take you over 235 miles. The fuel tank holds just 1.7 gallons, making the entire travel distance capability about 400 miles per tank. It’s top speed is 120 km/h (75mph), which although isn’t too fast is a welcome trade off for the huge savings in gas consumption...

From Motor Authority, back in October ( VW boss confirms 1-Liter car for 2010), VW CEO Martin Winterkorn

stressed that the 1-Liter “would not be a best seller” and thus will only be produced in limited numbers. Its body will be constructed from plastic and magnesium and its power source will be a one-cylinder engine displacing just 0.3L. Top speed will be 120km/h and consumption will fall around the 1L/100km mark (235mpg), reports AFX.

The roof is all glass, which should give the L1 that warm greenhouse feel. (?)

No price was mentioned. If you disagree that it won't be a best seller, you must be a commuter. Maybe the L1s should have their own narrow lanes on the interstates.

Still... can't we just skip all these workarounds and leap straight to the Star Trek transporter?

Wikipedia

Posted by Sheila Lennon  at 3:41 PM | Permalink

Comments

Posted by: steve knudde on May 29, 2008 9:03 PM