Posted on Tuesday 9 October 2007
As outrageous as the idea of a 1L/100km car sounds, more reports have emerged confirming the ultra-frugal car is in fact in development and that it could be on the market by as early as 2010. At last month’s Frankfurt Motor Show senior VW exec Ferdinand Piëch claimed the car would be available by the end of the decade and now CEO Martin Winterkorn has backed up the claim as well as providing some of the production details.
First up 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.
If you still doubt that such a car could even be produced remember that VW developed a concept version back in 2002 that sipped just 0.89L/100km. Click here to read our previous story for more details on the VW 1-Liter.
1 L/100 KM.. holy crap
That is impressive.
But how light will this thing have to be? I just can’t imagine driving a featherwieght car like that.
Strange, my neighbor never thinks about how light his motorcycle is or his tiny sports car that costs outside of my imagination, but requires an intravenous line to the Middle East oil fields (supplied by the neighbor on the other side’s son serving overseas.)
Personally, I like the tandem VW, but especially if its comparative mileage is as high as the original. I’d love to see it as a BEV only vehicle or even an air car. (We have plenty of wind power to charge or pressurized vehicles in the upper midwest.) To reduce the cost if they choose to go electric, they could use the Firefly foam lead batteries, which weigh 1/3 the weight of a regular lead acid and has been proven to perform as well as lithium. If I need to take the family, which I never do on my daily work commute, I’d rent AC Propulsion’s ebox van. (which you should read about before you comment.) If the ebox used Firefly batteries it would be cheaper too!
does anyone get it. once this comes out, the gas could get 100 per gallon. the gasoline companies are not going to lose money.does any one remember in the 60’s when vw made the bug it got 50 mpg. the tech. was always out there.it is all about the money