Indy 500 Carb Day Practice To Franchitti; Dixon Takes IZOD Pit...

Volkswagen Golf R Cabrio Patent Photos Revealed

2013 Cadillac XTS Configurator Launched
BMW Zagato Coupe Unveiled At Villa d'Este

New Firestone Indy Lights Formula For 2014

Lotus F1 Tells Raikkonen, 'No Rally!'
Lotus CEO Dany Bahar Suspended For 'Conduct'

2013 Cadillac XTS: First Drive

Eric Clapton's Custom Ferrari SP12 EC Officially Unveiled

Volkswagen unveils Golf BiFuel at Bologna Motor Show

Alex Kaufmann

Author

LATEST ARTICLE
2010 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG: First Drive
It's more than a half-century of progress by any measure: Ferrari's in its seventh decade, and the... Read More

N/ALEADERBOARD RANK
1093ARTICLES CONTRIBUTED
1COMMENTS POSTED

2,158 views Dec 3, 2008

db2008au00144 small

The VW Golf BiFuel features a 1.6L four-cylinder engine designed to run on petrol and LPG

Enlarge Photo

Volkswagen has unveiled the first ever Golf to be factory-fitted with a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) system at this week’s Bologna Motor Show in Italy. Using a simple switchover system, the Golf ‘BiFuel’ is capable of being driven with either regular petrol or LPG depending on the user's preference, and according to its creators the combination of petrol and LPG greatly reduces the car's environmental impact, cutting CO2 emissions by more than 10%.

In LPG mode, the 96hp (72 kW) 1.6L four-cylinder engine of the Golf BiFuel averages 25.5mpg (9.2L/100km ) and 149g/km of CO2. In petrol mode, the Golf BiFuel averages 33mpg (7.1L/100km) and 169g/km of CO2. This means that the 41-liter LPG tank and the 55-liter petrol tank together propel the car to a theoretical range of greater than 683 miles (1,100km). In pure LPG mode, the car’s range is about 260 miles (420km).

While many companies offer aftermarket LPG systems for a range of cars, the system in the Golf BiFuel offers significant advantages to non-OEM systems. One advantage is that the Golf Bifuel, with both of its fuel tanks, has been crash tested as a single car so it has a greater guarantee of safety. Also, the engine in the Golf BiFuel has been specially configured for LPG operation, and so it is more durable than engines originally tuned as petrol only.

For other dual-fuel VW cars, check out our previous story on the VW Passat concept that uses both petrol and natural gas.

VW Passat EcoFuel Concept

2009 Volkswagen Golf BiFuel

HI-RES GALLERY: db2008au00144 small