Oil-sniffing dream

       Looks familiar, is it a concept car that's been redesigned?
       Quite right, the L1 is the sequel to the original one-litre per 100km (or 100kpl)car Volkswagen made in 2002(see sidebar). It's still a tandem two-seat car with an extremely low 0.195 Cd aero efficiency. Made out of carbon-reinforced plastic, the whole car weighs only 381kg.Guestimate dimensions (because no official figures have been released) are around 3,800mm long,1,400mm wide and 1,135mm in height.
       Sounds more like a light plane than a car.What kind of engine does it have?
       A diesel hybrid. It has half a VW Golf's 1.6-litre oil-burning four-pot, meaning it's a twin-cylinder 800cc direct-injection turbo-diesel coupled to a tiny electric motor/generator. The engine can run in either a 7hp Eco mode or 29hp Sport mode. The 14hp electric motor helps it reach a top speed of 160kph and a 0-100kph sprint time of 14.3sec - as good as many conventional petrol B-segment hatchbacks today.
       Ok, I can live with that kind of performance.So what's the kick?
       The kick is that it consumes merely 1.38-litre of Euro 5 diesel per 100km or 72.5kpl which makes it the world's most frugal car. It also has the lowest exhaust emissions of only 36g/km of CO2- less than half that of the current Toyota Prius Hybrid.
       Why just a two-seater? And why in tandem?
       The logic is that most city dwellers commute alone or with one more passenger, so a two-seater suffices for this job description. The seats are arranged in tandem to allow for an efficient aero design with a long, tapered profile. This arrangement also has a safety advantage in that the cabin can have more crumple area on the sides than in conventional cars. Volkswagen claims that the L1's crash safety is similar to that of a GT racecar.
       Seriously, is it going to be made and sold?
       They claimed to be pushing it for production for 2013 citing progressively dropping construction costs (the carbonfibre materials).
       Yeah, yeah, didn't say something like that with the 1L?
       You're right again, Volkswagen did say that back in 2002 for small scale production by 2010, but this plan is stalled.
       So, are they giving us false hope again?
       What we think could happen in the mid-term is that the L1 could be the image maker for the imminent massselling Up! A-segment city/ecocar. It would not compete with a mass-selling hybrid leader like the Prius, but as an alternative to green lifestyle vehicles like the Peugeot RCZ Hybrid - if that ever gets built.
       THE OLD AMBITION
       Back in 2002, Volkswagen debut the world's first one-litre per 100km or the 1L car. It was 0.159 Cd aero efficiency.
       It weighed only 290kg thanks to carbonfibre body bolted over magnesium alloy frame and sporting lightweight components such as carbonfibre wheels,titanium hubs and aluminium brakes.
       It was powered by a tiny 8.4hp 299cc single-cylinder diesel assisted by a small electric motor/generator with auto start-stop electrically-controlled six-speed sequential manual.
       The streamlined body did away with wing mirrors,using video cameras instead for rearward views. It is smaller than today's L1 with dimensions 3,470mm long,1,250mm wide and 1,000mm tall.
       It was tiny but claimed to fully conform to the EUs safety laws.
       The seats are arranged in tandem to allow for an efficient aero design.