NEW HYBRID CAR FROM VW - GOOD NEWS, IN ECOLOGICAL TERMS

[Reproduced from NEWSCIENTIST, 27 January 2011]
N.B. In bold face some advantageous advances, in ecological terms
In a world of soaring fuel prices it's certainly a smart move.

While Volkswagen's new XL1 "Super Efficient Vehicle" might look like a "futuristic" concept car designed sometime in the late 1980s, its figures are undoubtedly impressive.

Unveiled at the Qatar motor show on Tuesday night, the XL1 claims an incredible fuel consumption of just 0.9 litres per 100 kilometres (equivalent to 239 miles per gallon). VW also says it emits just 24 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre.

The remarkable figures are all down to a combination of a 0.8-litre diesel engine and an electric motor couple with clever weight-saving design and superior aerodynamics.

While these do not produce a huge amount of power, the car's carbon-fiber body means it weighs just 795 kilograms, allowing it to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 11.9 seconds. Not bad going for a hybrid.

The XL1's "unique" stylings mean that it only seats two passengers but its aerodynamic profile has been sculpted so that it can boast an impressive 0.186 drag coefficient. VW says it plans to start production of the XL1 by 2013, but the German car manufacturer is not the only big gun looking to exploit the resurgence in interest in electric cars.

Electric vehicles dominated proceedings at the recent Detroit car show, scooping most of the top awards, and Audi's R8 E-Tron all-electric supercar wowed the crowds at CES this year.