Tuesday, November 30, 2010

The World's Most Fuel Efficient Car: A Volkswagen?

What do you get when you combine global warming with the fact that fossil fuels are getting ridiculously expensive? You get automakers scrambling to create a new era of the automobile, with surprising results!

New automobiles are being designed in ways that challenge every pre-existing notion we have about how vehicles should look and perform. Some manufacturers are using alternative fuel sources such as electricity (i.e. the Nissan Leaf which I have featured on my blog a couple of times) and some are simply figuring out a way to burn substantially less fuel without converting energy sources, which is a route that Volkswagen is taking with their "L1 Concept".


You might be thinking to yourself, "I wouldn't drive that ugly piece of crap!" but I urge you to look at the vehicle's practicality instead of its design.

Specifically this: This vehicle uses only ONE LITRE OF FUEL per 100km!! (285mpg!!)

How are they able to achieve this? Every piece of this automobile is designed for aerodynamics. This is why the vehicle's shell resembles a bullet, and why it only weighs 640lbs. The vehicle is much thinner than the average car because the passenger actually sits behind the driver (see picture below)


The rear of the vehicle may appear similar to the Honda Insight, and indeed it is! Since the rear wheels are not used for turning, there is no reason for them to be exposed. By covering them up, a significant amount of wind residence is reduced. Also, the air intake only opens when the vehicle needs to be cooled down.

This concept is a fantastic representation of the belief that you can make an extremely fuel-efficient vehicle without advancing too far into new technology. The big question - will we ever see this on the road? It has not been officially determined, but only time will tell, I suppose. 

images from gas2.org

40 comments:

  1. I love the concept, and the design is outstanding. My only concern would be what happens when a half-drunk landscaper in a 97 F-150 rear ends me at a stoplight.

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  2. Loving the new concept cars, especially the new eco-friendly Mercedes.

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  3. I would love to drive this thing around town just to see the looks on peoples faces. It looks like something out of Star Trek.

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  4. certainly not the prettiest car but who cares with fuel efficiency like that

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  5. Come on DAS, I wouldn't drive that piece of crap.

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  6. @ Major.Mack

    haha, i agree with you on that bud, it's ugly as shit. but it's our future!

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  7. They run on pork!
    (Kinda like "Soylent Green is people"?)

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  8. I actually think it looks pretty cool.

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  9. hahaha aahha looks like a motorbike with a outer shell

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  10. The worlds most fuel efficient car is a damn electric one!

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  11. That's one bizarre design if you ask me...

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  12. It goes faster if you paint flames on the side.

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  13. wow< that is one of the coolest concept cars I've seen

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  14. It also looks like it can go fast as hell :D

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  15. this new cars looks like a piece of crap for me :D

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  16. That looks too sweet! I don't care much for the 2 seat thing, but I have kids I have learned to drive biiig cars lol

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  17. I don't really like the design, I have 1.90 m so i doubt I would sit comfortably in it, but it's good but I like the eco-friendly concept and I'll hope to see more such cars in the future.

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  18. looks like a bullet. or a bobsled.

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  19. This car looks like a mini torpedo!

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  20. 285 mpg is just insane!! beats the hell out of my f150's 18 mpg :(

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  21. this thing just looks cool
    i want one

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  22. Well, if you don't mind paying this car three time the price of a normal car, then you might also not mind spending some money on fuel!

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  23. It looks pretty neat, but is it safe and how much will it cost? I think those are the most defining factors here. If it's anything like those deathtrap smartcars, then insurance will cost you the difference of, if not more than, the cost your saving on fuel.

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  24. We're getting closer to just riding motorcycles. You need to sacrifice safety for fuel economy, it seems.

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  25. Would hate to crash in that one :/ Looks as safe as a paper-hat..

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  26. looks like shit.. but if its fuel efficient ?!

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  27. Great to see German car manufacturers are moving toward more environmentally friendly vehicles. And are you sure about that 1 litre of fuel=100km of travel? If so, then this would be a major incentive to buy this car.

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  28. I actually think it looks pretty cool man.

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  29. I like how it looks but only one seat is impractical :(

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  30. It looks pretty sweet, but I don't see this being used by many people, mainly because of all the junk we all seem to carry around in our vehicles nowadays ;)

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  31. I think it looks cute. It reminds me of a small HotWheels car, before HotWheels went to shit.

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