Spectacular bike-engined Volkswagen XL1 becomes real.
It's the Volkswagen XL Sport; a sporting version of the ultra-frugal XL1 fitted with a Ducati bike engine and boasting a top speed of nearly 170mph.
Sorry, what?
I know. It's all a bit mind-bending. Stay with us though, because here at last is proof that the frugal car revolution won't de-fun us all. So, Volkswagen is taking its 300mpg XL1 and binning the tiny TDI diesel engine. In its stead slots in a V2 petrol engine, borrowed from Volkswagen subsidiary Ducati (you know, they make mental motorbikes for excitable Italians), which is claimed to be the most powerful two-cylinder engine in the world, with 200hp. Or 100hp per cylinder. It also revs to a staggering 11,000rpm.
Because the XL1 has such a tiny frontal area and the aerodynamics of a shaved snake, it now has some staggering performance. It'll get from standstill to 62mph in 5.7 seconds and run on to a top whack of about 170mph. That's serious sports car pace, all from a tiny 890kg two-seater made mostly from carbon fibre, with Lamborghini-style scissor doors, forged magnesium wheels and cameras for wing mirrors. And a 1.2-litre engine.
Just 250 will be built, and we surely can't be alone in thinking that if there isn't a one-make racing series then the world is missing a bit of a trick.
Neil Briscoe - 3 Oct 2014