Volkswagen 'One-Liter' Concept Car Gets 282 Miles Per Gallon

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With $4 per gallon gas price and a possible $8 per gallon in the next few years, customers would love to have a car like this. Volkswagen produced this concept car six years ago but because of high raw material prices, they shelved it until now.

Volkswagen (VW) calls it “One-Liter” car because that is the fuel the car requires one liter to go 100 kilometers (282 miles per gallon). According to my calculation it comes to 235 miles per U.S. gallon, still it is a very high figure. Wired.com calculated this using U.K. gallon.

From WikiAnswers: A British (imperial) gallon contains four imperial quarts of 40 ounce each for a total of 160 ounces, and a US gallon contains four US quarts of 32 ounces each, for a total of 128 ounces.

The car is a bullet shaped microcar and made of carbon fiber to minimize weight (and thus increase the fuel efficiency). The car weight only 660 pounds (300 kilograms).

The initial price of a carbon monocoque (a single shell) has dropped in prices from 35,000 Euros ($55,000) to 5,000 Euros ($8,000), so Volkswagen decided to produce these single concept cars ahead of schedule. According to Britain’s Car magazine, VW has approved a plan to build 1,000 cars per year in 2010 and plans to produce more after.

Main features of this “One-liter” concept car according to Canadian Driver:

• It uses magnesium, titanium and aluminum to reduce the car’s weight by one third the weight of Toyota Echo.
• Front suspension assembly weighs 18 pounds.
• Six-speed transmission has a magnesium case, titanium bolts and hollow gears, weighs 50 pounds.
• The 16 inch wheels are made of carbon fiber.
• The steering wheel is made of magnesium and weighs a pound.
• The car is 11.4 feet long, 4.1 feet wide and 3.3 feet tall.
• It has one cylinder engine with 8.5 horsepower and 13.5 foot pounds of torque.
• The engine turns off at stop lights to save fuel, and then automatically restarts when the driver depresses the accelerator pedal.
• The car meets safety standards.
• It has anti-lock brakes, stability control and airbags.
• Sticker price varies from 20,000 to 30,000 Euros ($31,750 to $47,622).

If it turns successful, VW can modify this car to suit family needs.