I wish more cars were designed around this ethos. Imagine going back 10 years and setting the course for having these as most peoples daily drivers rather than SUV's and crossovers
Tell us about it. The XL1 is extreme, but the DNA of Insight and XL1 should have been adopted into family cars. BMW i3 came the closest (now off sale and instantly a classic in my eyes).
It's a fantastic vehicle and Ferdinand Piëch was so gifted. The motor manufacturers have become too lazy and are maximum profit driven for little intellectual effort. They have constrained the market to supply vehicles that are easy to build, too complicated with rapid obsolescence to satisfy an unintelligent demographic. It's only going to get worse.
So they created a hypermile car and than decided to make big energy consuming cars because that's the thing to do when you want to go inveremently friendly
The XL1 is an interesting car from an engineering point of view. It's a shame manufacturers didn't go down this route instead of bigger, heavier, less efficient SUV's that usually only have one person in them.
Over 50% of European car sales are now SUVs. I don't see this pattern changing as I understand the motivation of why other people buy them. Johnny and many others are mystified even repulsed by owners of them, is it a class thing? Is it cultural?
@@fraserwright9482 If someone chooses to buy an SUV it doesn't bother me, it's a free country, and it's their choice. I'm not repulsed by the owners, but I think they must either not be into cars, or they are gullible people that are easily led by marketing. I've driven several SUV's. Proper off road capable SUV's are great, and by off road capable I mean high ground clearance, four wheel drive, low range gearbox, diff locks, snorkel, rock-sliders, and a winch. What I don't understand is why people want to take a regular 2 wheel drive hatchback, but they want it to be made bigger and harder to park, smaller and less practical inside, higher up so more difficult to load, heavier and bigger frontal area so less fuel efficient, raised suspension so worse handling, harder suspension to counter the extra body-roll so much less comfortable, and they want to pay more for the car. I can see why manufacturers want to sell them, they are a higher price, so a bigger profit margin. Maybe it's a class thing for the purchasers? "I bought the SUV which costs more than the hatchback, so I'm better than you" that kind of thinking. In pretty much every case, if you buy the hatchback that the SUV is based on, rather than the SUV, you'll save money and you'll get a better car.
@@fraserwright9482I think they just work better. For the width and length of the vehicle they do have more room. I have an enyaq and the height for just getting in and out is perfect. And the boot is massive.
XL1s can go for upwards of €160k these days 😱 VW’s research at that time found that a Golf with 4 people on board only needs 12kW to maintain 90km/h on the level with no headwind. Yet we’re still being offered unnecessarily heavy and powerful vehicles by all manufacturers including VW.
Because for some reason people like to drive all high up in their suvs, while i hate it, feels like being a truck driver but apparently many feel safer in a higher position even tho in reality it has no direct correlation with crash safety.
That’s true to a certain extent. A lot of people also want simple, small, light and reasonably-priced. Dacia can’t shift enough vehicles. There are lengthy waiting lists for Dacias where I live in France. If there were more vehicles like that people would buy them.
What an awesome car. I love the fact that it's so distinctly VW in its styling, even though it looks like a spaceship. I think it's so disappointing that SUVs are the majority of our EVs instead of designs like this. We'd probably be able to get away with much smaller batteries if manufacturers focused on other ways of improving efficiency.
Personally I find it quite cool looking, but the drawback to cars like this has always been that they’re expensive to buy, and they only seat 2 people. There is absolutely no flexibility with them for transporting more than 2 people or some cargo. If a carmaker could produce this for under €10k or say 17k CDN they might be able to sell some as a primary gas-saving vehicle for some reasonable portion of drivers, with a larger capacity car used only occasionally. However, all of the bespoke manufacturing involved ensures that it’s going to be immensely expensive. Instead they produce what are effectively technology demonstrators that aren’t practical for the majority of people. I’d love to see some of the concepts in this put into a mass market vehicle.
@@sjsomething4936 If you can make a 2 seater that gets 300mpg I'm sure it's possible to make a 4 seater that gets at least 100mpg, which would be a huge improvement over the average car
I drove an XL1 in 2011 - I worked at a VW Dealer Group - 339MPG, two cylinder diesel. As I drove around London, people stood in road taking pictures, I even persuaded my boss to buy one for our showroom, as when I parked outside our VW site, all the customer's from the Audi site came out to see the XL1. BTW the rear quarter light cost £4000, the dash comes back, it was first car not to have mirrors.
I read in a period magazine that Volkswagen planned a sporty version of this named XL1-Sport that had a bit longer tail in the back and should work with petrol it should have few motorcycle parts like 2 options for engine for most powerful and lighter version it had Ducati Superleggera V4 sport bike motor or the other version Yamaha V2 both should have sport brakes on all 4 wheels and full titanium exhaust to get a max speed 275 km/h for the faster version with Ducati motor with DSG gearbox and 250 km/h for the version with Yamaha motor and 6 speed manual gearbox. Unfortunately after unveil in Paris Motor-show was ditched even though it got plenty people interested, it remained a one off prototype sadly..
@@fetB Yamaha also did in 2015 a light fun prototype vehicle with motorcycle parts that again sadly was ditched it was called : Yamaha Sports Ride and it was developed with help of Gordon Murray. Very sad that it did not reach at least a limited production it was very light like Elise and with powerful Yamaha motor & other parts it would give the Ariel a run for it's money..
I remember when this came out, thinking that this would be the inspiration for the future direction of car design. Yet we still have comparatively low MPG cars being produced today. Were the tyres to do with reducing frontal area, as much as rolling resistance? Which is why the seats are positioned like that, to reduce the width and therefore frontal area of the car. Always loved this car, so strange that it's not more widely known. Maybe I'm an old fart now, but things like this impress me more than a Veyron ever would.
It's a proper head turner, it was a privilege to be able to drive one - someone even chased me down to ask questions about it. Glad you finally got to drive one too! I thought the Insight would be a similar size but surprised to see it's a bit bigger than the XL1. Wish there were more cars around like them. Cheers again Jonny.
It's an indictment on the motor vehicle industry that this vehicle is still the benchmark that it is over 20 years after the concept was born. As with many concept cars it's an extreme, but it says a lot that modern mass selling cars are almost a complete antithesis of this.
One of your most facisating videos for a while Jonny, your love for the subject shine thru. Considering how fast technilogy moves just makes this all the more impressive. Needs to be something new powered by exotic Mazda hybrid in this kind of package.
I bought an Insight new in 2002 for 13k! (list price was £18k). I put 52k miles on it in 18 months and it never missed a beat returning 74.6mpg in that time.... still miss it now! WAY ahead of its time and an absolute hoot to drive too.
The other reason that the seats are staggered - is to reduce the hiproom, so the rear wheel track can be narrower - for lower drag. The aero is *yuge* - if it was a BEV, it would be brilliant! It would give the Aptera a run for the money!
What a great video! I'm a VW fanatic and own a Lupo 3L that I imported in 2019 which shares the same Piëch DNA as the XL1. If I had the money I'd buy one to daily, it's a masterpiece of engineering!
I had a VW UP! at the time and I was absolutely in love with the idea of the XL1. My favourite bit about it was that the UP! and the XL1 shared the same nav/infotainment system and that whoever coded the MPG utility on the thing obviously meant to use it on the XL1 because that thing was SO accurate. It was so good in fact that unlike any other MPG indicator I've ever seen, it used to report slightly BELOW what I could actually get when I worked it out myself from full-to-full. Even if they made it out of steel at the same size/shape and put the petrol UP! engine in it I'm sure you'd be getting into the 80mpg+ range
There was one at a classic car show in Dorset this summer, the owner had bought it new and there were more people looking round it and talking to the owner than some of the more exotic cars on display.
Great video as usual Jonny. The car you are thinking of is the Toyota Sera, not Nissan. It too is a neat car with gull-wing doors. I've viewed the XL1 at the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville TN. It's the one that Doug DeMuro reviewed.
My main complaint about the Aptera is that it is a two-seater. I use public transport when travelling solo or with my GF. This first model of Aptera is not going to be a solution when we start a family.
We have one in Sweden. A couple of other cool details: Double wishbone front suspension Active air flaps for the engine air intake in the front It has a router in the back connected to VW. They make you sign a GDPR waiver when you take ownership. Titanium exhaust When you roll down the window and look from the outside you will see the carbon chassi exposed
Who requires you to sign that GDPR? You'd need to accept one buying anything from any company anyway. If you sell it 2nd hand you could take the router out anyway.
Poor VW lost their way after designing and developing this method of transport. Beautiful efficient aerodynamic quiet and a pleasure to move in through this world. Instead we ended up with deliberate emissions scandals and systemic deception at a corporate level. How far VW fell is beyond belief given this is where designers were at. Reminds me of the lost AudiA2. 😢 Thanks Johnny 👍🏻
I've got a VW amarok non dieselgate but Ive tricked the computer ( making it think its 46 deg outside) to turn it into a dieselgate VW. it keeps the EGR closed 95% of the time and has cut fuel consumption and Co2 by 10% the oil stays cleaner for longer extending the servicing by 25% the distance between DPF regen has increased more than 300% so that's another win for the environment and extending the life of the vehicle. I often get 1000km per tank at 100km/h on 25 deg days (80L diesel tank) not bad for a 2100kg full time 4x4 pick up truck thats 2m wide
Love the XL1, I also really love the first gen Insight. The XL1 design reminds me heavily of the GM EV1, a car I instantly fell in love with the first time I saw it in person, I still want one with new battery tech. Such a shame automakers are incentivized to build large suvs and trucks for the American market rather than further developing efficient vehicles.
I find this car incredibly fascinating. While I have my concerns about the lack of grip from the tiny tyres and the rather underwhelming engine make this a car I wouldn't buy, I love the idea of a no compromise design and this is a perfect example of that. It's frustrating that VW practically abandoned this school of thought and has reverted to conventional hybrid and EV designs with literal tonnes of compromises. I think the world would be much better if there were more of this and far fewer Tiguans and Tuaregs. Small correction: the Sera is not a Nissan, but a Toyota. Mechanically, it's a Paseo in fancy dress with a little bit more power and very slightly less weight. From the few things I've heard about it, people talk about how it looks not how it drives, so that's telling.
One of these turns up to the local cars and coffee event each month. Until I saw it I’d forgotten they even existed, what amazing machines. I always liked the 3 litre Lupo too, VW pushing the boundaries of minimal fuel usage!
Nice reminder of quite how many remarkable cars for which we have to thank Ferdinand Piech. I've always liked the XL-1, much like the 1st Gen Insight, cars with a singularity of purpose always seem fascinating and characterful. Always worth mentioning the XL-Sport concept, too - a sports car far ahead of it's time, and more relevant now than ever.
Jonny please do a review of the Lupo 3L and Audi A2 3L. The Vw XL1 is and was a very expensive and low production hypermiler but the Lupo and Audi 3L's were sold in the masses and have never been bettered. Find another car that actually does a real world 94 (uk) mpg as tested by many motoring journalists. Infact in in most cases they achieved over 100 (uk) mpg! A true pair of hypermiling classics. (I may be biased owning a Lupo 3L though lol)
I keep looking at TOYOTA Sera's. Got very tempted by a freshly imported rare manual version last year. Stick a Prius gearbox in one for an easy EV conversion.
Back before kids when i had my citrus mk1 insight i used to commute on the m56 to runcorn and back. One day a white vw xl just like the one in the video drove alongside me. The driver gave me a knowing nod as if to acknowlege the inspiration VW had taken from honda. Such a shame car companies are no longer brave enough to make cars like this now.
This car has fascinated me from launch, people wouldnt dare spend £90k on one of these but yet thousands of people spend that, and more, on big heavy EV's and Massive SUV's. The way the car market has gone makes me really sad, so much over engineering to compensate for excessive weight and power that makes everything so expensive. Smaller and lighter vehicles are the answer to so many questions but i suppose they are hard to make large amounts of profit from. VW were on to something in principal and technology with the XL1 but just followed everyone else instead...shame. Absolutely brilliant content Jonny, thank you so much for all your hard work
Great review Jonny, I remember very well all the R&D and testing being done on the XL1almost 20 yrs ago, if VW were able to retrofit a battery pack with modern chemistry for owners without changing anything else about it, I'd say you'd almost double the EV only driving range, the one problem that would occur is the modern BMS wouldn't easily interface with the original system and allot of reprogramming it to make it work smoothly, so lets leave good enough alone, still a brilliant car and a definite head turner 👍
Its a Toyota SERA. They were more about style over substance being I think, Corolla underpinnings (maybe Starlet?). Audi A2 is an equal to this car, as it seats 4 without packaging limitations really. I doubt you could better that for a 4 seater. BMW i3 may come close. However, this is an excellent video, thank you, and I would love to own an XL1 to go with my Audi A2 (and Reliant Robin- yes it also a cutting edge design for the 1970s).
Thank you. Nice to revisit this car in detail. I first became aware of it following the VW quadricycle concept, due to an interest in future-mobility & lightweight urban-design / development. I used to work for Porsche (at a lowly level.) I drove Porsche-hero's daily, although my favourite car was a trade-in Lotus Elise S2 111S. It was all about doing one thing, as best it could.. "Fit for purpose" Insight, XL1, i3, etc. I love what engineers do when they're given a clear brief & target... (and permission to lose money in pursuit of a goal, to prove a concept.)
Love these. Saw one at a Silverstone Auction about 5 years ago. Failed to sell with a reserve around 60k. Remember at the time trying to justify man maths. Knew that would seem cheap in the future.
Great video didn’t know anything about this car and good to see you provide so much detail about a ten year old model. What an ingenious bit of engineering and such a shame the industry has not gone down this route instead favouring over sized over weight pointless suv style Ev and hybrids.
The drawback to cars like this has always been that they’re expensive to buy, and they only seat 2 people. There is absolutely no flexibility with them for transporting more than 2 people or some cargo. I’ve long thought that a car (as in a fairly low profile roofline station wagon not a bloody silly SUV) with some kind of extendable cargo bed and a removable cap for that area could achieve very good mileage results and provide the flexibility of both high fuel efficiency and the ability to carry a reasonable amount of cargo when necessary.
Crazy to think that VW could develop this at a time when they were lying to their customers about how efficient their diesel engines were... oh the irony.
Thanks, Jonny. It would be interesting to see a fully electric version of this car, with a slightly more powerful motor and larger pack. With the low weight and aero efficiency, it could be a great EV solution for many if produced in sufficient volume to reduce costs.
@fraserwright9482 no, I didn't miss the point at all. Batteries and motors have improved substantially over the years, and an EV version of this could be very compelling and much more efficient than most of the EVs available. No hybrid or gas/diesel engine can come close to the efficiency of an EV currently.
@@jamesengland7461 the Aptera will be efficient, but the design is nothing like this vehicle. A modern interpretation of the VW with a full EV powetrain would be a much better option for many people.
@fraserwright9482 If it can go 30 miles on 5.5kwh battery, that would be another 2kwh for the weight of the fuel almost 50miles. Then there is the weight of the engine, starter motor , fluids etc combined with latest battery tech should be able to get well over 100miles with the same weight.
Love it. Wish they would make a new version with all the learning since. Did you hear the lady say “Look at that!” in Stamford, when you had the window down?! 😊😊😊
If you like the XL1 you also should get your butt into an Aptera which is getting closer and closer to production, the first production parts are alredy made and validated. CD will be about 0.13 or more likely even a bit less!
I'd like to see you have a look at the Aptera which is due to be on the market next year. They do have driveable prototypes, but this company is based in the USA. An all electric car which has solar panels that are capable of giving you 40 miles of range on a sunny day, as well as batteries. The higher spec one is capable of doing up to 1,000 miles on one charge apparently
I suppose the spiritual successor to these hypermilers would be solar powered cars. For example the Aptera where you have a tear drop shaped pod vehicle that is designed to move around one or two people for minimal energy (gathered from the sun) but don't expect to be carrying around suitcases.
The woman at the pedestrian crossing "what's that??" You would not think thats 10 years and if I seen one today i would be over like a shot for a look. A excellent review as always Mr Smith.
A shame I missed seeing you out around Stamford in this, such an interesting car (likewise with the Insight). If only some EVs would be this sort of shape... Not quite as hypermile as either of these two but the Volt/Ampera was way ahead of it's time and I have been asked multiple times if mine is a company car (now 11 years old) - not bad for an old Vauxhall!
Beautiful video, Mr. Smith, Thank you! If I had to design a car, it would look similar to this. Drag reduction and good aerodynamics. I hope Aptera manages to come to market. There are a lot of similarities to the XL1.
Along the same lines is the Porsche 918 spyder. 200mph shooting 3 foot flames all while getting 40mpg. It literally got better mileage than a Prius. While it obviously costs a lot more, it also showed how when you use hybrid technology the correct way, you do not have to give up performance. These cars are a prime example of how hybrids are far superior to pure EVs. They really are the future.
I saw one of these at Tatton park VW show in August, of all the cars there I couldn’t believe my eyes. But I’ve learned more about them in this episode than I ever knew. Cheers Jonny 👍🏼
I bet the battery density in terms of wh/kg has doubled since this was built. More than doubling the electric range. Such a shame cars like this aren't more of a thing.
Great episode Jonny, thanks . always loved the xl1 every since i saw the prototype black one a long while ago, they still look futuristic with beautiful lines and detail. Also an insight was on my wishlist for a while but timing wasn't right, (starts looking for a blue one again😄) glad to see yours still going well🚙 👍
Love these, never mind the engineering, it just looks so good and clean, I cant get enough of it! And I love these hyper efficient cars! Today, I'd probably still pick an EV over one of these but this is superb! We need more of this and less of rolling livingrooms with screens everywhere... Seats alone in a modern car weigh as much as this entire car almost! One of my favorite EV's is the little Honda E.. and ofc the Ioniq 5... the 6 look very good but not the prettiest design ever, but if its efficient, I'll take it! KIA Nero EV was a favorite of mine for a long time.
There is one issue you didn't mentioned about this car, maybe you didn't know it, so I'm honored to add it you vast car knolegment. The ground reason for passenger seat to be so back is realy to add on the weight reduction. Because the clearence of the passenger to the cockpit is so big, the passenger airbag is not legaly required, and you can check that this car don't have it.
What I find bizarre is that if I put the registration into our local city emissions zone charges website it isn't free, there's a charge. Yeah, I know it's a diesel but come-on, it's using thimble quantities of fuel and is also hybrid. Barking mad!
Subaru had a car with windows within windows for a while in the late1980s. I forget the name, but I think it had three initials as opposed to a NAME. I noticed when Jonny was closing, and had driven onto a grass field, that the front tire width was wider than the rear tire width, there were four tire tracks behind the car. Amazing design. Make one now, fully electric, or at least, a gasoline hybrid, and people should buy it again. Incredible mileage out of that beautiful design. While an interesting design, the big drawback to most people is the two seat limitation. Slightly larger for four passengers, fully autonomous, like the Tesla FSD option, and you will have a world beater on your hands.😂❤
I wonder how much this could be made for today, would it be cheaper using the parts bin of VW, plus more upto date manufacturing techniques and learned knowledge of battery and hybrid technologies.
Man... My favorite car like this is one you can't even review. It's the long dead 1997 Dodge Intrepid III. Chrysler was one of the few companies to take on then-President Clinton's challenge for higher economy cars. What they ended up with was a 3rd gen Intrepid body, shaped a lot like a fennel seed, a 3-cylinder diesel engine-generator setup that passed through a 5-speed manual transmission that was automatically clutched and shifted by servo motors, terminating at 75hp motors at each wheel. All-wheel drive, locomotive style power delivery system, automated manual transmission, and >60mpg. And it was still largely normal in size.
Partially I suspect that's because VW built it to be the long term poster boy of their diesel range, to show everyone just how impressive their diesels were. Shortly afterwards of course came the emissions scandal and even uttering the word diesel in the factory would have gotten you sacked. The XL1 just never got the press and fanfare it was destined for at the time and as a result, it's far more obscure now than it should be.
If anything about this or any other vehicles ,over the past 3 decades is elegant, stop the planet for a second, I want to jump off. This, like all the rest, is BUTT UGLY !!!
Thank you so much for this episode. I remember this car in the magazines when VW was strutting around. Great to see it up close. Also, thanks for including the insight for comparison. I always wonder why Toyota got the hybrid crown when these two other companies have such compelling approaches.
Great video again Jonny, really enjoy your channel and think it’s great, servicing apparently is extremely expensive. Possibly a great investment if you get one. An amazing feat of engineering by VW regardless 😊
As Citroen so often used spats to cover the rear wheels in the interest of aerodynamics I can’t understand why no other manufacturers do this today? Looks great, in my eyes, as well…
At one point in my life I owned a 3L Lupo for a while. Kind of the prerunner of this. I'm wondering what's your opinion on that? Imho it came with a love hate relationship. That was caused by the robotized gearbox, I always rode it in "manual" due to the 3h downshift it did when riding away form an intersection😅. But it did manage to do the 3L name more than justice 👍
I would love to know how many kWh you could get in it now and how far it would go. A very good looking car and love the ethos, but the diesel engine does spoil the party!
I live and work around Wolfsburg and a decade ago these cars were everywhere here, various stages of development prototypes. Indeed a head turner every time.
Thanks for the video Jonny and team. I thought it was interesting they kept the EV charger onboard as it could be jettisoned at home for further weight savings. Would be interested to know if it had a 12v lead/acid battery as this again would add weight. All functionality and cost vs distance per gallon decisions I guess.
Had an xl1 in my local vw dealer it’ was an amazing looking car but crazy price for its size.. it’s a shame ev makers aren’t focusing on range over performance for modern offerings.
Exactly! The entire EV focus is a silly waving exercise where 0 to 60 is concerned but in reality it should be about how much range you can get. Most modern EVs are incredibly impressive in both arenas but if manufacturers made the vehicles intended for day to day commuting uses make the most of their power capacity just think of the truly astounding ranges which could become possible!
The worst EV crime is that BMW who made the 2013-2022 i3 has brought out a sort of 3-series with a battery and called it the i3, a nasty marketing ploy.
This is the type of cars that should be produced for everybodys daily commutes to work. Efficient, small economical. So far away from the monstrous electrical SUVs we consider green, which basically still slurp KWs to move. I would wish to own one.
I really want to see someone do a modernized take on this given how far EVs have come. I'm thinking Aptera's design language but with fenders and four wheels combined with whatever black magic Lucid has going on as of late; maybe throw in the aesthetic design that the Eastern Asian manufacturers like to pull off, Honda has some great designs, Hyundai recently has been pushing to be a trendsetter of design with Kia trailing behind them, Toyota occasionally has some decent design, etc. Honestly we'd just need someone to engineer and build it, every component of a modernized take on this already exists in some form, it wouldn't be a massive endeavor to pull it off like it would've been when the XL1 was being developed, it could even have conveniences like any other standard vehicle modernly has rather than being so stripped down; imagine how affordable it could be as well.
I startet to read your comment and imideately thought of Aptera. Not a second later I was very happy to read you know of them too. On the topic of fenders I dont agree with you though, because that is a major aero improvement compared to something like the xl1. But 4 wheels might be quite good, although right now with only two seats and a low center of mass (due to the battery) it does not fall over in corners as many people expect. I think if Aptera builds a 4 or 5 seater in the futere they will go for four wheels, becaus then the center of mass will sit more towards the back.
@@Optimus_SapiensMaybe you should teach yourself about aerodynamics before you state such a mindless opinion, or at least do your due diligence and search for actual fact that's easy to source, even relevant knowledge would help your case. Land speed records, closed wheel. Endurance vehicles that rely on aero efficiency, closed wheel. Supercars, hypercars, etc., closed wheel. F1's regulatory limitation of being open wheel utilizes the massive front wings to push air around the wheel, and they further this by having the inside of the wheel have aero-optimized wishbones. In fact, open wheel is bad for aero, even with a fender-like cap over the open wheel, they're still not great for overall aero performance. Aptera's design isn't as optimized as it could be. Oh, and one of the oldest tricks for boosting aero is to cover the wheel, huh I wonder why VW decided to do that on the XL1's rears, I wonder why numerous other manufacturers have decided to do that on their efficiency-focused vehicles. Speaking of old tricks, why do you think fenders and skirts evolved to become the norm? In a relevant sense, why do you think some older vehicles, from the '50s era I believe, were more aero-efficient in reverse; in fact, SuperfastMatt has a video on this, you should check it out. Sure, driving a brick isn't going to have good aero efficiency, yet look at the drag coefficients EVs are pushing; you can't even take a moment to fact check your opinion with easy to access relevant information that you can get off a Wiki page at a glance. Wanna know why so many manufacturers choose open wheel for their sub-car vehicles? Cost. Speaking of sub-car, do you wanna know why I used that term? Look at anything modern produced at any decent scale that's open wheel, Caterham, the various trikes of both seated and straddle variants, including Aptera, etc. What do they all have in common? Regulatory grey areas, they're not quite a car, they're not quite not a car, and this is how they get away with stuff; and the ones that are regulated in any way also aren't quite road-approved, even if there's some technical or licensed legality, nobody wants a track vehicle on the road. Regulations also have an aspect of safety, say something falls into your open wheel suspension, what happens then, what about pedestrians or animals, etc., that's why there's regulations in the first place; and that's probably why the last open wheel car that your average person could purchase and openly drive was the Plymouth/Chrysler Prowler. Where Aptera actually sees massive aero improvement is in the body design. They have literally disclosed this factoid in interviews. A direct quote of theirs is of them talking about how they modeled the belly of the vehicle after fish that swim on the sea floor, where they have a hump from belly to tail because they're more hydrodynamic that way. Open wheel has nothing to do with it, in fact it impacts aero efficiency negatively. Again, the design of open wheel is cost cutting, and with Aptera's engineering design this corner cutting save quite a lot. Aptera may see some benefit over a fully open wheel with their massive wheel covers, but at the same time these things aren't exactly streamlined that well; in fact it's probably still a negative compared to going fully closed wheel with a tire that occasionally peeks out from the fender during turns, also this method would allow for turbofans, which you'll not only find aero benefits with but also motor cooling benefits considering Aptera is using in-wheel motors. But, again, costs, as widening the body to incorporate the wheels would cost a significant amount more compared to open wheels with massive covers. Aptera could also go to a four wheel design at any moment without any major efficiency loss, the decision of three wheels is again costs, the post-belly portion of the vehicle is essentially a giant diffuser anyways, and even if they did see some loss there are tricks to get around this; again, go watch that SuperfastMatt video, it's dumbed down enough to where you should understand it, Matt even provides examples of these aero tricks to improve efficiency where you might not expect them. The world has also come quite a long way from vehicles like the Reliant Robin. Good god that portion of your comment was so entirely irrelevant. Probably wanked over the idea that you're clever, didn't you? 'Most people' don't even think three-wheel vehicles tip over all that often, but oh wait the only trikes that have were put out of production long ago, and there's a commonality between them; they were all deltas (1f2r), rather than tadpoles (2f1r), with a bad center of mass, oh and another factoid is that forward-momentum cornering and major changes in terrain were their major downfalls. You're not clever. It's absolutely wild how some people will know nothing but believe they have the most educated opinion on a topic, yet won't do the slightest to back their opinion. You're worse than an armchair engineer, you can't even apply basic concepts to logical thought. Stay in school, you might learn something; else I'm sorry the education system failed you.
@@jakesnyder2667 I wonder what drove you to write that enormously long comment. It sounds like you are defending yourself, as if I attacked you with what I said, even though I did not even adress it to you. Anyways, your last paragraph was a direct statement about my intellect, but how could you think you know all that about me from a comparitively short comment? Because: actually I am studdying engineering and I am going to join the aerodynamics departement of a formula student team from my university and I inform myself about many things in aerodynamics and engineering in general. Now about the wheels: On most of the aerodynamics-focused-cars, only the back wheels are covered, because the front wheels have to turn and then the car would either have to have a small turning radius (like a speed record car), or you would have to design the fenders in such a way, that the wheelcovers are a few centimeters away from the tire, so they don´t collide at maximum stering angle. Option one is good for aero but impractical in cities and option two increases the width of the body and thus the frontal aerea and the drag. So, Aptera made a very optimal shape around the occupants and then added the wheels (that are enclosed by what I would call "fairings" ) outside of the body, which compared to a conventional car or also the XL1, reduces the frontal aerea. Normaly the bumper has to cover everything from one wheel to the other, on the aptera the bumper is firstly shaped like the front of a wing and secondly much smaller than a conventional bumper - so less drag which compensates that the tires are not completely enclosed by the "fairings", because there are also vents for cooling the brakes. The biggest dirty-air parts on the Aptera I imagine are the struts to the front wheels, the mirrors, the gap for the windscreenwipers, the width of the tail and as I just mentioned the cooling vents. So yea, the struts to the wheels are one drawback, but imagine putting a bumper in front of them preventing the flow of air throgh them. Many high end cars even channel the air throgh that aerea with the struts of the front tires deliberately, like the Ford GT for example:(d3lp4xedbqa8a5.cloudfront.net/s3/digital-cougar-assets/wheels/2017/06/01/Misc/Ford-GT-front-wheel-aero.jpg ). The cd value of the XL1 is 0,189 and the cd value of the Aptera is 0,13. About the frontal aerea (if I can trust the source) the XL1 is a bit smaller, so they both might have about the same drag force at the same speed. (I found the cd values on multiple websites so i hope they are correct, but it makes sense considering how aerodynamic they look) And on the topic of armchairs I haven´t seen much innovation so far, so I can see why you think of them as low engineers. One improvment for example could be to make them continously variable in hight, like a bike saddle instead of the steps, (on all the chairs I had it anoyed me I could not get the armchairs to the exact hight of my table) Now that you broght that old thought back into my mind, I want to 3d print myself a new armchair... I also just had the idea to build a small windtunnel and put 3d printed same-scale-models of different cars, including the Aptera Delta and the Volkswagen XL1, into it and test the drag force at the same Wind speed. And now I had the idea, to just strap some contaption on the hood of a car and drive at a speed, so that the windspeed is the same and then messure the force the model applyes onto the contraption. This way the effects of the walls on the model in a wind tunnel are eliminated. Have a good day (or night like in may case now)
Fantastic video, as a fan of all types of cars I really like seeing the extremes of both performance and economy vehicles. Would enjoy more content involving your Insight, perhaps a hyper-mile road trip or similar. Thanks as always!
It'd be great if you could take a look at the 2010-2013 Honda CR-Z - basically along the same lines as the XL1 & Insight, but fails at being a hyper-miler in favour of pure fun (can you tell I bought one as my first car)
If you removed the diesel engine and fuel tank, you could easily put in +2-3x batteries and have 150-200km range. (probably a lot more considering how much battery packs have improved in W/kg in the past 10 years). the fuel itself is 8.8kg, the tank is probably plastic and another 5kg. the engine is 50-100kg, so 70kg of modern batteries is about 17.5 Watt hours... so easily 4x the existing ev range.
Brilliant car and as many others have said it’s a shame more cars of this type haven’t been made and, crucially bought. If I was doing lots of miles for work again I’d definitely get something like an insight rather than use the big family car. We’ve got an i3 and have no intention of moving that on as it’s brilliant for shorter trips
They do not make them because V8's that rumble and roar are what sells. But we will see in the near future. I have a 2001 G1 Honda Insight and love it. I get about the same mileage as you, US gallons, and find it a joy to drive. We are the few who like the strange cars, like my 2CV.
THIS is where the future of the car SHOULD have gone rather than EV. Small diesel generator (nerf the co2 to zero) with electric motors to wheels...no plug in bollox. Get the generator to kick in only when batteries need topping up.
You need to revisit the fundamentals of this problem. Plug in EVs just work at this point! The energy efficiency of the grid and a lithium ion (or future gen) battery is several times better than diesel’s “well to wheel” efficiency.
There was one of these XL1s in the Swansea Vw dealership a number of years ago. Any chance of testing the legendary Vw Lupo 3L, that up until the XL1 arrived, held the World record for fuel efficiency.
I am as besotted with my XL1 as the day it was delivered brand new to me in July 2015. There is nothing like it, period. Of all the amazing and exotic and rare classics I have owned over the last 40 years, the XL1 is the ONLY car I absolutely know I could never tire of and never part with to my dying day. It is my soulmate.
Always loved the VW XL1, both the design and the general ethos. Btw, I´m am lucky enough to actually have had a sit in one at a motorshow. Super cool car in all aspects. The Honda Insight is super cool too!
Jonny, I'd really love to get your take on the Aptera. There's been plenty of 'gushing' coverage, which doesn't inspire confidence. I want to know if it would survive outside of California? Does it live up to the hype? What are the chances of this vehicle forming a new niche? For realz..
I wish more cars were designed around this ethos. Imagine going back 10 years and setting the course for having these as most peoples daily drivers rather than SUV's and crossovers
Tell us about it. The XL1 is extreme, but the DNA of Insight and XL1 should have been adopted into family cars. BMW i3 came the closest (now off sale and instantly a classic in my eyes).
It's a fantastic vehicle and Ferdinand Piëch was so gifted. The motor manufacturers have become too lazy and are maximum profit driven for little intellectual effort. They have constrained the market to supply vehicles that are easy to build, too complicated with rapid obsolescence to satisfy an unintelligent demographic. It's only going to get worse.
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So they created a hypermile car and than decided to make big energy consuming cars because that's the thing to do when you want to go inveremently friendly
The XL1 is an interesting car from an engineering point of view. It's a shame manufacturers didn't go down this route instead of bigger, heavier, less efficient SUV's that usually only have one person in them.
Aptera!
It’s because nobody wanted them. Simples.
Be honest and it’s ugly and coarse and lacks the toys we want nowadays.
Over 50% of European car sales are now SUVs. I don't see this pattern changing as I understand the motivation of why other people buy them. Johnny and many others are mystified even repulsed by owners of them, is it a class thing? Is it cultural?
@@fraserwright9482 If someone chooses to buy an SUV it doesn't bother me, it's a free country, and it's their choice. I'm not repulsed by the owners, but I think they must either not be into cars, or they are gullible people that are easily led by marketing. I've driven several SUV's. Proper off road capable SUV's are great, and by off road capable I mean high ground clearance, four wheel drive, low range gearbox, diff locks, snorkel, rock-sliders, and a winch. What I don't understand is why people want to take a regular 2 wheel drive hatchback, but they want it to be made bigger and harder to park, smaller and less practical inside, higher up so more difficult to load, heavier and bigger frontal area so less fuel efficient, raised suspension so worse handling, harder suspension to counter the extra body-roll so much less comfortable, and they want to pay more for the car. I can see why manufacturers want to sell them, they are a higher price, so a bigger profit margin. Maybe it's a class thing for the purchasers? "I bought the SUV which costs more than the hatchback, so I'm better than you" that kind of thinking. In pretty much every case, if you buy the hatchback that the SUV is based on, rather than the SUV, you'll save money and you'll get a better car.
@@fraserwright9482I think they just work better. For the width and length of the vehicle they do have more room. I have an enyaq and the height for just getting in and out is perfect. And the boot is massive.
XL1s can go for upwards of €160k these days 😱
VW’s research at that time found that a Golf with 4 people on board only needs 12kW to maintain 90km/h on the level with no headwind.
Yet we’re still being offered unnecessarily heavy and powerful vehicles by all manufacturers including VW.
Because for some reason people like to drive all high up in their suvs, while i hate it, feels like being a truck driver but apparently many feel safer in a higher position even tho in reality it has no direct correlation with crash safety.
They produce what people buy
That’s true to a certain extent. A lot of people also want simple, small, light and reasonably-priced. Dacia can’t shift enough vehicles. There are lengthy waiting lists for Dacias where I live in France. If there were more vehicles like that people would buy them.
My A200 comes with 160bph but when I'm on the motorway doing 60mph the computer says the engine is only using 8-10hp.
@joey_f4ke238 ground high and 4 wheels does help in Canada outside the GTA.
What an awesome car. I love the fact that it's so distinctly VW in its styling, even though it looks like a spaceship.
I think it's so disappointing that SUVs are the majority of our EVs instead of designs like this. We'd probably be able to get away with much smaller batteries if manufacturers focused on other ways of improving efficiency.
Yes, ditch the diesel hybrid gubbins, replace with a battery pack and you have a very efficient EV that still looks great.
Personally I find it quite cool looking, but the drawback to cars like this has always been that they’re expensive to buy, and they only seat 2 people. There is absolutely no flexibility with them for transporting more than 2 people or some cargo. If a carmaker could produce this for under €10k or say 17k CDN they might be able to sell some as a primary gas-saving vehicle for some reasonable portion of drivers, with a larger capacity car used only occasionally. However, all of the bespoke manufacturing involved ensures that it’s going to be immensely expensive. Instead they produce what are effectively technology demonstrators that aren’t practical for the majority of people. I’d love to see some of the concepts in this put into a mass market vehicle.
Mercedes is doing something similar with their EQXX concept. Over 1000KM are possible electrically.
@@sjsomething4936 If you can make a 2 seater that gets 300mpg I'm sure it's possible to make a 4 seater that gets at least 100mpg, which would be a huge improvement over the average car
@@BlackElf94it is and was possible. audi a2 and lupo had 1.2 tdi variants that could achieve 3 litres / 100 km over 20 years ago…
I drove an XL1 in 2011 - I worked at a VW Dealer Group - 339MPG, two cylinder diesel. As I drove around London, people stood in road taking pictures, I even persuaded my boss to buy one for our showroom, as when I parked outside our VW site, all the customer's from the Audi site came out to see the XL1.
BTW the rear quarter light cost £4000, the dash comes back, it was first car not to have mirrors.
I read in a period magazine that Volkswagen planned a sporty version of this named XL1-Sport that had a bit longer tail in the back and should work with petrol it should have few motorcycle parts like 2 options for engine for most powerful and lighter version it had Ducati Superleggera V4 sport bike motor or the other version Yamaha V2 both should have sport brakes on all 4 wheels and full titanium exhaust to get a max speed 275 km/h for the faster version with Ducati motor with DSG gearbox and 250 km/h for the version with Yamaha motor and 6 speed manual gearbox. Unfortunately after unveil in Paris Motor-show was ditched even though it got plenty people interested, it remained a one off prototype sadly..
time to make anew version full electric to an affordable price
@@fetB Yamaha also did in 2015 a light fun prototype vehicle with motorcycle parts that again sadly was ditched it was called : Yamaha Sports Ride and it was developed with help of Gordon Murray. Very sad that it did not reach at least a limited production it was very light like Elise and with powerful Yamaha motor & other parts it would give the Ariel a run for it's money..
Back in the 1970's a guy built a diesel electric Nova kit car.
@@fetB or even better just leave the diesel in it. The extra weight for a full electric will kill the efficiency.
I remember when this came out, thinking that this would be the inspiration for the future direction of car design. Yet we still have comparatively low MPG cars being produced today.
Were the tyres to do with reducing frontal area, as much as rolling resistance? Which is why the seats are positioned like that, to reduce the width and therefore frontal area of the car.
Always loved this car, so strange that it's not more widely known. Maybe I'm an old fart now, but things like this impress me more than a Veyron ever would.
It's a proper head turner, it was a privilege to be able to drive one - someone even chased me down to ask questions about it. Glad you finally got to drive one too! I thought the Insight would be a similar size but surprised to see it's a bit bigger than the XL1. Wish there were more cars around like them. Cheers again Jonny.
Do you own one ?
@@zzhughesdUnfortunately not - we had one at work which was auctioned last year. I drove it to help film a promotional video.
It's an indictment on the motor vehicle industry that this vehicle is still the benchmark that it is over 20 years after the concept was born. As with many concept cars it's an extreme, but it says a lot that modern mass selling cars are almost a complete antithesis of this.
One of your most facisating videos for a while Jonny, your love for the subject shine thru. Considering how fast technilogy moves just makes this all the more impressive. Needs to be something new powered by exotic Mazda hybrid in this kind of package.
Thank you. Really chuffed you enjoyed the detail of these quirky engineering masterpieces.
Wow, the XL1 is both the first diesel and the first eco car that I've found desirable ! Awesome car. Thanks Johnny
It angers me that mainstream car design went down the Land River Discovery route and not this. 😢
I bought an Insight new in 2002 for 13k! (list price was £18k). I put 52k miles on it in 18 months and it never missed a beat returning 74.6mpg in that time.... still miss it now! WAY ahead of its time and an absolute hoot to drive too.
The other reason that the seats are staggered - is to reduce the hiproom, so the rear wheel track can be narrower - for lower drag. The aero is *yuge* - if it was a BEV, it would be brilliant! It would give the Aptera a run for the money!
What a great video! I'm a VW fanatic and own a Lupo 3L that I imported in 2019 which shares the same Piëch DNA as the XL1. If I had the money I'd buy one to daily, it's a masterpiece of engineering!
I had a VW UP! at the time and I was absolutely in love with the idea of the XL1. My favourite bit about it was that the UP! and the XL1 shared the same nav/infotainment system and that whoever coded the MPG utility on the thing obviously meant to use it on the XL1 because that thing was SO accurate.
It was so good in fact that unlike any other MPG indicator I've ever seen, it used to report slightly BELOW what I could actually get when I worked it out myself from full-to-full.
Even if they made it out of steel at the same size/shape and put the petrol UP! engine in it I'm sure you'd be getting into the 80mpg+ range
An EV XL1 would-be a tire-shredding rocket ship. Would be so fun to drive...
There was one at a classic car show in Dorset this summer, the owner had bought it new and there were more people looking round it and talking to the owner than some of the more exotic cars on display.
Also Subaru SVX had the window inside a window. Great film, very interesting piece of engineering.
and it's not the Nissan sera, but a Toyota Sera ;)
Great video as usual Jonny. The car you are thinking of is the Toyota Sera, not Nissan. It too is a neat car with gull-wing doors. I've viewed the XL1 at the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville TN. It's the one that Doug DeMuro reviewed.
I really hope Aptera succeeds as a company, because their car is basically an even more efficient, and actually affordable XL1
My main complaint about the Aptera is that it is a two-seater. I use public transport when travelling solo or with my GF. This first model of Aptera is not going to be a solution when we start a family.
We have one in Sweden. A couple of other cool details:
Double wishbone front suspension
Active air flaps for the engine air intake in the front
It has a router in the back connected to VW. They make you sign a GDPR waiver when you take ownership.
Titanium exhaust
When you roll down the window and look from the outside you will see the carbon chassi exposed
Who requires you to sign that GDPR? You'd need to accept one buying anything from any company anyway. If you sell it 2nd hand you could take the router out anyway.
Poor VW lost their way after designing and developing this method of transport. Beautiful efficient aerodynamic quiet and a pleasure to move in through this world. Instead we ended up with deliberate emissions scandals and systemic deception at a corporate level. How far VW fell is beyond belief given this is where designers were at. Reminds me of the lost AudiA2. 😢 Thanks Johnny 👍🏻
I am still waiting for Audi to iterate on the og A2
@@mrhaftbar yeah that would be nice………… I have one 👍🏻🚙
I've got a VW amarok non dieselgate but Ive tricked the computer ( making it think its 46 deg outside) to turn it into a dieselgate VW.
it keeps the EGR closed 95% of the time and has cut fuel consumption and Co2 by 10%
the oil stays cleaner for longer extending the servicing by 25%
the distance between DPF regen has increased more than 300% so that's another win for the environment and extending the life of the vehicle.
I often get 1000km per tank at 100km/h on 25 deg days (80L diesel tank)
not bad for a 2100kg full time 4x4 pick up truck thats 2m wide
It’s one of my favourite cars, the idea, execution, and tiny details, are just amazing. Really appreciate you taking a gander at one
Love the XL1, I also really love the first gen Insight. The XL1 design reminds me heavily of the GM EV1, a car I instantly fell in love with the first time I saw it in person, I still want one with new battery tech. Such a shame automakers are incentivized to build large suvs and trucks for the American market rather than further developing efficient vehicles.
Too bad GM destroyed all the EV1s.
You can buy how a Tesla model 3 or Hyundai ioniq 6 good aerodynamics electric Cars.consumotion 15kwh/100km around 1,5litres gasoline
The Aptera is for sale. 337 MPG. 40 miles of which can come from it's solar panels....
If people will buy them, they'll make them....
I find this car incredibly fascinating. While I have my concerns about the lack of grip from the tiny tyres and the rather underwhelming engine make this a car I wouldn't buy, I love the idea of a no compromise design and this is a perfect example of that. It's frustrating that VW practically abandoned this school of thought and has reverted to conventional hybrid and EV designs with literal tonnes of compromises. I think the world would be much better if there were more of this and far fewer Tiguans and Tuaregs.
Small correction: the Sera is not a Nissan, but a Toyota. Mechanically, it's a Paseo in fancy dress with a little bit more power and very slightly less weight. From the few things I've heard about it, people talk about how it looks not how it drives, so that's telling.
One of these turns up to the local cars and coffee event each month. Until I saw it I’d forgotten they even existed, what amazing machines. I always liked the 3 litre Lupo too, VW pushing the boundaries of minimal fuel usage!
Nice reminder of quite how many remarkable cars for which we have to thank Ferdinand Piech. I've always liked the XL-1, much like the 1st Gen Insight, cars with a singularity of purpose always seem fascinating and characterful. Always worth mentioning the XL-Sport concept, too - a sports car far ahead of it's time, and more relevant now than ever.
This is what cars should have become. Humanity needs an affordable car like this ASAP.
Jonny please do a review of the Lupo 3L and Audi A2 3L. The Vw XL1 is and was a very expensive and low production hypermiler but the Lupo and Audi 3L's were sold in the masses and have never been bettered. Find another car that actually does a real world 94 (uk) mpg as tested by many motoring journalists. Infact in in most cases they achieved over 100 (uk) mpg! A true pair of hypermiling classics. (I may be biased owning a Lupo 3L though lol)
I keep looking at TOYOTA Sera's. Got very tempted by a freshly imported rare manual version last year. Stick a Prius gearbox in one for an easy EV conversion.
I've heard it was the inspiration for the F1's doors. It certainly would have been on Gordon's radar with it being a little lightweight sportsish car.
Back before kids when i had my citrus mk1 insight i used to commute on the m56 to runcorn and back. One day a white vw xl just like the one in the video drove alongside me. The driver gave me a knowing nod as if to acknowlege the inspiration VW had taken from honda. Such a shame car companies are no longer brave enough to make cars like this now.
We’re two peas in a pod! I just love the efficiency studies before the accountants ruled the world. Another first Jonny. Keep it going. Ed
We need cars shaped like those. Ultra efficient electric two seaters...
This car has fascinated me from launch, people wouldnt dare spend £90k on one of these but yet thousands of people spend that, and more, on big heavy EV's and Massive SUV's. The way the car market has gone makes me really sad, so much over engineering to compensate for excessive weight and power that makes everything so expensive. Smaller and lighter vehicles are the answer to so many questions but i suppose they are hard to make large amounts of profit from. VW were on to something in principal and technology with the XL1 but just followed everyone else instead...shame. Absolutely brilliant content Jonny, thank you so much for all your hard work
Didn’t even know this was ever produced anywhere! The concept first came out when I was a kid and I was OBSESSED!
Great review Jonny, I remember very well all the R&D and testing being done on the XL1almost 20 yrs ago, if VW were able to retrofit a battery pack with modern chemistry for owners without changing anything else about it, I'd say you'd almost double the EV only driving range, the one problem that would occur is the modern BMS wouldn't easily interface with the original system and allot of reprogramming it to make it work smoothly, so lets leave good enough alone, still a brilliant car and a definite head turner 👍
Giving it 100km of extra EV only range. I would also like to add a 10l biodiesel flex fuel tank as well.
With less than 1L/100km just give it a 40L fuel tank and you'd only have to fill it up twice per year
The tragedy of the XL1 is that almost none of this development work percolated back in VW group products.
Its a Toyota SERA. They were more about style over substance being I think, Corolla underpinnings (maybe Starlet?). Audi A2 is an equal to this car, as it seats 4 without packaging limitations really. I doubt you could better that for a 4 seater. BMW i3 may come close. However, this is an excellent video, thank you, and I would love to own an XL1 to go with my Audi A2 (and Reliant Robin- yes it also a cutting edge design for the 1970s).
Ed Straker’s car made real. It’s a shame this direction and the BMW i3 direction have been sacrificed on the massive SUV altar.
Thank you. Nice to revisit this car in detail. I first became aware of it following the VW quadricycle concept, due to an interest in future-mobility & lightweight urban-design / development.
I used to work for Porsche (at a lowly level.) I drove Porsche-hero's daily, although my favourite car was a trade-in Lotus Elise S2 111S. It was all about doing one thing, as best it could..
"Fit for purpose" Insight, XL1, i3, etc. I love what engineers do when they're given a clear brief & target... (and permission to lose money in pursuit of a goal, to prove a concept.)
Love these. Saw one at a Silverstone Auction about 5 years ago. Failed to sell with a reserve around 60k. Remember at the time trying to justify man maths. Knew that would seem cheap in the future.
Great video didn’t know anything about this car and good to see you provide so much detail about a ten year old model. What an ingenious bit of engineering and such a shame the industry has not gone down this route instead favouring over sized over weight pointless suv style Ev and hybrids.
The drawback to cars like this has always been that they’re expensive to buy, and they only seat 2 people. There is absolutely no flexibility with them for transporting more than 2 people or some cargo. I’ve long thought that a car (as in a fairly low profile roofline station wagon not a bloody silly SUV) with some kind of extendable cargo bed and a removable cap for that area could achieve very good mileage results and provide the flexibility of both high fuel efficiency and the ability to carry a reasonable amount of cargo when necessary.
Crazy to think that VW could develop this at a time when they were lying to their customers about how efficient their diesel engines were... oh the irony.
Exactly, it's all BS and virtue signalling. No way it returned 300mpg either. No way on earth.
Thanks, Jonny. It would be interesting to see a fully electric version of this car, with a slightly more powerful motor and larger pack. With the low weight and aero efficiency, it could be a great EV solution for many if produced in sufficient volume to reduce costs.
10 litres of diesel weighs 8.53kg and even if you did make it EV you miss the point of why they made it a hybrid and not just EV.
@fraserwright9482 no, I didn't miss the point at all. Batteries and motors have improved substantially over the years, and an EV version of this could be very compelling and much more efficient than most of the EVs available. No hybrid or gas/diesel engine can come close to the efficiency of an EV currently.
Is called the Aptera, and hopefully will be on the market soon!
@@jamesengland7461 the Aptera will be efficient, but the design is nothing like this vehicle. A modern interpretation of the VW with a full EV powetrain would be a much better option for many people.
@fraserwright9482 If it can go 30 miles on 5.5kwh battery, that would be another 2kwh for the weight of the fuel almost 50miles. Then there is the weight of the engine, starter motor , fluids etc combined with latest battery tech should be able to get well over 100miles with the same weight.
Love it. Wish they would make a new version with all the learning since.
Did you hear the lady say “Look at that!” in Stamford, when you had the window down?! 😊😊😊
If you like the XL1 you also should get your butt into an Aptera which is getting closer and closer to production, the first production parts are alredy made and validated. CD will be about 0.13 or more likely even a bit less!
A local car museum here in Tennessee has one, I spent so much time going over the details of this car. Absolute gem, wish this concept took off.
I'd like to see you have a look at the Aptera which is due to be on the market next year. They do have driveable prototypes, but this company is based in the USA. An all electric car which has solar panels that are capable of giving you 40 miles of range on a sunny day, as well as batteries. The higher spec one is capable of doing up to 1,000 miles on one charge apparently
I can't wait!
Aptera is not in production yet. Maybe John avoid prototypes?
Even though it's pre-production, I'd like to see your take on the Aptera in Carlsbad California.
The Riversimple Rasa uses 115 tyres so they are still available. Perhaps hard to find though? The Rasa also has similar doors and overall shape.
Why aren’t all EVs designed with a futuristic flare instead of being SUV boxes!
*Flair.
@@AtheistOrphan need some of that too…. Then would sell like hot cakes
Rich people are the only ones who buy them, and rich people need leather, reversing cameras, iPhone docks etc etc etc.
@@MattyEngland what’s that got to do with my comment about design?
Still one of my favorite cars. Had a chance to drive in one - loved it. Also on my list: the Audi A2, which could easily be launched as a compact EV.
I suppose the spiritual successor to these hypermilers would be solar powered cars. For example the Aptera where you have a tear drop shaped pod vehicle that is designed to move around one or two people for minimal energy (gathered from the sun) but don't expect to be carrying around suitcases.
Aptera has a big trunk you can lie down in, and plenty of suitcase room.
The woman at the pedestrian crossing "what's that??" You would not think thats 10 years and if I seen one today i would be over like a shot for a look.
A excellent review as always Mr Smith.
A shame I missed seeing you out around Stamford in this, such an interesting car (likewise with the Insight). If only some EVs would be this sort of shape... Not quite as hypermile as either of these two but the Volt/Ampera was way ahead of it's time and I have been asked multiple times if mine is a company car (now 11 years old) - not bad for an old Vauxhall!
Love the Ampera, which is why I sold my Insight the first time to get a Volt.
I thought it was Stamford, I used to deliver to Bakehouse Kitchens. To the shop, and to their workshop.
Aptera is the next step forward
i walk past an ampera every day taking my son to school. such a shame you dont see many of them its a handsome car and aged really well.
What a fascinating vehicle, thank you so much for featuring this Jonny 😸
Beautiful video, Mr. Smith, Thank you! If I had to design a car, it would look similar to this. Drag reduction and good aerodynamics. I hope Aptera manages to come to market. There are a lot of similarities to the XL1.
YAASSS, I hope so too! Was hoping I wouldn't be the only one mentioning Aptera!
Along the same lines is the Porsche 918 spyder. 200mph shooting 3 foot flames all while getting 40mpg. It literally got better mileage than a Prius. While it obviously costs a lot more, it also showed how when you use hybrid technology the correct way, you do not have to give up performance. These cars are a prime example of how hybrids are far superior to pure EVs. They really are the future.
So cool. It’d be great to see them do a modern day EV version, with a small battery and really high efficiency
It's still under development but check out the Aptera
I saw one of these at Tatton park VW show in August, of all the cars there I couldn’t believe my eyes. But I’ve learned more about them in this episode than I ever knew.
Cheers Jonny 👍🏼
I bet the battery density in terms of wh/kg has doubled since this was built. More than doubling the electric range. Such a shame cars like this aren't more of a thing.
Aptera!
Has to be one of the very coolest looking cars since the 90s.
So futuristic, especially in white.
Great episode Jonny, thanks . always loved the xl1 every since i saw the prototype black one a long while ago, they still look futuristic with beautiful lines and detail.
Also an insight was on my wishlist for a while but timing wasn't right, (starts looking for a blue one again😄) glad to see yours still going well🚙 👍
Hypermiling will never be so so cool again.
Mad times back then at VAG, XL1, Phaeton, Veyron.
Love these, never mind the engineering, it just looks so good and clean, I cant get enough of it! And I love these hyper efficient cars!
Today, I'd probably still pick an EV over one of these but this is superb!
We need more of this and less of rolling livingrooms with screens everywhere... Seats alone in a modern car weigh as much as this entire car almost!
One of my favorite EV's is the little Honda E.. and ofc the Ioniq 5... the 6 look very good but not the prettiest design ever, but if its efficient, I'll take it!
KIA Nero EV was a favorite of mine for a long time.
I love the XL1 at 0.18. At 0.13, I can’t wait for the Aptera.
I remember a sporty concept version that had a Ducati engine, lacked the rear spats though sadly.
I remember that too. There was a discussion of putting the 1299 engine to this thing. That would have been mega.
There is one issue you didn't mentioned about this car, maybe you didn't know it, so I'm honored to add it you vast car knolegment. The ground reason for passenger seat to be so back is realy to add on the weight reduction. Because the clearence of the passenger to the cockpit is so big, the passenger airbag is not legaly required, and you can check that this car don't have it.
"Your face will be smashed, but Greta will be happy"
More importantly, it makes the car narrower for better aero
XL1 is a beautiful car❤❤ . I've always love the first Gen Honda Insight ❤
Insights are certainly cheaper to buy and live with.
What I find bizarre is that if I put the registration into our local city emissions zone charges website it isn't free, there's a charge. Yeah, I know it's a diesel but come-on, it's using thimble quantities of fuel and is also hybrid. Barking mad!
Subaru had a car with windows within windows for a while in the late1980s. I forget the name, but I think it had three initials as opposed to a NAME.
I noticed when Jonny was closing, and had driven onto a grass field, that the front tire width was wider than the rear tire width, there were four tire tracks behind the car. Amazing design. Make one now, fully electric, or at least, a gasoline hybrid, and people should buy it again. Incredible mileage out of that beautiful design. While an interesting design, the big drawback to most people is the two seat limitation. Slightly larger for four passengers, fully autonomous, like the Tesla FSD option, and you will have a world beater on your hands.😂❤
The Subaru is called the SVX.
I wonder how much this could be made for today, would it be cheaper using the parts bin of VW, plus more upto date manufacturing techniques and learned knowledge of battery and hybrid technologies.
I wish someone would make an EV with the same mindset. Should be possible without costing a fortune.
They Aptera is probably closest.
It's actually more efficient
@@jamesengland7461 not quite finished and sold to customers.
this looks so much better then that aptera....
i also doubt aptera will ever build more then 100 of them but i hope im wrong
Man... My favorite car like this is one you can't even review. It's the long dead 1997 Dodge Intrepid III. Chrysler was one of the few companies to take on then-President Clinton's challenge for higher economy cars. What they ended up with was a 3rd gen Intrepid body, shaped a lot like a fennel seed, a 3-cylinder diesel engine-generator setup that passed through a 5-speed manual transmission that was automatically clutched and shifted by servo motors, terminating at 75hp motors at each wheel. All-wheel drive, locomotive style power delivery system, automated manual transmission, and >60mpg. And it was still largely normal in size.
A great video yet again. A really elegant looking vehicle. I had never seen or heard of it’s existence before.
Partially I suspect that's because VW built it to be the long term poster boy of their diesel range, to show everyone just how impressive their diesels were. Shortly afterwards of course came the emissions scandal and even uttering the word diesel in the factory would have gotten you sacked. The XL1 just never got the press and fanfare it was destined for at the time and as a result, it's far more obscure now than it should be.
If anything about this or any other vehicles ,over the past 3 decades is elegant, stop the planet for a second, I want to jump off. This, like all the rest, is BUTT UGLY !!!
Thank you so much for this episode. I remember this car in the magazines when VW was strutting around. Great to see it up close. Also, thanks for including the insight for comparison. I always wonder why Toyota got the hybrid crown when these two other companies have such compelling approaches.
Great video again Jonny, really enjoy your channel and think it’s great, servicing apparently is extremely expensive. Possibly a great investment if you get one. An amazing feat of engineering by VW regardless 😊
As Citroen so often used spats to cover the rear wheels in the interest of aerodynamics I can’t understand why no other manufacturers do this today? Looks great, in my eyes, as well…
At one point in my life I owned a 3L Lupo for a while. Kind of the prerunner of this. I'm wondering what's your opinion on that?
Imho it came with a love hate relationship. That was caused by the robotized gearbox, I always rode it in "manual" due to the 3h downshift it did when riding away form an intersection😅. But it did manage to do the 3L name more than justice 👍
It's ironic that for a car designed to go as far as possible on one tank, the examples out there have probably only covered a few 1,000.
Great car. A shining example of why it would benefit us all if car makers had the courage to give people what they need, not what they want!
I saw a number of XL1 go through auctions a few years back , cant remember what they sold for , but i fancied one then , as i do now !
I would love to know how many kWh you could get in it now and how far it would go. A very good looking car and love the ethos, but the diesel engine does spoil the party!
I live and work around Wolfsburg and a decade ago these cars were everywhere here, various stages of development prototypes. Indeed a head turner every time.
Thanks for the video Jonny and team. I thought it was interesting they kept the EV charger onboard as it could be jettisoned at home for further weight savings.
Would be interested to know if it had a 12v lead/acid battery as this again would add weight.
All functionality and cost vs distance per gallon decisions I guess.
He said its a lithium pack
I would love a remake of this as a pure EV.
It would achieve insane efficiency
I hope Aptera is successful because that's exactly what they are.
Had an xl1 in my local vw dealer it’ was an amazing looking car but crazy price for its size.. it’s a shame ev makers aren’t focusing on range over performance for modern offerings.
Exactly! The entire EV focus is a silly waving exercise where 0 to 60 is concerned but in reality it should be about how much range you can get.
Most modern EVs are incredibly impressive in both arenas but if manufacturers made the vehicles intended for day to day commuting uses make the most of their power capacity just think of the truly astounding ranges which could become possible!
The worst EV crime is that BMW who made the 2013-2022 i3 has brought out a sort of 3-series with a battery and called it the i3, a nasty marketing ploy.
This is the type of cars that should be produced for everybodys daily commutes to work. Efficient, small economical. So far away from the monstrous electrical SUVs we consider green, which basically still slurp KWs to move. I would wish to own one.
I really want to see someone do a modernized take on this given how far EVs have come. I'm thinking Aptera's design language but with fenders and four wheels combined with whatever black magic Lucid has going on as of late; maybe throw in the aesthetic design that the Eastern Asian manufacturers like to pull off, Honda has some great designs, Hyundai recently has been pushing to be a trendsetter of design with Kia trailing behind them, Toyota occasionally has some decent design, etc. Honestly we'd just need someone to engineer and build it, every component of a modernized take on this already exists in some form, it wouldn't be a massive endeavor to pull it off like it would've been when the XL1 was being developed, it could even have conveniences like any other standard vehicle modernly has rather than being so stripped down; imagine how affordable it could be as well.
I startet to read your comment and imideately thought of Aptera. Not a second later I was very happy to read you know of them too.
On the topic of fenders I dont agree with you though, because that is a major aero improvement compared to something like the xl1.
But 4 wheels might be quite good, although right now with only two seats and a low center of mass (due to the battery) it does not fall over in corners as many people expect.
I think if Aptera builds a 4 or 5 seater in the futere they will go for four wheels, becaus then the center of mass will sit more towards the back.
@@Optimus_SapiensMaybe you should teach yourself about aerodynamics before you state such a mindless opinion, or at least do your due diligence and search for actual fact that's easy to source, even relevant knowledge would help your case. Land speed records, closed wheel. Endurance vehicles that rely on aero efficiency, closed wheel. Supercars, hypercars, etc., closed wheel. F1's regulatory limitation of being open wheel utilizes the massive front wings to push air around the wheel, and they further this by having the inside of the wheel have aero-optimized wishbones. In fact, open wheel is bad for aero, even with a fender-like cap over the open wheel, they're still not great for overall aero performance. Aptera's design isn't as optimized as it could be. Oh, and one of the oldest tricks for boosting aero is to cover the wheel, huh I wonder why VW decided to do that on the XL1's rears, I wonder why numerous other manufacturers have decided to do that on their efficiency-focused vehicles. Speaking of old tricks, why do you think fenders and skirts evolved to become the norm? In a relevant sense, why do you think some older vehicles, from the '50s era I believe, were more aero-efficient in reverse; in fact, SuperfastMatt has a video on this, you should check it out. Sure, driving a brick isn't going to have good aero efficiency, yet look at the drag coefficients EVs are pushing; you can't even take a moment to fact check your opinion with easy to access relevant information that you can get off a Wiki page at a glance. Wanna know why so many manufacturers choose open wheel for their sub-car vehicles? Cost. Speaking of sub-car, do you wanna know why I used that term? Look at anything modern produced at any decent scale that's open wheel, Caterham, the various trikes of both seated and straddle variants, including Aptera, etc. What do they all have in common? Regulatory grey areas, they're not quite a car, they're not quite not a car, and this is how they get away with stuff; and the ones that are regulated in any way also aren't quite road-approved, even if there's some technical or licensed legality, nobody wants a track vehicle on the road. Regulations also have an aspect of safety, say something falls into your open wheel suspension, what happens then, what about pedestrians or animals, etc., that's why there's regulations in the first place; and that's probably why the last open wheel car that your average person could purchase and openly drive was the Plymouth/Chrysler Prowler.
Where Aptera actually sees massive aero improvement is in the body design. They have literally disclosed this factoid in interviews. A direct quote of theirs is of them talking about how they modeled the belly of the vehicle after fish that swim on the sea floor, where they have a hump from belly to tail because they're more hydrodynamic that way. Open wheel has nothing to do with it, in fact it impacts aero efficiency negatively. Again, the design of open wheel is cost cutting, and with Aptera's engineering design this corner cutting save quite a lot. Aptera may see some benefit over a fully open wheel with their massive wheel covers, but at the same time these things aren't exactly streamlined that well; in fact it's probably still a negative compared to going fully closed wheel with a tire that occasionally peeks out from the fender during turns, also this method would allow for turbofans, which you'll not only find aero benefits with but also motor cooling benefits considering Aptera is using in-wheel motors. But, again, costs, as widening the body to incorporate the wheels would cost a significant amount more compared to open wheels with massive covers. Aptera could also go to a four wheel design at any moment without any major efficiency loss, the decision of three wheels is again costs, the post-belly portion of the vehicle is essentially a giant diffuser anyways, and even if they did see some loss there are tricks to get around this; again, go watch that SuperfastMatt video, it's dumbed down enough to where you should understand it, Matt even provides examples of these aero tricks to improve efficiency where you might not expect them.
The world has also come quite a long way from vehicles like the Reliant Robin. Good god that portion of your comment was so entirely irrelevant. Probably wanked over the idea that you're clever, didn't you? 'Most people' don't even think three-wheel vehicles tip over all that often, but oh wait the only trikes that have were put out of production long ago, and there's a commonality between them; they were all deltas (1f2r), rather than tadpoles (2f1r), with a bad center of mass, oh and another factoid is that forward-momentum cornering and major changes in terrain were their major downfalls. You're not clever.
It's absolutely wild how some people will know nothing but believe they have the most educated opinion on a topic, yet won't do the slightest to back their opinion. You're worse than an armchair engineer, you can't even apply basic concepts to logical thought. Stay in school, you might learn something; else I'm sorry the education system failed you.
@@jakesnyder2667
I wonder what drove you to write that enormously long comment. It sounds like you are defending yourself, as if I attacked you with what I said, even though I did not even adress it to you.
Anyways, your last paragraph was a direct statement about my intellect, but how could you think you know all that about me from a comparitively short comment? Because: actually I am studdying engineering and I am going to join the aerodynamics departement of a formula student team from my university and I inform myself about many things in aerodynamics and engineering in general.
Now about the wheels:
On most of the aerodynamics-focused-cars, only the back wheels are covered, because the front wheels have to turn and then the car would either have to have a small turning radius (like a speed record car), or you would have to design the fenders in such a way, that the wheelcovers are a few centimeters away from the tire, so they don´t collide at maximum stering angle. Option one is good for aero but impractical in cities and option two increases the width of the body and thus the frontal aerea and the drag.
So, Aptera made a very optimal shape around the occupants and then added the wheels (that are enclosed by what I would call "fairings" ) outside of the body, which compared to a conventional car or also the XL1, reduces the frontal aerea. Normaly the bumper has to cover everything from one wheel to the other, on the aptera the bumper is firstly shaped like the front of a wing and secondly much smaller than a conventional bumper - so less drag which compensates that the tires are not completely enclosed by the "fairings", because there are also vents for cooling the brakes.
The biggest dirty-air parts on the Aptera I imagine are the struts to the front wheels, the mirrors, the gap for the windscreenwipers, the width of the tail and as I just mentioned the cooling vents.
So yea, the struts to the wheels are one drawback, but imagine putting a bumper in front of them preventing the flow of air throgh them. Many high end cars even channel the air throgh that aerea with the struts of the front tires deliberately, like the Ford GT for example:(d3lp4xedbqa8a5.cloudfront.net/s3/digital-cougar-assets/wheels/2017/06/01/Misc/Ford-GT-front-wheel-aero.jpg ).
The cd value of the XL1 is 0,189 and the cd value of the Aptera is 0,13.
About the frontal aerea (if I can trust the source) the XL1 is a bit smaller, so they both might have about the same drag force at the same speed.
(I found the cd values on multiple websites so i hope they are correct, but it makes sense considering how aerodynamic they look)
And on the topic of armchairs I haven´t seen much innovation so far, so I can see why you think of them as low engineers. One improvment for example could be to make them continously variable in hight, like a bike saddle instead of the steps, (on all the chairs I had it anoyed me I could not get the armchairs to the exact hight of my table) Now that you broght that old thought back into my mind, I want to 3d print myself a new armchair...
I also just had the idea to build a small windtunnel and put 3d printed same-scale-models of different cars, including the Aptera Delta and the Volkswagen XL1, into it and test the drag force at the same Wind speed.
And now I had the idea, to just strap some contaption on the hood of a car and drive at a speed, so that the windspeed is the same and then messure the force the model applyes onto the contraption. This way the effects of the walls on the model in a wind tunnel are eliminated.
Have a good day (or night like in may case now)
Fantastic video, as a fan of all types of cars I really like seeing the extremes of both performance and economy vehicles. Would enjoy more content involving your Insight, perhaps a hyper-mile road trip or similar. Thanks as always!
Looks like Ed Strakers car…….
Toyota Sera! Quite cool little thing with the same style butterfly doors but the glazing wrapped over the roof.
The only car with that feature ? ? ?
It'd be great if you could take a look at the 2010-2013 Honda CR-Z - basically along the same lines as the XL1 & Insight, but fails at being a hyper-miler in favour of pure fun (can you tell I bought one as my first car)
If you removed the diesel engine and fuel tank, you could easily put in +2-3x batteries and have 150-200km range. (probably a lot more considering how much battery packs have improved in W/kg in the past 10 years).
the fuel itself is 8.8kg, the tank is probably plastic and another 5kg. the engine is 50-100kg, so 70kg of modern batteries is about 17.5 Watt hours... so easily 4x the existing ev range.
Brilliant car and as many others have said it’s a shame more cars of this type haven’t been made and, crucially bought.
If I was doing lots of miles for work again I’d definitely get something like an insight rather than use the big family car.
We’ve got an i3 and have no intention of moving that on as it’s brilliant for shorter trips
They do not make them because V8's that rumble and roar are what sells. But we will see in the near future. I have a 2001 G1 Honda Insight and love it. I get about the same mileage as you, US gallons, and find it a joy to drive. We are the few who like the strange cars, like my 2CV.
THIS is where the future of the car SHOULD have gone rather than EV.
Small diesel generator (nerf the co2 to zero) with electric motors to wheels...no plug in bollox. Get the generator to kick in only when batteries need topping up.
You need to revisit the fundamentals of this problem. Plug in EVs just work at this point! The energy efficiency of the grid and a lithium ion (or future gen) battery is several times better than diesel’s “well to wheel” efficiency.
There was one of these XL1s in the Swansea Vw dealership a number of years ago.
Any chance of testing the legendary Vw Lupo 3L, that up until the XL1 arrived, held the World record for fuel efficiency.
I am as besotted with my XL1 as the day it was delivered brand new to me in July 2015. There is nothing like it, period. Of all the amazing and exotic and rare classics I have owned over the last 40 years, the XL1 is the ONLY car I absolutely know I could never tire of and never part with to my dying day. It is my soulmate.
They did a concept back in the 80's called the Elios. Shame it didn't go into production. You can still find details on the Internet. Still looks good
Always loved the VW XL1, both the design and the general ethos. Btw, I´m am lucky enough to actually have had a sit in one at a motorshow. Super cool car in all aspects. The Honda Insight is super cool too!
Jonny, I'd really love to get your take on the Aptera. There's been plenty of 'gushing' coverage, which doesn't inspire confidence. I want to know if it would survive outside of California? Does it live up to the hype? What are the chances of this vehicle forming a new niche? For realz..