VW has a 313mpg diesel hybrid!

Wayne

Wayne

Active Member
Administrator
Joined
Mar 26, 2005
Messages
1,888
Reaction score
757
vwxl1-2-537x361.jpg

Volkswagen just unveiled a new car at the Qatar Motor Show that gets an astounding 100km for less than a lieter of diesel fuel – that’s the equivalent of 313 miles per gallon! The green car is an upgraded version of the VW L1 vehicle and it features an ultra-efficient diesel engine in addition to an electric motor that is powered by a lithium-ion battery.

http://inhabitat.com/volkswagen-to-unveil-235mpg-car-at-2011-qatar-motor-show/
 
Glaucus said:
The only downside is that you still need to pull over every 200 miles or so to make costly repairs to the thing. :twisted:
Click to expand...

What a crap website that is! I'm a long time VW owner of various models and do NOT have the experiences listed there. There have been specific issues with specific models, just like any car company. My 2006 Golf TDI which I bought new in 2005 has needed 1 major repair (turbo) and one minor repair (water pump). Both repairs were under factory warranty, turbo in 2006 and water pump in 2007. I now have 93,000 miles on it and warranty has been expired due to mileage since late 2007. I have had no repairs in 4 years. There are some minor fit & finish issues, just like any car in it's price range. Overall I am very happy with the car. This TDI gets 44MPG, better than most hybrids and without a costly battery pack.
 
@Glaucus.
US made VW's are often built in Central America. 'German' cars sold in NA are typically at the bottom of quality reports, this includes VW. In 2011 the Tennesee plant is supposed to come online. I'd expect a quality increase with not only a newer plant but with a Tennesee better workforce.
 
What I'd like to see is German cars built in Japan. Germans are good at engineering, Japanese are good at manufacturing. That would be the ultimate car. Surprised no one has done this yet.
 
Glaucus said:
What I'd like to see is German cars built in Japan. Germans are good at engineering, Japanese are good at manufacturing. That would be the ultimate car. Surprised no one has done this yet.
Click to expand...
My 2005 Saab 92x was a partially US owned Japanense manufactured Swedish car. Just over 130K and I never had any major or minor repairs. (Well except the front bumper due to my dumb driving not manufacture caused like a bad turbo.) Normal work - tires, brakes, oil, plugs...
 
faethor said:
@Glaucus.
I'd expect a quality increase with not only a newer plant but with a Tennesee better workforce.
Click to expand...
Except that probably 90% of the workers in a new plant will more than likely be unskilled Mexican workers. Seems to be a trend around here with everyone from Toyota (local HSV plant) to Mercedes and Kia around Birmingham.

Sorry to be off-topic. Yes, I'd actually like one of the 313mpg hybrid diesels. Surprised no one thought of making a diesel hybrid until now really, but even knowing that torque is the real number, I wonder if 29 horsepower would be enough to carry my butt around, even at 100 mpg.

Wayne
 
@Wayne

It's 48hp diesel + 27hp electric. My 69 Spitfire's 1.3L produces about 75hp so the car isn't unreasonable. That car goes 0-60 in about 15 seconds so that may give you some idea of performance. The Spitfire gets me in the low 30MPG. So this 260mpg (US) is quit an improvement. Also, don't forget one doesn't feel horsepower one feels torque. I'd suspect the diesel + electric torque would be a bit snappier thant he Spitfire's gas engine.
 
faethor said:
My 69 Spitfire's 1.3L produces about 75hp so the car isn't unreasonable.
Click to expand...

I had a '73. It was a lovely beast (after a few expensive services). The electrics were pretty good but whenever it rained (which is does quite a lot in Vancouver) the wipers would short out. I don't have that beast anymore. Shame.
My brother has a '65 which used to run before he had kids. It's been sitting under a tarp for years now. He still thinks he'll get the time to work on it one day. I suspect that he'll finally get 'round to pulling off the tarp and he'll be greeted by nothing but a blizzard of orange/red flakes.
 
Wayne said:
Sorry to be off-topic. Yes, I'd actually like one of the 313mpg hybrid diesels. Surprised no one thought of making a diesel hybrid until now really, but even knowing that torque is the real number, I wonder if 29 horsepower would be enough to carry my butt around, even at 100 mpg.
Click to expand...

I've driven 60's VW Bugs with ~35HP engines and were heavier than this, they moved pretty good when in tune.
 
Glaucus said:
The only downside is that you still need to pull over every 200 miles or so to make costly repairs to the thing. :twisted:
Click to expand...
In related news.. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened an investigation into Volkswagen Passat sedans and wagons built between 2001 and 2007 due to underhood fires.
 
Honestly, I'd rather take this car: Jaguar C-X75

Jaguar has unveiled the C-X75 concept, an extended range electric vehicle that uses twin gas micro-turbines from Bladon Jets to power two switched reluctance generators from SR Drives. (Earlier post.) Traction is provided by four 145 kW (195 bhp), 400 N·m (295 lb-ft) traction motors at each wheel for total drive power of 580 kW/780 bhp.
Click to expand...

jaguar_c_x75-e1286132564102.jpg


Not only is it a lot of fun and looks amazing, but it gets 900Km on a tank. Not bad.
 
Glaucus said:
Not only is it a lot of fun and looks amazing, but it gets 900Km on a tank. Not bad.
Click to expand...

That sounds like an unlikely figure. You'd have to drive it like a golf cart to get anywhere near that mileage - and with a half a megawatt drive chain I doubt that many people would have the self discipline to pull it off.
 
True, but no car is efficient while track racing. The point is, if you want to conserve energy, you have that option. Of course, if you have the cash to buy one of these beasts, you have the cash to burn fuel at will. However the technology can easily be cut down and made more mainstream.

As for it's efficiency, it's hard to say. I do know that any engine running at it's peak efficiency can sip gas. Our current day engines suffer mostly because the engine revs up and down with speed and it's impossible to optimize for every RPM point (things like VTEC and all that variable valve timing technology tries to fix that, but it's always easier and better to just lock the engine at a set RPM and optimize the hell out of it). Add to that the fact that the turbines are smaller and lighter and there's literally no transmission, and I can see how a car can reach that kind of distance on a tank of gas. The question is, how big is that tank?
 
FluffyMcDeath said:
Glaucus said:
Not only is it a lot of fun and looks amazing, but it gets 900Km on a tank. Not bad.
Click to expand...

That sounds like an unlikely figure. You'd have to drive it like a golf cart to get anywhere near that mileage - and with a half a megawatt drive chain I doubt that many people would have the self discipline to pull it off.
Click to expand...
you call???? :mrgreen:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top