VW Says L1 Hybrid Is ‘Most Efficient’ Car in the World [CARS]

I'm a fan! Clocking in at over a 150 miles/gallon, I'm a HUGE fan. Check video of the car here.

FRANKFURT — The green theme of the Frankfurt auto show was consistent throughout the first news media day, and it reached its pinnacle at about noon, when Volkswagen introduced “the most fuel-efficient automobile in the world.”

No one argued.

Calling it, the L1 concept an automobile is something of a stretch, although it does seat two and moves on four wheels. But that’s where convention ends.

The bullet-shape L1 — perhaps the first-generation Honda Insight reinvented? — sips diesel to the tune of 1.4 liters per 100 kilometers (61 miles). It is a hybrid, and the diesel engine is supplemented by an electric motor. The carbon fiber-reinforced body shell weighs only about 280 pounds, and the whole car checks in at about 650 pounds, thanks to its aluminum brakes, carbon-fiber wheels, titanium hubs and ceramic bearings. The fuel tank — tank, indeed — holds just 1.7 gallons of fuel.

The L1 is incredibly small. In photos, it looks like a car. In the metal, it has the appearance of a small plane, to which someone forgot to attach the wings and a tail. Walter de Silva, Volkswagen’s head of design, says the shape “redefines classic and aesthetic vehicle traits. All of its moving parts are integrated so accurately that the body resembles a rocket or jet.”

Ergonomically, the interior offers a 180-degree view of the instruments and controls, and a round start button doubles as a shift lever for the seven-speed Direct Shift Gearbox transmission. For the display screen in front of the driver, VW uses high-contrast OLED (organic LED) technology.

VW says that the L1 hybrid will be available in 2010, in limited numbers.

via NYT