RE: VW XL1: 119,000 euros
Discussion
Strange looking thing. Looks like a Scirocco trying to escape from a shrinking bin bag.
The selling of 200 is clearly a PR/Marketing deal in order to gain coverage and re-position the VW brand for the roll out of their commercial EVs/Hybrids/ultra diesels.
The Veyron as a stand alone business is a loss maker but in a PR role of moving the brand it has to have been a massive winner.
I suspect that there will be some multi-nationals who would not think it much to drop a bar on 10 of them for their own PR/marketing purposes. Who knows. But it's got people talking about the brand already.
Maybe the decision to sell some has come about in reaction to the seemingly quite large take-up of the BMW product and the coverage that is getting?
The selling of 200 is clearly a PR/Marketing deal in order to gain coverage and re-position the VW brand for the roll out of their commercial EVs/Hybrids/ultra diesels.
The Veyron as a stand alone business is a loss maker but in a PR role of moving the brand it has to have been a massive winner.
I suspect that there will be some multi-nationals who would not think it much to drop a bar on 10 of them for their own PR/marketing purposes. Who knows. But it's got people talking about the brand already.
Maybe the decision to sell some has come about in reaction to the seemingly quite large take-up of the BMW product and the coverage that is getting?
Judging by the way that limited editions are currently being snapped up by collectors I don't think they'll have trouble shifting 200 of them.
Recalling how quickly all the vastly overrated Beetle RSI's sold ten years ago (at £54k each!) they'll sell alright. It doesn't make sense to me either.
Recalling how quickly all the vastly overrated Beetle RSI's sold ten years ago (at £54k each!) they'll sell alright. It doesn't make sense to me either.
Like a lot of other comments here, i am shocked and disappointed at the price. I really do not see the point in them producing the car at all given the numbers. They should have ditched the CF chassis for steel or aluminium to get the costs down and offered a non hybrid manual version as base spec car. This just shows how much the insight was ahead of its time.
PHMatt said:
Look like the random lovechild of a golf, Audi R8 and a bag of human feaces.
Revolting looking thing. It would be criminally insane for that thing to appreciate in value, ever. The only thing I would appreciate is not having to see one. Ever.
I think it looks fantastic. Very futuristic. They do need to fix those shutlines though (something that sleek looking shouldn't have visible shut lines). and the front could do with a spot of work. But apart from that, A+ to VAG for trying. Maybe get Citroen's people in to re-do the front end, add a couple of mirrors, get Citroen to do the interior as well (VAG interiors are so bland it's a wonder their owners don't immediately commit suicide whenever they get into them), and we'll have a winner for sure.Revolting looking thing. It would be criminally insane for that thing to appreciate in value, ever. The only thing I would appreciate is not having to see one. Ever.
How many Hollywood celebs were at great pains to tell the world they drove a prius 3-4 years ago?
How many of them will be desperate to tell the world how wonderful they are buying one of these?
That is where the market is. They can show off about how they love the environment so much they spent £90k on a car more efficient than a Prius, whilst skipping over the fact that they would think nothing of spending £90k on many other pointless things.
At the same time VW get an image as a leader in fashionable eco cars as now every film star, musician, director etc HAS to have one.
I totally see the point in this for VW.
How many of them will be desperate to tell the world how wonderful they are buying one of these?
That is where the market is. They can show off about how they love the environment so much they spent £90k on a car more efficient than a Prius, whilst skipping over the fact that they would think nothing of spending £90k on many other pointless things.
At the same time VW get an image as a leader in fashionable eco cars as now every film star, musician, director etc HAS to have one.
I totally see the point in this for VW.
This car has as much "point" as a £100k supercar, in that those are all about going "fast" as possible, and this is about going as "far" as possible. Good on Ya VW for building it!
(BTW Robert Llewellyn has managed 565mpg out of one this morning!)
bobbyllew on twitter
(BTW Robert Llewellyn has managed 565mpg out of one this morning!)
bobbyllew on twitter
A couple of things to mention.
Andrew Frankel did 122mpg in one today
And posted a photo showing the drag as 0.189
@Andrew_Frankel on the Twitter
As for the comparison with a Tesla Roadster, yeah the roadster is much cooler, more fun etc but is not a rival for XL1. 0 - 62 3.9 vs 12s... but im sure in the race to cover 600 miles the XL1 wins with ease as the tesla doesnt have the range.
Andrew Frankel did 122mpg in one today
And posted a photo showing the drag as 0.189
@Andrew_Frankel on the Twitter
As for the comparison with a Tesla Roadster, yeah the roadster is much cooler, more fun etc but is not a rival for XL1. 0 - 62 3.9 vs 12s... but im sure in the race to cover 600 miles the XL1 wins with ease as the tesla doesnt have the range.
Carparticus said:
The emphasis on this article is it being the first "eco collectors car" (??!?), limited run, expensive'ish, and 600 miles on 10 litres of diesel.
[b]Looking at these points in a slightly different way, 600m / 10 litres of fuel = 272 MPG, or 600 miles for £14 of fuel, or 2.3 pence per mile.
The cost of doing 600 miles in most EV's including a Tesla Roadster is about £9 if grid charging is used, or 1.5 pence per mile. But the vast majority of publicly accessible high-powered chargers are FREE to use, so that 600 miles would be cost nothing.[/b]
And if you wanted to be real eco and don’t mind the initial high cost, all EV's can be plugged directly into a modest off-grid solar PV array (with some trick load buffering, without any grid involvement) and promptly run for decades for free from the big yellow thing in the sky. The initial cost of PV charging would be about the same as 1 yrs petrol for an average car … And in a Roadster you get to enjoy some serious poke in the form of 0-60 in 3.7 seconds.
Still, the XL1 is brave and interesting project, but if its all about eco and cost saving I'd go and recycle some ownership for the original Honda Insight. Looks similar, seats 4, has the same 0-60 mph in 12s and is less than 1/20th the outlay !
Two points....[b]Looking at these points in a slightly different way, 600m / 10 litres of fuel = 272 MPG, or 600 miles for £14 of fuel, or 2.3 pence per mile.
The cost of doing 600 miles in most EV's including a Tesla Roadster is about £9 if grid charging is used, or 1.5 pence per mile. But the vast majority of publicly accessible high-powered chargers are FREE to use, so that 600 miles would be cost nothing.[/b]
And if you wanted to be real eco and don’t mind the initial high cost, all EV's can be plugged directly into a modest off-grid solar PV array (with some trick load buffering, without any grid involvement) and promptly run for decades for free from the big yellow thing in the sky. The initial cost of PV charging would be about the same as 1 yrs petrol for an average car … And in a Roadster you get to enjoy some serious poke in the form of 0-60 in 3.7 seconds.
Still, the XL1 is brave and interesting project, but if its all about eco and cost saving I'd go and recycle some ownership for the original Honda Insight. Looks similar, seats 4, has the same 0-60 mph in 12s and is less than 1/20th the outlay !
Edited by Carparticus on Thursday 24th October 11:43
The XL-1 can do those 600miles in one day without having to stop and recharge (how many charges would a Tesla Roadster need to cover 600miles? and how long to those charges take?
)The original Honda insight is not a 4 seater. It is a strict 2 seater (and tiny).
Love the XL-1, I for one am not surprised about the price as it was rumoured ages ago it would be in the 100k bracket. God I wish I could afford one as I think it looks superb and love the idea/tech behind it!
RTH said:
If you are willing to spend £100,000 on a car - then you are not bothered about miles per gallon.
It is the people with £7000 for a new car that need 100mpg now.
I think it's a worthwhile target, even if it's just for the engineering. Same as the CX17, or (with different targets)the Veyron.It is the people with £7000 for a new car that need 100mpg now.
Car engineering moves forward when people ask "can a car be made to do XXX?", even if that's not somethign most people look for. Twenty years later, no-one can remember when they couldn't.
exceed said:
Hmm, keep going down VW. Think the car is amazing, imagine if it sold for £20-30k.
I'd drop my reservation for the i3 so quick!
I'm not sure. It's very slow and is all about hyper miling. I'd drop my reservation for the i3 so quick!
The i3 has a fat wall of torque so that when you mash the throttle you get some thrills.
RTH said:
If you are willing to spend £100,000 on a car - then you are not bothered about miles per gallon.
It is the people with £7000 for a new car that need 100mpg now.
People dont all have the same opinions just because they earn a certain amount of money.It is the people with £7000 for a new car that need 100mpg now.
There are rich people who wouldnt touch a supercar, and those who love them. There are rich people who are very environmentally concious, and those who arent. There are rich people who eat poorly, and rich people who eat extravagantly.
Al Gore is worth hundreds of millions of dollars...based on what he does, do you think he drives a Veyron?
Wadeski said:
Al Gore is worth hundreds of millions of dollars...based on what he does, do you think he drives a Veyron?
That's the problem when you decide to milk and exploit the green agenda for every penny that you can rip out of it there isn't much you can the spend your money on to have fun. Is tofu fun? Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff