Thursday 24th October 2013

VW XL1: 119,000 euros [Updated]

VW's XL1 bids for future classic status as price and 200-unit production run announced

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VW's XL1 is a pioneer in many ways, not least its apparent ambition to become the first true eco collector's car. Apparent confirmation that just 200 will be built and sold at a price of 119,000 euros whips up further excitement around this groundbreaking car.

The first pin-up car of the eco age?

A diesel hybrid, causing a buzz on PH and on the brink of joining the supercar elite in terms of price and desirability? Unusual times indeed but it's a measure of how the XL1 has captured the imagination that VW has elected to maintain the car's exclusivity by limiting production to such an extent. Ironic though that this very desirability will probably see few ever making use of that extended range - it'll do 600 miles to a tank of fuel but as collector's items how many will even use up that first 10 litres of fuel?

Why the fuss though? Well, you can read Matt's first taste of the XL1 here and Harris has been Tweeting his praise after a quick go earlier in the week. Tree hugger or not, the XL1's coolness transcends typical automotive divides and as a design and technology curiosity ticks all the boxes. For geeks like us Piech's subtle nods to the Porsche 917 don't do any harm either.

At the time of writing we had no official confirmation of the price or production run from VW despite the original story on 4WheelsNews claiming thus; as soon as we do we'll keep you posted.

Either way, if the XL1 is going to cost a lot to buy it's probably a fraction of what it will have cost VW to make...

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Update:
We spoke with VW UK and though the price hasn't been confirmed here or in Germany (the 'official' figure in the original story appears to be ... unofficial) the ballpark figure for UK cars would be in the region of £90,000.

The production figure is, however, correct with 200 customer cars scheduled for completion following the 50 pre-production cars already built and in circulation for appraisal, media drives and the rest. This batch of 200 customer cars will include 'minor refinements' before delivery over these initial 50 cars.

Sales of the XL1 will apparently be managed centrally from VW HQ in Germany via local dealers, with 'up to 30' expected in the UK.

[Original source: 4WheelsNews]

 

 

 

 

[Dempsey1971]

A little confused by this. Surely, with an Eco project, the aim is to get the maximum number of people using it to have the greatest impact on the environment.
At this price, it will be rare and have no impact.
Great technology, but how will this capture the imagination of non-PHers if it is never seen?

[Dempsey1971]

kambites said:

Dempsey1971 said:

A little confused by this. Surely, with an Eco project, the aim is to get the maximum number of people using it to have the greatest impact on the environment.

I don't think the idea is that the XL1 itself will have any appreciable effect on automotive emissions. It's a technical demonstrator, nothing more.

I can kind of see the point, but if that is the case, why productionise it at all?
Other manufacturers have used lease deals or given the cars to customers to do real world testing with. By pricing this at such a high price point, they are still not going to make a profit (I imagine a billion plus in R&D has gone into this so far), but they are also not going to get any real world data back, as the car will not be used in a real world way (i.e. commute to office, going shopping, mother in laws on a Sunday etc etc) as the buyers will not have that lifestyle, and will also have several other cars to use on a daily basis.

This just doesn't make sense. Headlines for all the wrong reasons.