RE: VW confirms XL1 production
Discussion
te looking car, 
Chicane-UK said:
But do you not think, if VW could make these for a reasonably affordable price, and be the first to market with such a model, they'd sell them by the absolutely BOAT load?
The problem is that they can't be made for what you regard as a reasonably affordable price.The car is built out of carbon fibre, that alone will stop it from being made cheaply. It's expensive enough to build stuff out of cheaper materials.
Put another way, if VW could make a <insert your favourit expensive car here> derivative for a reasonably affordable price, and be the first to market with such a model, they'd sell them by the absolutely BOAT load. -- well, obviously.
C
CraigyMc said:
The problem is that they can't be made for what you regard as a reasonably affordable price.
The car is built out of carbon fibre, that alone will stop it from being made cheaply. It's expensive enough to build stuff out of cheaper materials.
Put another way, if VW could make a <insert your favourit expensive car here> derivative for a reasonably affordable price, and be the first to market with such a model, they'd sell them by the absolutely BOAT load. -- well, obviously.
C
Yeah, but you don't HAVE to make it out of carbon fibre. And Carbon fibre doesn't HAVE to be expensive anyway. The cost is plummeting these days.The car is built out of carbon fibre, that alone will stop it from being made cheaply. It's expensive enough to build stuff out of cheaper materials.
Put another way, if VW could make a <insert your favourit expensive car here> derivative for a reasonably affordable price, and be the first to market with such a model, they'd sell them by the absolutely BOAT load. -- well, obviously.
C
Mr Gear said:
Yeah, but you don't HAVE to make it out of carbon fibre.
Oh, I see you're talking about another, heavier, less fuel-efficient car.Mr Gear said:
And Carbon fibre doesn't HAVE to be expensive anyway. The cost is plummeting these days.
It's moved from $1m cars (eg. F1) to $250K (eg. 12C) cars in the last 10 years.That doesn't mean it will be in $30K cars this year. The cheapest car with a structural carbonfibre chassis is still the 12C, as far as I know.
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CraigyMc said:
It's moved from $1m cars (eg. F1) to $250K (eg. 12C) cars in the last 10 years.
That doesn't mean it will be in $30K cars this year. The cheapest car with a structural carbonfibre chassis is still the 12C, as far as I know.
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The Alfa 4C that launches this year and reportedly sub £50k has a carbon fibre chassis/body.That doesn't mean it will be in $30K cars this year. The cheapest car with a structural carbonfibre chassis is still the 12C, as far as I know.
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dc2rr07 said:
vsabljic said:
Eidolon said:
If they do away with the rear wheel covers they'd have a reasonably good looking Coupe in my opinion.
wheels are not where you expect them..
Designers obviously not interested in the driver been able to see out the back !
I saw this last year in the factory, rolling along silently.
What struck me most was the very low and tiny body, wonder how they pass NAACP crash tests
and pedestrian accident tests.
A SUV will just feel a slight bump when going over this wedge.
Great concept though, carrier of technology and image.
I heard rumors of 1.000 cars to be produced, priced at 100.000€ each,
and have no doubts that they will sell quickly, to techno-geeks, collectors,
and celebs who want to show their green side.
What struck me most was the very low and tiny body, wonder how they pass NAACP crash tests
and pedestrian accident tests.
A SUV will just feel a slight bump when going over this wedge.
Great concept though, carrier of technology and image.
I heard rumors of 1.000 cars to be produced, priced at 100.000€ each,
and have no doubts that they will sell quickly, to techno-geeks, collectors,
and celebs who want to show their green side.
Strawman said:
CraigyMc said:
It's moved from $1m cars (eg. F1) to $250K (eg. 12C) cars in the last 10 years.
That doesn't mean it will be in $30K cars this year. The cheapest car with a structural carbonfibre chassis is still the 12C, as far as I know.
C
The Alfa 4C that launches this year and reportedly sub £50k has a carbon fibre chassis/body.That doesn't mean it will be in $30K cars this year. The cheapest car with a structural carbonfibre chassis is still the 12C, as far as I know.
C
- £50K isn't $30K.
- The XL1 looks like it might cost about the same.
- Neither UK price is fixed yet, and neither car (Alfa/VW) is available. The 12C is.
I really like the look of that! Kind of a cross-between an R8 and something the Jetsons' neighbors would drive.
Kinda wish they would've kept the tandem seating arrangement, for no practical reason other than it's different and cool! Would've been like a 21st century version of a Messerschmitt KR500.
Kinda wish they would've kept the tandem seating arrangement, for no practical reason other than it's different and cool! Would've been like a 21st century version of a Messerschmitt KR500.
Ive said:
VW won't sell them.
The will build a total of 50 cars that will be leasing only to "selected customers".
this way they avoid all trouble about range missing, technical issues, higher real world consumption etc.
Guess is that all 50 will be leased to VAG management and friends.
VAG will lose a lot of money with each car. As said, the 50 cars are hand build by the prototype folks of VW.
After a 3 years trial period with the leasing fleet they will offer a production version with half the features for stupid money in order to claim/prove they offer such a car, but nobody actually buys it. Hard arguments to show the EU that CO2 goals are rubbish as foks don't accept the vehicles required to do that etc.
all clever marketing.
I have a feeling you're right about this.The will build a total of 50 cars that will be leasing only to "selected customers".
this way they avoid all trouble about range missing, technical issues, higher real world consumption etc.
Guess is that all 50 will be leased to VAG management and friends.
VAG will lose a lot of money with each car. As said, the 50 cars are hand build by the prototype folks of VW.
After a 3 years trial period with the leasing fleet they will offer a production version with half the features for stupid money in order to claim/prove they offer such a car, but nobody actually buys it. Hard arguments to show the EU that CO2 goals are rubbish as foks don't accept the vehicles required to do that etc.
all clever marketing.
Aside from that, it's just not a practical car for most people. - The real clever products are those from GM and Tesla.
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