Discussion
CrutyRammers said:
clonmult said:
"Now"? This was in 2003 .... hardly now, unless you're a time traveller?
Well, it was new to me. I was expecting an interesting special knocked up by some loony in a garage.
But getting back to the Lupo, it really does seem that advancements in the overall design of the car have recently been discarded for smaller and smaller engine with turbos and energy regeneration, rather than building in lightness and aerodynamic advantage and reducing mechanical drag.
Did VW have a lot of money to burn in the late 90s on development and one off projects, where as now they are using less novel and cheaper, mass producible ways to meet the emissions and consumption expectations (emissions scandal - cheap software rather than expensive engineering and materials ?)
In Germany people tend to talk about fuel economy using just the number of litres per 100km. E.g. the answer to the question "what fuel economy do you get?" would be "around 7 litres". For some reason in NL they measure it differently and talk about "1 on X" where X is the KM's driven on 1 litre. "what fuel economy do you get in NL?" ... "around 1 on 15".
Makes yer head spin I tell thee.
While we're here, check out some more 90's VW out-of-box thinking with the Golf Ecomatic
The Mk3 Golf Ecomatic Page
http://www.deylan.co.uk/golf/ecomatic/index.htm
Wikipedia - 4th paragraph in this section:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Golf_Mk3#...
Written in 2013 this article provides a modern view on this interesting Golf
http://www.greenmotor.co.uk/2013/01/1994-volkswage...
Makes yer head spin I tell thee.
While we're here, check out some more 90's VW out-of-box thinking with the Golf Ecomatic
The Mk3 Golf Ecomatic Page
http://www.deylan.co.uk/golf/ecomatic/index.htm
Wikipedia - 4th paragraph in this section:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Golf_Mk3#...
Written in 2013 this article provides a modern view on this interesting Golf
http://www.greenmotor.co.uk/2013/01/1994-volkswage...
I have to Lupo 3L 1 standard automatic, AND1 converted manu
as for the driving experience, they are oddly quiet to drive especially at speed, real world fuel economy is 70 80 MPG. very tall gearing means 2000 RPM at 70 miles an hour they are also not slow, partly due to the light weight they also quite hi torque for the wait
they have a regular manual gearbox that is automated, lots of lightweight engineering magnesium and aluminium etc one of mine has been for sale recently if you're interested feel free to PM me
my green one is one of few cars I've kept for more than 3 or 4 years considering I'm used to driving cars with 500 + horsepower I rather like it
as for the driving experience, they are oddly quiet to drive especially at speed, real world fuel economy is 70 80 MPG. very tall gearing means 2000 RPM at 70 miles an hour they are also not slow, partly due to the light weight they also quite hi torque for the wait
they have a regular manual gearbox that is automated, lots of lightweight engineering magnesium and aluminium etc one of mine has been for sale recently if you're interested feel free to PM me
my green one is one of few cars I've kept for more than 3 or 4 years considering I'm used to driving cars with 500 + horsepower I rather like it
Actually, if Porsche built the 3L, they'd call it RS - impressive what effort they have done to keep the weight down. Out of the 154kg that the 3L is lighter than the std. Lupo, alone 52kg are saved with in the body.
I understand that some Lupo 3L magnesium parts are popular to tune normal Lupos; but to get the full advantage, one would need to swap the engine of the 3L to get full advantage of the RS features.
I understand that some Lupo 3L magnesium parts are popular to tune normal Lupos; but to get the full advantage, one would need to swap the engine of the 3L to get full advantage of the RS features.
cptsideways said:
I have to Lupo 3L 1 standard automatic, AND1 converted manu
Capitano, did you do the manual conversion by yourself?Bodo said:
Actually, if Porsche built the 3L, they'd call it RS - impressive what effort they have done to keep the weight down. Out of the 154kg that the 3L is lighter than the std. Lupo, alone 52kg are saved with in the body.
I understand that some Lupo 3L magnesium parts are popular to tune normal Lupos; but to get the full advantage, one would need to swap the engine of the 3L to get full advantage of the RS features.
I bought the manual one already done, have yet to register it in the UK, its in storage at the mo. It's NOT a straightforward task at all. I understand that some Lupo 3L magnesium parts are popular to tune normal Lupos; but to get the full advantage, one would need to swap the engine of the 3L to get full advantage of the RS features.
cptsideways said:
I have to Lupo 3L 1 standard automatic, AND1 converted manu
Capitano, did you do the manual conversion by yourself?If the auto's clutch control was mappable to some extent that would transform the standard car, obviously when VW did the original clutch control mapping they used my wife as the test driver and copied her gear change technique!
As for all the lightweight gumph, yes they went to town on them, ally doors, bonnet, boot, Magnesium wheels, seat frames, suspension bits, front subframe etc, aluminium rear drum brakes (MMC apparently) Thin glass all round. However they also fitted them with 4 passenger "Jesus Christ handles" which I find a rather amusing oversight.
Mine has been used as the windsurfing mobile shed this year, I took all bar the drivers seat out & its like a small van, it will still nudge a ton with this lot on the roof!
Genuinely the oddest thing about them is just how quiet they are at speed & they are not slow. The Torque per ton figure is about the same as an Elise
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