One litre car by Volkswagen

Recently after the price hikes in petrol the first thing comes to our mind is “now we need a more fuel efficient vehicle.” Since we are so used to comfort we are not going to step back towards bicycle or walking again.

To our pleasure Volkswagen has already started thinking over this idea. In 2002 they proposed a 2 seater model of a car (at present referred as 1 litre car). It would be extremely compact and light weight (would weigh around 300 KG). The approximate efficiency of the car is expected to be 100 km per litre.

Its structure would resemble that of cylindrical sitting arrangement of an aircraft. To reduce the weight of the car it would be constructed from carbon fiber. Magnesium and other lightweight alloys would be used for wheel base and seats. The dimensions would be 4.1 feet wide, 11.4 feet long and around 3 feet tall. Top speed would be around 75 MPH and will be having LED head and tail lamps. To reduce the drag coefficient of the car, cameras will replace mirrors and various active lightweight aerodynamic elements would be used.

Engine specifications are not yet disclosed but looking at the company name we can be rest assured about its power and safety features. The units generated per year of this master piece will unfortunately be limited. Price of this car is certainly a question for all of us but we can definitely pay a price for such fuel efficient and exceptionally sleek model.

Company chairman said that production of this car would start as soon as the prices of carbon fiber monocoque (A safety cell made of carbon-fibre composite which forms a protective shell around the driver) drops down from 35000 euro (Rs 21,63,000) to 5000 euro(Rs 3,09,000). So now the car is expected to be launched in 2012 i.e. 2 year delay from scheduled 2010.