VW has taken the XL 1 super economy car and turned it in to the Volkswagen XL Sport Concept powered by a V2 Ducati motorbike engine and with a performance focus.
The Volkswagen XL Sport Concept (pictured) gets Ducati power
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The Volkswagen XL 1 may well be an impressive ‘Supercar’ (that’s super-economical, rather than plain ‘super’), but it’s a daft amount of money and, unless you’re trying to make a ‘Green’ statement, not for everyone.
Because under the skin of the XL Sport lies a 197bhp V2 that’s come from Ducati (just as we reported a year ago) and delivers 197bhp through a seven-speed dual-clutch ‘box, with a reduction gear between engine and gearbox to boost torque, revs to 1,000 rpm and can get to 62mph in 5.7 seconds on its way to a top speed of 157mph. Which will make it feel like you’re driving an enclosed superbike, rather than a car.
Volkswagen has also played with the body of the XL and given it a much more appealing wide body, played with the chassis and widened the track to create more stability and grip yet still achieving a remarkable drag coefficient of just 0.258. Inside, VW has made a few changes and added a digital instrument binnacle.
There seem to be no plans to put the XL Sport in to production (although we’d have thought there’d be a bigger potential market than the XL 1) and it is just intended to show what a mix of car and bike technology can produce.
Which seems a bit of a shame.
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